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The leader of the Spanish championship, strengthened by injuries, continues to strengthen - on Thursday, the club announced the acquisition of "River Plate" striker Maxi Lopez.
The 20-year-old Argentine, nicknamed the "German tank" in his country because of his appearance, and compared to Gabriel Batistuta or Hernan Crespo in terms of playing style, passed a medical examination with the Catalan club and is expected to sign a four-and-a-half-year contract. "Barca" will pay 6.2 million euros to "River Plate" for the player.
Joining the "Barcelona" team, M. Lopez follows in the footsteps of his fellow countryman Javier Saviola - the latter moved to Spain in 2001 and scored 44 goals in 105 matches played, though he was loaned out this season.
"I admire Saviola a lot, both as a player and as a person. He is the best example I could follow," Lopez said. "I came here to help the team and I have high hopes. I want to adapt to the team as quickly as possible and help them achieve many victories."
In the team coached by Frank Rijkaard, Maxi Lopez, who holds an EU passport, will replace the injured Henrik Larsson. The Argentine becomes Barcelona's second purchase this week - a few days ago, the club added defender Demetrio Albertini.
