Barcelona plan £15m Robben swoop

Chelsea winger Arjen Robben will be targeted by Barcelona this summer if they fail to lure Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta last night hailed Ronaldo as "one of the best players in the world" but insisted that, out of respect

for United, he had not made any offer for the

Portuguese star.

But the Catalan club are keeping a close watch on Dutchman Robben, who believes a £15 million move to Barcelona would give him a platform more suited to his attacking game.

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Laporta said: "Cristiano is one of the best players in the world. But he is a

player who belongs to Manchester United and we

have not made an offer for him. I respect United and do not want to disturb any team by talking about their players. Alex Ferguson is a

great manager and David Gill is a friend."

United insist that they will not sell Ronaldo, even if Barcelona match a world record

£47m transfer fee.

Robben, 23, made an instant impact when he

joined Chelsea from PSV but his manager Jose

Mourinho has become frustrated by what he

perceives as the Dutchman’s low pain

threshold and the pair have exchanged icy looks on occasions when Robben has asked to be substituted.

As Barcelona prepare to meet Valencia tonight and

Liverpool in a Champions League showdown on

Wednesday, Laporta has had to act as a firefighter, with stars Ronaldinho and

Samuel Eto’o swapping insults and manager Frank

Rijkaard unhappy that Eto’o refused to come on as

a substitute against Racing

Santander last weekend.

Chelsea, Liverpool and United are monitoring both

players but Laporta insists he wants his two stars to be at the Nou Camp next season

"They have contracts until 2010 and are

doing their jobs so well, they should be here for

life," he said.