Henry may be too dear for Barca

Txiki Begiristain, Barcelona’s new sporting director, has all but ruled out a move for Arsenal’s French striker Thierry Henry.

Earlier today, Barca press secretary Juanjo Castillo sparked speculation that Henry could be on his way to Catalonia, following the club’s failure to land England captain David Beckham, by stating:

“Henry is one of the players we’re hoping to talk to this week.

“We have to see whether he is interested in coming. Everyone likes Henry and he’s a great player.”

But Begiristain admitted: “I think Henry may be too expensive for us. We have economic problems at the club and his transfer fee would be very high, as would his wages.”

He was, though, more hopeful of luring Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho to the Nou Camp.

“We are trying to arrange a deal. He (Ronaldinho) is a very good player and we are waiting to hear an answer from his agents,” Begiristain said.

Another Barca target is Australian international Harry Kewell, who is likely to leave cash-strapped Leeds this summer.

Kewell has also been linked with Arsenal and Manchester United but Barca have now declared their interest.

“Kewell is a very interesting player for us. He is on our list but he is not a priority,” Begiristain said.

“I think he would cost around £10-11m, maybe less to a foreign club, but that is still more than what we would want to spend on him.”