Robinho admits he dreams of playing for Barcelona as Thierry Henry is lined up for swap move to Manchester City Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Robinho says he would love to play alongside Barcelona's superstars at the Nou Camp.

The European champions want to sign the 25-year-old Manchester City forward in the winter transfer window and are preparing to offer Thierry Henry in part exchange.

And Robinho can hardly contain his glee at the prospect of joining up with the likes of Argentina playmaker Lionel Messi.

Manchester City's Robinho

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'Of course I'd enjoy playing for Barca.' he told Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo. 'Who wouldn't? We could have so much fun.

'It would be a pleasure to play alongside Messi, my compadre Dani Alves, Xavi, (Andres) Iniesta, (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic, with them all.

'They're a great team. I played against them and know their quality. But right now I can only do it on the PlayStation.'

The Brazil international insists neither he nor his agent - dad Gilvan de Souza - have been informed of any bid from Barcelona.

And though he says it would be 'wrong to talk about this hypothetical transfer' until there was formal offer, he could not resist heaping praise on the Catalans.

'It is a pleasure to see Barca play, they seem to be like Brazilians in how they use the ball. Pep Guardiola's team are real entertainers.'

France forward Thierry Henry

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Nou Camp boss Guardiola has concerns about his left flank. The club failed in bids for several players during the summer window and wants to rectify the situation this winter.

Technical secretary Txiki Begiristain has already admitted that Robinho is an attractive option because he would not be cup-tied from the Champions League knock-out phase, unlike, for example, Arsenal's Andrey Arshavin.

Barca and City are understood to have discussed the transfer of Robinho when they met in a friendly at the Nou Camp in August, but they could not come to an agreement.

Robinho of Manchester City

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City were told that a part-exchange for Messi was out of the question and the 22-year-old has since signed a new contract to 2016 with a buy-out clause of £230million.

But other players understood to have been mentioned were former Arsenal star Henry and veteran captain Carles Puyol.

It is suggested that Mark Hughes would not be averse to losing Robinho, but the club's ambitious owners would want a player of similar stature in return, and Henry fits the bill.

Robinho was the Abu Dhabi money men's impact signing on the day their buy-out was revealed in September 2008. City shelled out a British record £34m to take him from Real Madrid when it seemed he had been bound for Chelsea.

Barca would pay a similar figure to take him back to Spain, though they would want him to join initially on loan for the remainder of this season, once the transfer window re-opens.

It is clear Robinho relishes the prospect, though he insists that there is a long way to go before a deal is done.

'It is not a question of being loaned or transferred, whether in the winter or the summer,' he said. 'It is a matter of sitting down and talking about it when there is a concrete offer, which, I repeat, I am not personally aware of.

'When that happens, we can talk. I don't want to be misinterpreted. It is clear that I have a contract with City and I owe it to them to be professional.

'It's no secret that there was clear interest from Barca (in the summer), but Manchester City would not enter negotiations.

'I believed that I was not transferable and so I focussed on doing my best for City. We are thinking big, we have built a very strong team aiming to win the Premier League with (Carlos) Tevez, (Emmanuel) Adebayor, (Joleon) Lescott and (Gareth) Barry.'

 Barca head coach Pep Guardiola

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But he has other team-mates who would like to see him at the Nou Camp. Brazil and Barca full back Dani Alves says Robinho would be very welcome and would give the team different options.

And Robinho replied: 'Dani is a phenomenon. With Alves I have very good vibes. I am delighted with how well he has done at Barca. He deserves it, he's a great guy and excellent footballer.

'I am still up to date with Spanish football and left many friends in Spain. When I meet with many of them in the Brazil team we talk at length. We are used to exchanging text messages or calling each other.'

Alves is not the only one who wins praise. Told he was admired by Guardiola, Robinho responded: 'It is an honour that a coach such as him speaks highly of Robinho. I read that he values me. I thank him from the heart.'

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