Summer Transfers.

Barcelona have agreed a £6million deal with Manchester United for Gerard Pique.

Sportsmail revealed last week that the 21-year-old defender was in negotiations over a return to his former club and the sides came to an agreement over the weekend.

Barcelona will pay £4m now and the rest depending on Pique's appearances.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola wants more Spanish players in his squad and sees 6ft 4in Pique as a long-term partner for captain Carles Puyol.

teamtalk.com wrote:

Pique talks up Nou Camp return

Manchester United defender Gerard Pique claims a deal to take him back to former club Barcelona is at "an advanced stage".

Pique left the Nou Camp to join United in 2004 at the age of 17.

However, after failing to make his breakthrough in England the Catalan youngster is looking for a return to his former club.

"Negotiations with Barca are at a very advanced stage," he told Barcelona's website.

"I like the idea of being able to play in a Barcelona shirt again.

"At the moment there's nothing official. Now we just have to wait for more details.

"At the moment the decision has to be made by other people."

Pique, who is back in Barcelona to prepare for a friendly game between Catalunya and Argentina on Saturday, also spoke highly of new Barca coach Pep Guardiola.

"He was a great player and he has the character you need to coach a side like Barca," he said.

"A new project is starting with Guardiola and there is a lot of new hope."

SkySports wrote:

Barca agree Pique deal
Defender to return to Camp Nou on four-year deal

Gerard Pique is set to return to Barcelona after the Spanish side reached an agreement with Manchester United.

The defender opted to leave Camp Noua four years ago because he felt that he would have a better chance of breaking through at Old Trafford.

However, he failed to establish himself as a regular in Sir Alex Ferguson's side and his opportunities continued to be limited this season due to the reliable central defensive partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Pique rarely featured in the run-in as United sealed a European and domestic double, and was left out of the squad for the UEFA Champions League final.

He has now decided it is time to move on and has agreed a four-year contract with Barcelona.

The 21-year-old Spaniard, who scored two goals in the Champions League for United, is now expected to finalise his transfer over the next few days.

Duzza wrote:why would man city sell micah richards to united? and considering he's come up through the city ranks, would richards even want to join united?

I really don't like Alves much either, he's a good player but he's a bit of a dick, every summer he's talking about how he wants to leave sevilla lol.. i'd say Boswinga is better than him.

Duzza wrote:what about Cicinho? two years older than alves but he'd be a lot cheaper.

Davide Petrucci's signing for Manchester United angers Roma

By Malcolm Moore in Rome
Last Updated: 2:06am BST 13/06/2008

Manchester United last night came under fire after signing one of Italy's most promising young strikers.

Just days after they were pipped by Arsenal to the signature of 17-year-old Cardiff midfielder Aaron Ramsey, United snapped up Davide Petrucci, 16, who scored 14 goals in 19 matches last season and was the top scorer in Roma's youth team. He has also starred for Italy's under-17 team.

United will pay Petrucci £95,000 a year and will cover the cost of regular flights home to Italy. The deal is the maximum permissible offer for a youth-team player. Roma will receive around £200,000 in compensation but the move has caused fury.

"It is a nightmare," said Il Romanista, a newspaper dedicated to Roma. "Manchester United have dealt us another low blow, stealing Petrucci from under our noses, probably the best product of our youth system. In three to four years, he will be worth 100 times as much."

Petrucci, who comes from the San Basilio suburb of Rome, has been compared to a young Francesco Totti and could have made the first-team squad next year. However, Roma offered him a contract worth only £16,000 a year, the basic youth-team deal. Petrucci was also said to be concerned that he had not already been called up to the first team. Totti made his debut in 1993 when he was 16.

Bruno Conti, Roma's technical director, said the club were unwilling to improve the terms because it would upset other youth-team players who had already signed similar deals, including Riccardo Brosco, a defender who has already been promoted to the full squad.

Conti said Petrucci would have been given opportunities to show his value next season.

Roma have a history of developing youth players. Daniele De Rossi and Alberto Aquilani have come through the system in the past two years and are now playing for Italy.

Roma are unable to contest the signing, since Italian rules state it is impossible to offer a professional contract to anyone under 17. Petrucci's birthday is in October.