Reports said a meeting to discuss the transfer is scheduled for Wednesday in Barcelona between the club’s chairman, Sandro Rosell, and AC Milan’s deputy chairman, Adriano Galliani.

The player’s agent, Mino Raiola, said on Monday it was “99.9 percent” certain that he would stay in Spain. However, Barça coach Pep Guardiola appears keen to offload the 1.95-metre forward, sports daily Marca reported.

He left him out of the starting lineup for the Spanish Supercup against

Sevilla over the weekend in favour of David Villa, who was signed in May and shone at the World Cup.

Catalan newspapers Sport and Mundo Deportivo said the sale looked likely

despite Milan’s reluctance to pay the 12 million euros a year the 28-year-old

receives at Barça. Any deal could also involve the transfer to Barcelona of Milan striker Marco Boriello, the newspapers said.

Ibrahimovic was transfered from Inter Milan in July last year in a deal that saw Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o move the other way and the Italian side

receive €46 million ($58.11 million).