Adriano Galliani on Zlatan Ibrahimovic: 'I Will Stay Here Until Tuesday'

AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani has declared that he will remain in Barcelona until the transfer window closes on Tuesday if that is what it takes to land out-of-favor striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Swedish striker joined Barcelona in the summer of 2009, but has failed to deliver in big matches and has fallen out of favor at the club. He recently admitted that he and manager Pep Guardiola had not spoken in six months.

With the addition of Spain's World Cup star David Villa, Ibrahimovic seems destined for a year on the bench if he remains at the Nou Camp.

Only a few days ago his agent, Mino Raiola, said that there was no way the former Juventus and Inter Milan striker would leave the club.

How quickly minds can be changed.

Now, Raiola is declaring that Ibrahimovic will leave if it is a move to either Milan, Real Madrid, or Manchester City.

Milan are the only ones currently pushing the issue, though Manchester City, rumor has it, are quite interested in Ibrakadabra and Roberto Mancini has reportedly kept in contact with his former striker.

Currently, Milan remain favorites to land the disgruntled star.

Galliani is not saying it will be easy, however.

"We will meet with Barcelona again at midday tomorrow," Galliani told Milan's official website. "The operation is very difficult and very costly.

"I would like to point out that Milan do not intend to provide big players as part of the deal. We are working to bring another great champion to Milan.

"We don't want to kid anyone, but nor can we say that it certainly won't go through. We'll see. It's very difficult. I am not leaving Barcelona and the rapport with President Sandro Rosell is excellent."

Milan, and many critics, including myself, believe that the addition of Ibrahimovic to an attack with fellow goal-scorers Ronaldinho and Pato would provide Milan with arguably the best attack in Europe and put them into title contention in Serie A, where the goal of 19 teams will be to stop Inter Milan from winning their sixth consecutive Scudetto.

Milan are looking for their first Scudetto since the 2003/2004 season and their first trophy since 2007, the year they won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup.

These three trophies put Milan into a tie with Boca Juniors for the most international trophies of all time.

The club have failed in their attempts to find a replacement for Kaka, who left the club in 2009 for Real Madrid and was a vital piece of Milan's attack. Attempts to bring Luis Fabiano and Edin Dzeko to the San Siro have ended in failure. Rumors had previously linked Robinho with the post as well.

Ibrahimovic has been linked to Milan for weeks. Now a deal seems likely if the two sides can reach an agreement.

Galliani seems determined to bring the player home with him upon his return to Italy.

"Tomorrow, we'll resume talks with President Rosell and I am prepared to stay here in Barcelona until Tuesday, the final day of the transfer session."

All the more reason for Milan to complete the move is the praise the Special One has given Ibrahimovic.

The striker's former boss, Jose Mourinho, now manager at Real Madrid, believes that a move back to Italy is ideal for Ibrahimovic.

"Zlatan is a great player, but he was happier in Italy than he is in Spain. If he joins Milan, he'll have a great season."

With that said and with no real attempt made by City, it appears Milan are the only team of the three listed by Ibra serious about signing him, making them Barcelona's only option if they want to offload him and get rid of his multimillion dollar a year deal. Barcelona are struggling for funds, having had to pull out a bank loan to pay wages a couple months ago.