Eto'o himself, despite his obvious footballing ability, must possess one of the biggest egos (perhaps his shirt should say Ego'o?) in a very strong field.

Eto'o's ego is a large unit, but he still comes a distant 2nd after "There is only one" Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Zlatan is hands down the best entertainment in football, taking an aggregate score of on field antics and off field stuff. The boy is a legend.

Still doesn't mean he's value for money for Barca, but at least we'll get to see more of him in the UK on Revista et al.

Ibrahimovic, as Capello would say, plays with more "fantasy" than Eto'o. Ibrahimovic is also more technically skilled than Eto'o.

But I do not think Ibracadabra would fit into this Barca side as well as Eto'o. At Inter, Zlatan had the whole team trying to serve his every need on the pitch, almost as much as the Man Utd squad had to run around and pander to Ronaldo.

At Barca, they don't need a trequartista. They don't need another playmaker. Villa would possibly be the only striker that could improve the current Barcelona side offensively, as he just fits their system much better.

I think Villa is the surer player. He's skilled, has a relentless mentality in front of goal, has little fear, and is a great shot. However, Villa was long odds as far as becoming the newest player for Barça. Valencia's bosses are simply wack is why.

So, there's Ibrahimovic. There's the uncertainty about him, true. He is more technically gifted than Eto'o, no doubt, and has the added value of a playmaker. But it needs to be stated that playmaker or target man were the dictates of Inter, not the Swede.

I like the idea of a striker who can roam with ease. It's why I like Messi and Henry. It's why I like Barça. It's how they play, movement to find or create space, passing that asks serious questions not only of the opposition but of ones teammates as well.

Eto'o was not a good roamer. He played best up the middle and any time the Cameroon was on the wing he seemed diminished. In fact, he often disappeared. There's the sense he's a one-trick pony, much like Owen is. A lot of teams need a No.9, but FCB are not one of them. That's not how they play.

As far as Ibracadabra goes, I'm hopeful. There is a certainty about Eto'o that I'll miss on the pitch, but he is also a personality and that can be draining for a club too. While Zlatan is no less a personality in some respects, I think with Samuel there is an air of arrogance while with Zlatan it is tinged more with buffoonery. I may be wrong. Time will tell.

Ibra isn't a trequartista though and never has been. The most similar striker to Ibra is Fernando Torres. Basically awesome at everything. Pace, power, skill, aerial etc.

But here's the thing: I'd rather have Torres on every level I think. Especially if I was in barca's position.

Barca need someone to do what Samuel Eto'o does (ie lead the team in goalscoring). Ibra can do that, he does it for Inter and did it for Juve. But will he do it as well as Eto'o has done for Barca?

Probably not £35m better. A straight swap would look a lot sweeter deal.

Referring to Guerrero's point:

Eto'o and Ibra are both surpremely arrogant, but in a different way.

Eto's is self importance, like C Ronaldo. That sort of 'look at my background and how well I've done from it'.

Ibra's is just absolute disdain for people not on his level.

Now in the Barca environment, I suspect Eto'o's is the worst sort, but if things go badly thats when Ibra loses focus, hence his Champions League record playing at a team not good enough to challenge.

would take etoo over ibrahimovic any day, zlatan maybe the more skillful player but etoo is a lot more clinical. and thats what you need from a striker

I dunno, I guess I'll wait and see how Guardiola want to shape the Barca team next year. I'm pretty sure he can be trusted to have thought through how Zlatan will fit into their system. Though Zlatan has an arrogance about him, I don't really see him as the bad egg that many do. I can remember a few, but not many, instances of off the field problems happening with him - but they seem to be a few years in the past (unless I've missed something). I like him as a player, but of course I'm danish and we scandies have to stick up for one another!

It's a curious transfer:

1) Valencia seem to be demanding so much but surely a 45m euro deal will soon tempt Villa who fits more into the team. i.e. hard-working to pressure, movement etc.

2) Eto'o may have a big pressence in the dressing room therefore Guardiola wants to get rid.

3) Zlatan is a fantastic technician but not really hard-working to pressure. Great link up however.

4) Inter must be grinning large. 40m plus the services for one year of a Hleb.

Guardiola is more ruthless than many thought and is trying to create a core nucleus of similar thinking professionals.

If Barca are willing to offer £38 million PLUS Eto'o for Ibrahimovic, then they have truly lodt their marbles.

Surely, Villa is the best striker in the world so how come Barca will offer such a deal for Zlatan and not Villa?

This is madness.

Villa isn't the best striker in the world. Not enough size or versatility. He's Eto'o with more shotmaking creativity and better control. And he doesn't disappear on the wing.

Ibrahimovic can play with his back to goal. He can also bring the ball up from the back himself, take free kicks and, like all of the other front line players, play anywhere on the front line. When Eto'o moved to the wing, he vanished.

Most importantly, Guardiola has the striker that he wanted all along. Now we get to see what his sporting program really is.

And I'd remind people not to judge Ibrahimovic based on his past performances. Henry, at Arsenal, didn't play defense, didn't track back, didn't work to win pressure in the midfield. Under Guardiola, he did all of those things, picking up as many fouls as anybody on the back line.

Ibrahimovic scored 27 goals in Serie A, land of catenaccio, as the lone striker (thanks, Mourinho) with every defense set up to stop him and only him. Imagine the freedom with Henry, Messi and Iniesta running around.

I'm very optimistic.

Henry at Arsenal is a different player to Henry at Barca. They have different jobs in the team, so its understandable that you get differing results.

Barca's problem is that you don't get better than last season. The only was is down.

Will the sum total output of Henry Ibra Messi be greater than the sum output of Henry Eto'o Messi. Probably not. If it was Eto'o playing again this season they still probably wouldn't

But its like Ronaldo at Man U last season. He still top scored, it just wasn't 45 goals again, which is understandable.

The thing thats been lost in all this is how funny this attack will look against Real's barely improved defence. Ibra will be more of a nightmare to mark than Eto'o for sure.

Maybe the signing of Ibrahimovic is related to other factors than just improving the teams "a" performance of passing the ball quickly and neatly around -though Zlatan can still take part in this aspect of their game. Maybe Zlatan is bought in to give them more of a plan b as he can also serve as a target man due to his size, strength and control. In that way Barca can move the ball more quickly up the pitch in case they need to, but (and this is the masterstroke) they can still play their "normal" way without even changing personnel. Remember how crouch worked for Liverpool? Ibrahimovic could maybe do a similar job when called upon to do so, but still link up with the regular passing game when Barca feel good and aren't under pressure. Just a thought.

Ibra will be the best thing that ever happened to Barca. However he is definitely over priced and Barca are paying way to much for him.

I'm guardedly optimistic about Ibra as Eto'o's replacement, but still shake my head at how it was secured. 40 mil Euros plus Eto'o plus Hleb on loan is just ridiculous. If the Cameroon feels insulted, I really couldn't blame him.