Rivaldo and Barcelona end contract dispute

Brazilian international Rivaldo has rejected claims of holding FC Barcelona to ransom in a dispute over his salary. The man who will spearhead the Catalan club's push for UEFA Champions League glory said he was relieved to have resolved the matter: "I want to make it clear that I never threatened Barcelona, I just said things that I thought needed saying and now I am completely happy."

Rivaldo threat
The former world and European Player of the Year became one of the world's best paid players after signing a new contract last August reported to be worth more than €6.9m a year. Rivaldo last week issued a statement on his personal website saying that he would boycott pre-season training unless the club paid him money he claimed he was owed under his contract.

'Misunderstanding’ resolved
Barcelona president Joan Gaspart acted quickly to resolve the dispute, claiming the whole matter had been a "misunderstanding" and that the club had always intended to honour its obligations to the player.

'I asked for what I had been promised'
"Now I am completely happy because I spoke with the president and he sorted everything out," said the 29-year-old attacking midfielder. "I am not a money grabber. All workers have the right to earn their salary and I only asked for what I had been promised."

'Fully focused on the season'
Rivaldo confirmed that he had now been paid money he was owed from previous seasons. "I have kept playing even though I have been owed money for several seasons so there is no doubting my professionalism," he added. "Now I have been paid the whole business has been sorted out, and there is nothing more to say except that I am fully focused on the forthcoming season."

Final qualifying round
Barcelona must beat either FC Skonto or TS Wisla Kraków in the final qualifying round if they are to make it into the first group phase of the Champions League. Maciej Zurawski's 79th-minute penalty in Latvia gave Wisla a 2-1 lead going into the home leg of their second qualifying round tie, which will be played in Poland on Wednesday.