Swedish international striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has revealed he rejected a possible move to Manchester City over the summer.

Ibrahimovic completed an initially loan move from Barcelona to AC Milan last week. The deal could turn into a permanent move next summer.

Manchester City were heavily linked with a move for the former Inter Milan striker over the summer.

“City must fight Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal – sides which took years to build,” said Ibrahimovic.

“City are still a side for the future. I chose Milan because they are a team that can win prizes now.

“City can wait for the future but I can’t.”

[Source: Tuttosport]

Carles Puyol has hit out at Arsenal for not allowing Cesc Fàbregas to move to Barcelona this summer.

Fàbregas has been linked with a return to his boyhood club all summer long and the Arsenal skipper has expressed his desire to join Barca several times since the end of last season.

However, the Gunners have rejected every bid from the Catalans and do anything to keep the Spanish midfielder at the Emirates. Puyol can’t understand why Arsenal are keeping a player at the club that wants to leave.

“He is having to stay at a club where he no longer wants to be for another year,” he said in The Sun.

“I wonder how intelligent it is keeping a player who doesn’t want to be there.

“After seven years of great service, I thought Arsenal could have granted him his dream move.”

Fàbregas has made his intentions clear that he wants to return to Barcelona one day, and Puyol believes the Gunners should allow him to fulfull his wish this summer because of his performances for Arsenal over his seven years at the club.

“Cesc has given everything to Arsenal to try to win a trophy but they haven’t matched his expectations,” added Puyol.

“I won’t say he is in a prison, as we know how privileged we are as football players.

“But after how clear Cesc made it that he wanted to be in Barcelona, I thought they would have granted him that.”

Ivory Coast international Kader Keita has left Turkish giants Galatasaray for Qatari club Al Sadd. The forward joined Gala last season from Olympique Lyonnais and was an active member of their squad, but failed to settle in Istanbul and accepted the offer of a return to Al Sadd, whom he previously represented between 2002 and 2005 before moving to France.

Al Sadd, who also have former Arsenal youngster Quincy Owusu Abeyie in their ranks, have paid Galatasaray a little over eight million euros for Keita’s signature.

Keita was part of the Ivory Coast team that failed to make it out of the Group of Death at the 2010 World Cup.

[Source: Galatasaray]

Mick McCarthy won’t rule out a move for Jermaine Pennant but insists he hasn’t been offered the former Liverpool midfielder.

Pennant, 27, was struggling to regain his form at Real Zaragoza and he has also been linked with moves to several Premier League clubs like Wolves, Stoke City and Wigan Athletic.

After dismissing the reports, Wolverhampton Wanderers boss McCarthy said he had not spoken to anyone regards the former Arsenal and Birmingham winger.

“It’s an interesting one, but I haven’t been offered him or spoken to anyone about him,” the Wanderers manager told the Express & Star.

“That doesn’t mean to say I’m not interested in him.”

Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas is reportedly still keen on a move to Barcelona and the Spanish giants’ new president Sandro Rosell has spoken to the midfielder’s family.

Rosell spoke to the 23-year-old’s family at a MotoGP bike race on Sunday, according to the Daily Star.

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola has also made a secret visit to South Africa in order to persuade Fabregas into joining the club.

A source close to Fabregas said last night to the Daily Star: “Sandro Rosell is a good friend of the family and things have not changed from earlier in the summer.

“Cesc wants to return to Barcelona where he grew up and the club are trying to make that happen.”

[Source: The Daily Star]

Manchester United are preparing a £15 million bid for Bolton defender Gary Cahill.

The Manchester Evening News says the 24-year-old centre half is the main target to bolster United’s defence this summer.

Cahill is tipped to benefit from England’s World Cup debacle with Ledley King, Matthew Upson, Jamie Carragher and John Terry all failing to make an impact.

The former Aston Villa defender has also been linked with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

It’s likely England boss Fabio Capello will name Cahill in his squad for next month’s friendly against Hungary and the European Championship qualifier with Bulgaria in September.

Arsenal forward Eduardo is set to leave the club after being told by Arsene Wenger that he is not part of first-team plans for next season. The 27-year-old Croatia international has failed to make a great impact at the Emirates after the horror tackle which broke his leg in 2008.

New signing Marouane Chamakh will be partnering Robin van Persie up front next season while Eduardo will be given the chance to revive his career next season according to the Mail.

And Eduardo is believed to favor a move away from the physically-demanding Premier League as top European clubs queue for his signature.

According to the Daily Mail, Fulham are set to sign England keeper David James on a free transfer. James, who has been set as England’s first-choice goalkeeper by manager Fabio Capello, has long been tipped to leave Portsmouth following the club’s relegation to the Championship.

And with his contract finishing at the end of last season, the 39-year-old has successfully negotiated a contract with the Cottagers. The keeper now moves to the Europa League finalists with Fulham’s number one Mark Schwarzer tipped to move to Arsenal next week for £3.5 million.

Schalke 04 have announced the signing of Greek starlet Kyriakos Papadopoulos from Olympiakos. The 18 year old teenager has signed a four year contract with the Royal Blues that will keep him at the Veltins Arena till June 2014.

Papadopoulos leaves Olympiakos after a spell of three years at the Karaiskakis Stadium. He had joined the Piraeus based outfit in 2007 from Svoronos Katerinis.

Papadopoulos is widely regarded as one of the Greece’s stars of the future and has attracted attention from the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Espanyol and Nottingham Forest in the past.

Papadopoulos will join compatriot Vasileios Pliatsikas at the Veltins Arena. Pliatsikas signed for Schalke last year from AEK Athens.

[Source:- Schalke 04]

Valencia star Juan Mata has hinted he would be keen on a move to the Premier League this summer.

The 22-year-old is among the players that could leave the Spanish side this summer, due to the club’s financial problems.

“I don’t know if I’ll be sold, it depends on the economic situation of the club, which right now isn’t so good,” Mata told FourFourTwo.

“In the summer we have to raise a lot of money, and there is a possibility that they may have to sell players.

“In Spain they show many Premier League games on TV and it is an inspirational league.

“Maybe I would like to play in the Premier League. At the moment I’m here, I love living in Valencia and playing in the Spanish league, but in England the league is also top class and there are many big teams. Who knows?

“I admire Arsenal and the philosophy that the young players have. Liverpool, with their Spanish players – they also have an incredible squad. And Manchester United and Chelsea are teams that are very big, like Real Madrid and Barcelona, with money and incredible players.”

[Source: FourFourTwo]