The Catalan club have made it clear that they would like to capture the Dutchman, but have baulked at Chelsea's €18m asking price, claims Catalan daily sports paper El Mundo Deportivo.

Robben, though, could ease his path to Camp Nou by using the same route as Scottish player Andy Webster chose when he moved from Hearts to Wigan Athletic last summer.

Under FIFA law a player under 28 can leave for a club in another country once they have spent three years at one club as long as the side he joins takes up his contract.

After moving from PSV Eindhoven in 2004, Robben falls into the category and if he was to go down that path then Barça would have to pay €6m for the two years left on his deal at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are adamant that the forward cannot leave the club and are said to be preparing a new deal for him to consider towards the end of the current campaign.

His father and agent, Hans Robben, has already revealed that his son is keen on a switch to the Blaugrana as he used to visit the Camp Nou when on holiday in the Costa Brava as a child.

"It would be a dream for him to play in Barcelona, but right now he has a contract with Chelsea and there has been no movement that I know of," Robben Senior said.

"For us there would not be any problem to settle at Barca because it is the club for which he dreamed to play when he was a boy."

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