Barcelona bid for Arshavin

Barcelona bid for Arshavin

Reuters

June 26, 2008 at 12:17 PM EDT

MOSCOW — Barcelona have made an offer to sign Russia playmaker Andrei Arshavin from Zenit St Petersburg, the Russian premier league side said on Thursday.

"We have received an official offer from Barcelona to buy Andrei but we will discuss it only after he returns from Euro 2008," Konstantin Sarsania, an adviser to Zenit's president, was quoted as saying by Russian media.

Russia faced Spain in the Euro 2008 semi-final later on Thursday in Vienna.

Sarsania declined to give any details but media reports put the Spanish club's bid at 15 million euros ($23.51 million).

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Barcelona did not confirm the offer but have said before they regarded him as a top quality player.

A self-confessed Barcelona fan, Arshavin has become a real revelation at Euro 2008, winning widespread acclaim for his creative play and cunning moves.

He helped transform a drab and defensive Russian side into an attractive attacking outfit, earning him strong interest from several leading European clubs, including Arsenal and Chelsea, according to local and international media.

After missing Russia's first two games through suspension, he returned for their final group match against Sweden, scoring a goal and setting up the other to lead his team to a 2-0 win and sealing a quarter-final berth.

Arshavin also sparkled in a 3-1 extra time quarter-final victory over much fancied Netherlands, assisting on the second goal and scoring the third himself that earned him the man of the match award for the second consecutive game.

The 27-year-old, who also led his club Zenit to victory in the UEFA Cup last month, has said on several occasions he wanted to move abroad after the Euro 2008 finals.