Madrid, July 28 (DPA) More than 50,000 Barcelona fans welcomed star signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the club, in the most spectacular presentation ever organised by the Catalan giants.

Ibrahimovic Monday came close to pulling as massive a crowd as did Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's most expensive player, when presented by Real Madrid in June.

Barca president Joan Laporta introduced the Swedish striker by describing him as 'one of the most important signings in the history of this club ... He is ambitious, a winner, and he has made it clear for a while that he wanted to come here.'

Laporta added that 'this is a historic day for Barca. We hope to carry on winning and to be even more competitive, and the signing of Ibrahimovic will make this possible.'

It fell to Barca sporting director Txiki Begiristain to give the media the bad news that the club's medical staff had decided Ibrahimovic would undergo an operation on his left hand on Tuesday, and would not be fit to make his Barca debut until late August.