by Anton Johan
Although the excitement of the 2010 World Cup is still very fresh in the minds of Spanish football - for obvious reasons - many have turned their attention to the players arriving and leaving ahead of the upcoming
La Liga season.
And one of the names that has been making headlines for a while is Swedish-born Barcelona striker,
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has been the subject of much speculation that he is 'unhappy' with his top La Liga club and is looking to move.
It's likely that such relentless and ongoing speculation must be taking its toll on the other players at Barcelona, particularly at a time when the club should be one cohesive unit focused on this year's La Liga and successfully defending its title.
Perhaps this is the reason why Ibrahimovic's teammate and pal Maxwell (Cabelino Andrade) has come forward and spoken to the media. He's said that rumours Ibrahimovic is unhappy at Barcelona are just that, rumours, and that he is happy.
The Brazilian-born left back went on to say that Ibrahimovic is 'fully integrated' into the current Barcelona squad and is not trying to leave. 'I see Ibra around the club in pre-season and he is really happy and highly motivated,' said Maxwell.
'Last season was very hard in parts for him, but he has a lot of quality and is continuing to do really good things for the team, even if people don't say so.' Maxwell was referring to how Ibrahimovic struggled in the second half of last season.
In fact, many La Liga punters say that Ibrahimovic's lack-luster form in the latter part of the season encouraged the club's move to sign Spanish World Cup hero, David Villa. And if Ibrahimovic expects to be begged to stay on, he won't be.
Barcelona's hierarchy have indicated that Ibrahimovic must decide for himself whether to stay or to go. But regardless, he will more than likely play second fiddle to David Villa, who scored five of Spain's seven goals in the coveted tournament.
