Barca make contact over Arshavin

Zenit St Petersburg on Thursday confirmed Barcelona have inquired about Russia playmaker Andrei Arshavin.

Arshavin has emerged as one of the most coveted players in Europe following his fine performances at Euro 2008 and recently admitted that moving to the Nou Camp would be a "dream".

An advisor to Zenit sporting director Konstantin Sarsaniya told Sovietski Sport: "Barcelona have made a formal proposal to Zenit for the purchase of Arshavin."

He added: "But we will only talk about this once Andrei returns to Zenit."

On Wednesday, Arshavin said: "I have supported Barcelona all my life.

"Barcelona are my dream. I never thought I would have a genuine chance to play for the club. Let's see how the situation unfolds."

Also on Thursday Arshavin's agent, Dennis Lachter, confirmed Barcelona's interest on Spanish television station La Sexta.

"The transfer should be around 25million euros," he told the station. "It's time for him (Arshavin) to look for new challenges, and this is a great opportunity for him."

Many reports in Spain have raised doubts over whether the Catalan club can afford the Russia star after spending heavily on Gerard Pique, Martin Caceres, Seydou Keita and Daniel Alves already this summer.

But Lachter insists the move depends more on the desire of the player to play at the Nou Camp and not on finances and said: "There are not that many clubs in the world that can match his pay at the moment, but the main reasons for leaving will be sporting ones."