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16 - 30 June 2003 15 June 2003 Milan Reject Arsenal Offer For Abbiati An official statement from the club read : "Milan and Christian Abbiati in the past days have, by mutual agreement, refused a 'mega-offer' from Arsenal." 13 June 2003 Laporta Wins Barcelona Election, Denies Promising Beckham Shortly after being been elected president of Barcelona with 52% of the votes, Joan Laporta denied that he had promised to bring Beckham to the Nou Camp : "I did not promise to bring David Beckham to Barcelona. I said I had a agreement with Manchester United that contained conditions. One of those conditions was that I became president of the club. I have now done that. To make a strong football team it is very important we have players like David Beckham. I know it is a difficult decision for Beckham and his family but I know he would be delighted to be in our city, our team, our country." Laporta, a 40 year old lawyer, was trailing Lluis Bassat in the presidency polls until he revealed his interest in the player. 11 June 2003 Savicevic Resigns As Coach of Serbia And Montenegro Dejan Savicevic has resigned as coach of Serbia and Montenegro, humorously abbreviated to as S&M in sections of the press. After the team lost 2-1 to Azerbaijan the former Milan legend said : "It is all over - I am quitting. The reason? Well, players from our national championship do not have strength and stamina to run for 90 minutes, even against Azerbaijan, and most of our players are of an age when it is not easy to play quality football matches. Barca Candidate Promises Adriano and Vieri Jaume Llaurado, another of the candidates for the Barcelona presidency, which will be decided on Sunday, has promised to bring Inter strikers Adriano (currently on loan to Parma) and Christian Vieri to the Nou Camp if elected. Giuliano Terraneo, a former director at Inter and ally of Llaurado said : "I have dream, and that's to bring Adriano and Vieri to Barcelona. The Brazilian is a great player that I personally brought to Inter. He's amazing, and with the good relations I left at Inter we could also speak about Vieri. We have €48 million to spend." 10 June 2003 Van der Meyde Confirms Inter Talks Ajax winger Andy van der Meyde has confirmed that his club are in talks with Inter : "I'm aware of the talks between Ajax and Inter and the Nerazzurri also spoke with my manager Dekker. I have a contract until 2006, so the final decision is up to Ajax, but I'd love to play with Inter. I really hope the two clubs will reach an agreement, playing with Crespo and Vieri would be great for a player with my skills". Beckham Bid Accepted An official statement from the club read as follows : "Manchester United confirms that club officials have met Joan Laporta, the leading candidate for the presidency of Barcelona. These meetings have resulted in an offer being made for the transfer of David Beckham to Barcelona. This offer is subject to a number of conditions and critically to both Mr Laporta being elected president on Sunday 15 June and Barcelona subsequently reaching agreement with David Beckham on his personal contract. Manchester United confirms that in the event that all of the conditions are fulfilled then the offer would be acceptable." The bid is believed to be in the region of £32 million however Beckham's advisors have responded by saying that the player has no interest in joining Barcelona and will not discuss terms with the club. Beckham is almost certainly waiting for either Real Madrid or Milan to make a firm offer. 9 June 2003 Berlusconi Shoots Down Beckham Rumours, Shevchenko Not For Sale Days after Milan vice president Adriano Galliani claimed that "Beckham is our primary target, we are pursuing our objective and will do everything in our power to get him" club President Silvio Berlusconi ruled out the possibility of his arrival : "There are a lot better ways to spend money, which was earned thanks to many sacrifices." Galliani was quick to respond to rumours which suggested the European Champions would offer Andriy Shevchenko in exchange for the England captain : "Shevchenko is not for sale. I can’t understand the motives behind why such a false story would be published. Shevchenko has never been and will never be involved in any transfer negotiations involving Milan. He is untouchable." Totti And Cassano List Their Targets Roma captain Francesco Totti and team-mate Antonio Cassano have pleaded with President Franco Sensi to bring in some major names over the summer. Earlier in the week Totti nominated his four : "Legrottaglie is fine for the defence, but we need to beware of Juve's interest. As a Cafu replacement, I wouldn't mind Joaquin. Davids is the right man for our midfield, while on attack I think Cissè would be a fantastic signing." Today Cassano added : "I agree 100% with what Totti said. I also want to ask Sensi to start doing things in a big fashion again. He needs to hurry up, spend some money, because the Roma fans deserve this. I would sign Kuffour, Davids, Joaquin and Morientes.". 8 June 2003 Totti Starts Milan Rumours! Responding to Milan president Silvio Berlusconi's criticisms following his red card in the 2nd leg of the Coppa Italia final Roma captain Francesco Totti said : "I am happy that Berlusconi mentioned me. He could be my President in the future. After all, I nearly joined the Rossoneri when I was fourteen years.". Totti had been linked with a move to Milan two seasons ago. Roma president Franco Sensi is adamant that captain Francesco Totti's will not be allowed to leave the club : "Totti is not for sale. He has a contract with us until 2006 and while I am the President of Roma he will not move from here." 6 June 2003 Beckham Barca Talks Underway A spokesman for Joan Laporta, one of the candidates for Barcelona's presidency in the upcoming elections said : "I have had good talks with Peter Kenyon (Man United chief exec) and he has indicated to me he is interested in the possibility of Beckham being sold. We believe we will have him signed before the start of next season." Legrottaglie Wants To Play With Ferrara Chievo defender Nicola Legrottaglie has revealed that Juventus, one of the many clubs after the talented center back, are in pole position for his signature : "Juve, Roma, Inter, Milan and Parma are the same, I'll go in the club that will make the higher offer but right now I believe Juve have an edge. I know that Juve and Chievo met yesterday. I'd love to play with Ferrara but I absolutely want to play in the middle, and not be moved on the right like they did with Thuram." 5 June 2003 Kewell Undecided On Future Leeds wonderfully gifted winger Harry Kewell dubbed the Wizard of Oz, made the following comments in an Australian radio interview : "I'm still contracted to Leeds for one more year. I might sign another contract with them. I don't know yet. Money is not the most important thing," he added. "My family comes first and I've got on well with Peter Reid at Leeds since he arrived - there's a lot to take into account." "There's a lot of big clubs out there. You've got AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Marseille, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool. I'm just going to play my contract with Leeds and see where it takes me." 2 June 2003 Beckham Chase Hots Up European Champions Milan look to be out of the race to sign David Beckham due to his contract with Vodaphone (Milan are sponsored by TIM - Telecom Italia Mobile). Vice president Adriano Galliani said : "The operation is complicated and hard work, there is not much money around and Beckham costs a lot. To add to that the player has a sponsorship deal that goes for another two years, which is not compatible with our company." Meanwhile Joan Laporta, one of the candidate for the Barcelona presidency, claims he will bring Beckham to the Nou Camp if elected : "I view this (£30 million) as a great price for Beckham. He is one of the few players in the world capable of earning the money back for you in commercial revenue alone." Ferguson Admits Xabi Alonso Interest Alex Ferguson has confirmed rumours linking the club with a move for Real Sociedad's 21 year old playmaker Xabi Alonso : "Alonso's contract runs until 2007 but we have been told there is a £20 million pound buy-out clause but we understand that (Real) Madrid have offered a down payment of £10 million and that they are prepared to let him stay at Sociedad next season." |