DOS SANTOS TO JOIN

The Club today announced that we have reached agreement with Barcelona for the transfer of Giovani dos Santos, subject to a medical and agreeing personal terms.

The 19-year-old Mexico international made 28 senior appearances for the Catalan club last season, scoring three goals, after displaying his credentials in the B team, where he made 27 appearances and netted five times.

It was his performances playing for his country at the FIFA World Under-17 Championships in 2005 that caught the attention of the Nou Camp side. Mexico emerged as winners in Peru and Giovani was named second best player in the tournament, while he was ranked in the top three players of the FIFA World Under-20 Championship staged in Canada in 2007.He has since been capped on five occasions by the full Mexico national team.

Earlier in the day Barcelona had also confirmed the deal on their official website. Barcelona stated that:

"The Mexican will sign for the club managed by Juande Ramos until June 30, 2013 for a fee of six million euros plus another five million depending on the player's appearances for the London club during his five-year contract.
"FC Barcelona also maintain 20% of the financial rights to any possible transfer of the player during his first two years of contract and 10% on any transfer from his new club, Tottenham Hotspur FC."

Dos Santos said: "I love Tottenham's plans, they are very ambitious.

"I know Juande Ramos and of all the offers I had, this was the most challenging from a sporting point of view."

DOS SANTOS PROFILE

Giovani dos Santos Ramírez (born May 11, 1989 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico) is a Mexican attacking midfielder or forward, who plays for FC Barcelona and the Mexican national team. Dos Santos was a member of the Mexican National U-17 team that won the 2005 U-17 World Cup held in Peru.

Dos Santos is the son of a famous Brazilian football player Gerardo dos Santos, better known as "Zizinho", who played for the Mexican soccer clubs América and León in the late 1980s; Gio's mother, Liliana Ramírez is Mexican. Dos Santos has two brothers and two half-brothers, the older, Eder, currently plays for Socio Águila in the Primera División A as a defensive midfielder, and the younger Jonathan, plays for FC Barcelona, in the Juvenil A category.
Dos Santos' father is seen as the driving force behind his son's career, as he founded a school in Monterrey, named São Paulo in México, at which he coached his own, and many other, children.

In 2001, São Paulo participated in the Dallas Cup, a prestigious youth tournament in the USA, winning the U-12 category with Dos Santos as a member of the team. Zizinho decided that Dos Santos was ready to begin a professional career and was able to get him a trial with the Mexican first division team Club Monterrey, where he quickly progressed through the youth ranks to join their third division team.

During the FIFA U-17 World Championship 2005, Dos Santos managed to assist half of the goals of the Mexican team during the tournament, a fact that, combined with his abilities, awarded him the Adidas Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, finishing behind only the Brazilian Anderson.

After the U-17 title, Dos Santos returned to Barcelona and the Juvenil A category where he helped his team to make a comeback in the league and win the regional title. This title allowed them to participate in the Youth Copa del Rey, where they faced other regional champions, among them their historic arch-rivals, Real Madrid. Dos Santos once again played a significant role during the tournament and helped the team win the national title of the Juvenil A category.

In 2006, Dos Santos was invited on the pre-season tour of FC Barcelona's senior squad. During a friendly match on July 29, 2006 he scored in his senior team debut game against Danish club AGF Aarhus. Hugo Sánchez, the ex-manager of the Mexican national team, called on him for the first time for exhibition games against Panama and in early September. He made his debut against Panama on September 9, 2007.

In the U-20 World Cup Qualifiers he scored twice; once against St. Kitts and Nevis in the 86th minute and the second against Jamaica in the 56th minute. He was forced to sit out the last game against Costa Rica as he had received a yellow card in the previous match. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, but Mexico still qualified, finishing top of the regional group.

During the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup Mexico was placed in Group C, where they were drawn against Gambia, Portugal, and New Zealand. On July 2, 2007, Dos Santos and the rest of the Mexico team played against Gambia and won 3-0, with Giovani opening the scoring in the second half with a superb volley into the top left-hand corner from outside of the box. Dos Santos then played against Portugal, where Mexico won 2-1, scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot. As Mexico had already qualified from the group, he was rested for the game against New Zealand. In the last-sixteen Mexico played against Congo, dos Santos returned to the starting line-up and yet again opened the scoring with a goal from the penalty spot in a match that Mexico won 3-0. In the quarter finals, Mexico were eliminated by Argentina, with a close fought game ending 1-0. Dos Santos was awarded the Adidas Bronze Ball, behind the Argentines, Sergio Aguero and Maximiliano Moralez.

During the summer of 2007, Dos Santos was once again invited to join Barcelona's senior squad on their pre-season tour. On August 29, 2007, Dos Santos received dual nationality and was included in the official first team squad. He made his competitive and league debut on September 2, 2007 during a 3-1 home win against Athletic Bilbao, coming on for Thierry Henry in the 62nd minute.

Dos Santos made his Champions League debut on September 19, 2007 during a 3-0 home win against Lyon. He came on as a substitute for Xavi in the 79th minute.

On May 17, 2008, Dos Santos scored a hat trick against Real Murcia, with a final score of 3-5, granting a victory to Barcelona on the team's last game of the 07-08.