Nine-year-old Swedish starlet joins Barcelona

"On Wednesday Zico leaves for Barcelona for new challenges," BK Olympic, a Swedish fifth-tier club based in Malmo, announced on their website.

Following his appearance at a Barca recruitment camp, the Swedish press have kept tabs on the young midfielder, whose idol is Lionel Messi.

He is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic by becoming just the third Swede to wear the Barca colours.

"It's going to be cool," the youngster told Swedish daily Skaanska Dagbladet.

His father Antonio, coach at BK Olympic, told the paper he would send his son to boarding school initially, with the family moving to Spain as soon as possible.