European Leagues

Valdes rejects Cesc speculation

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes believes Cesc Fabregas would snub any move to Real Madrid in favour of a return to the Camp Nou.

GettyImagesVictor Valdes believes Cesc Fabregas would only leave Arsenal for Barcelona

Arsenal rejected two bids for Fabregas last summer and, while many expect Barca to make a fresh attempt to sign the player at the end of the current season, director Raul Sanllehi said this week that they were not working on a deal.
"Cesc is a great Catalan player," Sanllehi said. "He played for us as a kid and he will be welcome back at Barcelona for the Champions League match. Right now, everything is dead regarding a transfer."
That prompted speculation in Spain that Madrid were set to revive their interest in Fabregas, with president Florentino Perez reported to have given the go-ahead for executive director Jose Angel Sanchez to speak to the player's advisors.
However, Valdes believes Madrid would have no hope of signing Fabregas.
"I cannot imagine Cesc wearing the white shirt," Valdes said. "As you know, I believe his wish is to return home, although that is not up to me. He knows our system perfectly and he would fit in well here."
Valdes also welcomed the news that Pep Guardiola is to prolong his contract for another year. "I always believed he would stay on," he said.
Sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta added: "We knew that Pep wanted to stay, because he's always said that. We are aware of his value as a coach and what he brings to us as a club.
"Both of us know our roles and their limits. This wasn't a hard, difficult or complicated negotiation, but neither was it easy or simple.
"It's a way of doing things that has worked for the club and for Guardiola too. It's not the normal or traditional way of doing things in football, but it has given us great results because of who is he and who we are."

Diaby would prefer Barca over Real

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby has said he would be keen to represent Barcelona or Real Madrid at some point in the future.

GettyImagesAbou Diaby is currently in Arsenal's bad books after being sent off against Newcastle

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Diaby is currently preparing to face Barca in the last 16 of the Champions League next week but has revealed his interest in moving to La Liga later in his career.
However, the France international would prefer to move to Camp Nou rather than the Bernabeu, as he prefers the brand of football employed by the current Spanish champions.
"At some point I would like to play for Barcelona or Real Madrid, but I would prefer to play for Barca, because I prefer their style," Diaby told Don Balon.
Arsenal face Barca in a rematch of the Champions League quarter-final last season that saw the Spanish side win 6-3 on aggregate thanks to a four-goal haul from Lionel Messi at Camp Nou.
Diaby is anticipating another difficult contest but has warned his team-mates cannot afford to focus exclusively on the threat of Messi.
"We played them last season, and we found them at their highest degree of effectiveness, both individually and collectively," he said. "This year will be the same, so we know what to expect. Barca are a great team, and this year they are very strong.
"Messi is the best in the world. We all know that the Argentine is a great player who can make the difference at any time, but we cannot focus only on him."

Vieira expects United response

February 10, 2011

Patrick Vieira has warned Manchester City to expect a United backlash at Old Trafford on Saturday.

GettyImagesPatrick Vieira has been involved in a number of memorable clashes with United in the past

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The clubs go head-to-head this weekend, seven days after Sir Alex Ferguson's men lost their unbeaten league record at Wolves.
It was a result that allowed Vieira's old club Arsenal to trim United's lead at the top of the Premier League to four points, while City closed to within five, but if the Blues feel their neighbours will be easier to overcome on Saturday lunchtime now they have tasted defeat in the league, Vieira has warned them to think again
"We must expect a backlash and a battle," Vieira told Abu Dhabi-based paper The National. "Big clubs like United always talk about the importance of never losing two times in a row. They will want to bounce back to winning ways immediately."
For Vieira, any meeting with the Red Devils inevitably brings back memories of his personal feud with Roy Keane, which memorably reached its nadir in the Highbury tunnel in 2005 as the teams were waiting to come out onto the pitch before kick-off.
The sight of the two warriors finger-jabbing told its own story of their commitment to the cause and, though Gary Neville's loose tongue was said to have started it, Vieira still admires the newly-retired full-back.
"He had a fantastic career," Vieira said. "I respect him because he had been at United his whole career and he won trophies and was a permanent fixture in the starting XI.
"Yes, I had a problem with him, but I had a problem with a lot of players."
How many more of these matches Vieira will be involved in remains to be seen.
"I have six months left and am enjoying my football, but I have to be realistic," he said. "I'll be 35 next season and I know it will hard to play every game. I have to see if I am willing to accept playing only one or two games every three or four months."

Veteran Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, seen here in 2010, pledged his allegiance to Hamburg, despite his disappointment at failing to re-join former club Real Madrid.

Van Nistelrooy pledges allegiance to Hamburg

Van Nistelrooy pledges allegiance to Hamburg

Posted: 2011-02-10

Veteran Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy on Thursday pledged his allegiance to Hamburg, despite his disappointment at failing to re-join former club Real Madrid.
"I am 100 percent concentrated on Hamburg," the 34-year-old insisted.
"I am going to give all I can over the next three months in order that we can achieve the best possible results," declared the former Real and Manchester United forward.
"I'm happy at Hamburg... of course I was disappointed not to be able to re-join Real, but that's forgotten now."
Van Nistelrooy was speaking after an interview he gave with a Dutch television station in which he spoke about his disappointment at not being allowed to join Real during January's transfer window.
Hamburg coach Armin Veh said earlier that he was not planning to punish van Nistelrooy, whose contract ends in June, for those comments.
"I spoke to him and those talks gave me no indication that he wasn't ready to give his all for the club in the months to come," explained Veh.
Van Nistelrooy was approached by Real, who were looking for cover for injured Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain, but Hamburg refused to enter into discussions about a possible transfer