 |
 |
|
|
30 July 2003 Ferguson Wants Veron To Stay "Seba is a terrific player and I want him to stay. I don't know anything about the speculation (linking him with a move to Chelsea). Agents talk to a lot of people, they have a lot of power and sometimes they can think different things to the player but Seba is a mature man. He is very experienced and he knows what he wants. If there was a situation arising I'm sure he would talk to me. He hasn't done so and I'm quite happy about that. My impression was that he had settled down, everything had gone quiet and there was no problem. Seba is a marvellous player and he is contracted to us." Alex Ferguson 29 July 2003 Zidane To Retire In 2005 "I have two years left to my contract with Real Madrid and until then I will play as well as possible, whatever the competition. After those two years I will retire." Zinedine Zidane Milan Fall Short of Kaka Valuation "Milan have offered us €6.4m but in order for us to sell Kaka then they will have to double that figure." Sao Paulo director general Juvenal Juvencio. Roma Reject €25 Million Bid For Emerson "We have refused a €25 million offer from Chelsea. The player wants to stay at Roma but it is the club who will decide the player's future. Chelsea's bid so far is the most significant offer. The situation is simple Chelsea made a bid to Roma for Emerson and we answered that he is untouchable. At that point Chelsea went straight to Emerson with an offer outside the market - a contract for six years and €30 million. You can understand the turbulent frame of mind the player is now in but Emerson has been correct in his behaviour because he told us everything. I have spoken with the player. We have told him we consider him irreplaceable and we want to renew his contract and offer him more money. He answered that Chelsea, too, clearly have great belief in his ability given their offer. I realise he has seen a train laden with gold going past his door, but he will just have to do the right thing." Roma sporting director Franco Baldini. Boro Target Dalmat "I can confirm there is official interest from Middlesbrough in Stephane Dalmat. The player remains an objective of several English clubs. We do not want to free the player, so if he departs it will be on a loan or joint-ownership deal." Inter sporting director Marco Branca 28 July 2003 Baggio Looking At Retirement "I don't know what season the one that is about to start will be like but I think it will be my last one." Roberto Baggio Chelsea Going Private Chelsea's new billionaire owner, Roman Abramovich, will turn Chelsea Village (which owns the club) into a private company after buying up most of the remaining shares. A company statement read : "Chelsea Village will become a private company at which point Chelsea Limited will be able to pass any shareholder resolutions of Chelsea Village without the approval of Chelsea Village shareholders who do not accept the offer." 24 July 2003 Rustu Blames Wenger For Transfer Collapse "The deal was almost complete with Arsenal when I met Wenger but at that point he seemed to get obsessed with my back and asked if it gave me any problems. I told him it was absolutely fine and that it caused me no worries but he insisted he needed a second opinion. I told him that I wasn't just some 19-year-old he could treat as he wanted. I told Wenger that if he didn't believe me then he hadn't bothered watching the World Cup and how I performed there. That was the point at which everything collapsed." Barcelona goalkeeper Recber Rustu 23 July 2003 Manzano Takes Over At Atletico Madrid Gregorio Manzano has succeeded Luis Aragones as coach of Atletico Madrid. Manzano coached Mallorca to Spanish cup success last season. 21 July 2003 Nesta Aims For Treble "Stam is an excellent player and Milan have done everything in their power to buy him but if Lazio have said he is unavailable for transfer then what can you do? Milan have kept together a winning squad and we will still be very strong even if no one else is signed. We have everything that we need to continue winning but lifting all six trophies we are up for this season will be tough. I’ll make do by winning just three – the Champions League, the Scudetto and the Intercontinental title." - Alessandro Nesta Milito Deal Collapses Real Madrid have pulled out of the deal to sign defender Gabrial Milito from Independiente. A statement on the club's website read : "Considering the intensity and the frequency of the efforts demanded by Real Madrid, the medical cannot guarantee the maximum performances of the the player over the next four seasons. With great regret, in sporting and human terms, Real Madrid reject the signing of Gabriel Milito. We wish him the best for the future." Riquelme Available On Loan "Ronaldinho will have the number 10 shirt because it's a number he likes and because it has become free. We've decided that Riquelme should be the player to leave. We've spoken to him and he understands. Our intention is to agree a loan deal with another club and bring Riquelme back in the future." Director of football Txiki Begiristain 7 July 2003 Foe Died of Natural Causes "The death is from natural causes. No stimulant substances were found. The death was of cardiac origin." - Public prosecutor Xavier Richard 5 July 2003 Nakata Talks With Milan At 'An Advanced Stage' "Talks concerning Nakata’s proposed move to Milan will soon be completed. There is a concrete possibility that Hide will be wearing the Rossoneri shirt next season as negotiations are at an advanced stage." - Carlo Pallavicino, Nakata's agent. Lazio Put Price On Stam "If we receive an offer of at least €20 million then we could reflect on the situation. We are not thinking about selling the defender at the moment but that could change if a suitable bid is tabled." Lazio's sporting director Oreste Cinquini Del Bosque Offers His Services To Serie A "I've never shared the distorted opinion of many Spanish people when it comes to Italian football. You have some great players in Serie A and I would love the opportunity to work in Italy in the future." - Vicente Del Bosque 3 June 2003 Lazio Want Naomi Campbell "Galliani said he is targeting Stam? I am targeting Naomi Campbell, but it's not certain I'll get her." Lazio general manager Luca Baraldi Turkey Fined UEFA have fined the Turkish football association €32,000 following the crowd trouble during Turkey's Euro 2004 qualifier against Macedonia in which bottles and coins were thrown at Macedonia's players after they scored a goal to lead 2-1. The Macedonian FA has also been fined €6,500 for disturbances during the same match. Milan Reject €50 million Bid For Nesta "I refused an offer of €50 million for Alessandro Nesta. The offer came from an English club (Chelsea). There is no question of any of the first-choice 16 or 17 players being sold." Milan Vice President Adriano Galliani 2 July 2003 Russian Billionaire Buys Chelsea Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has bought Chelsea football club. Abramovich paid €87 million to buy almost 85,000,000 shares including the 50 million held by Chairman Ken Bates. |