Benjani released as City axe three stars

Arsenal defender Andre Santos has hinted at an exit from the club after revealing several Turkish teams had enquired about his availability.

Santos has struggled to make an impact since joining Arsenal from Fenerbahce in 2011 and recently angered the club s fans after swapping shirts with former team-mate Robin van Persie during the club s defeat against Manchester United.

While the defender played down reports linking him with a return to his native Brazil, he confirmed his interest in moving back to Turkey as he still retains the desire to play regular football in Europe.

Santos told Esporte: My idea is to stay in Europe. I want to keep playing, wherever it might be.

I still have many objectives on this continent, some clubs from Turkey have called me…

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not considering the possibility of leaving AC Milan, the Swede s agent has declared.

The Sweden international has been linked recently to Real Madrid, but his representative has given little credence to the rumours and insisted the striker is not thinking about a new challenge.

There is nothing true about that, Mino Raiola told Panorama. The situation is clear, he still has two more years left on his contract.

Milan do not want to sell Zlatan and he does not want to leave. Everything else is just theories, dreams and baseless possibilities.

However, Raiola then stated that if his client wants a new challenge, he will not be deterred by the fact he is still bound by a contract.

At Inter he still had two-and-a-half years r…

Mason Mount s future at Chelsea remains uncertain, with his current deal due to expire in 2024.

Mount has rebuffed multiple contract offers from the Blues, prompting speculation he could move on.

Chelsea are determined to hang on to the 24-year-old but if they cannot, the optimal time to sell may be at the end of this season.

TOP STORY – MAGPIES TO RIVAL REDS IN MOUNT RACE

Newcastle United will join the pursuit to sign Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount at the end of this season, claims the Daily Mail.

Liverpool have been linked with Mount given his contract status, but the Magpies could rival that interest given their deep pockets.

Financial Fair Play rules may limit Newcastle s ability to land Mount having spent £165million this season on…

Mario Yepes has signed a new one-year deal with AC Milan, the club announced on Friday.

The 36-year-old s previous contract expired at the end of the season, and he has now extended his stay at San Siro until the summer of 2013.

The announcement comes just hours after team-mates Gennaro Gattuso and Filippo Inzaghi both confirmed that they will be leaving the Rossoneri in June.

Yepes, who signed for Milan in 2010 on a free transfer, has made 10 competitive appearances in 2011-12.

Milan CEO Adriano Galliani is currently in the process of handling contract renewals as six other players are set to become free agents in the summer.

Yepes has played more than 80 times for Colombia, scoring four goals.

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Villarreal are interested in signing Hector Bellerin from Arsenal in the summer transfer window, according to . La Liga rivals Sevilla are claimed to be keen on the former Barcelona prospect, who will leave Arsenal this summer.

Arsenal right-back Bellerin worked with Villarreal manager Unai Emery at the Gunners. Emery guided the Yellow Submarine to Europa League success this past season, which means that the Spanish club will feature in the group stage of the Champions League in 2021-22.

Bellerin has been on the books of Arsenal his entire professional club football career so far. Although the 26-year-old remains a very good right-back, there are suggestions that his career at Arsenal has stalled, and that he needs a new challenge. A move to Villarreal and reunite with …

Zinedine Zidane could breathe a sigh of relief as an own goal from Yassine Bounou gave Real Madrid a 1-0 win at Sevilla.

Madrid’s head coach has come under mounting pressure after an unsteady start to the season in LaLiga and in the Champions League.

His side carved out plenty of chances to beat Sevilla comfortably but could not find a decisive finish, until the home side s goalkeeper ran out of luck in the second half.

Ferland Mendy s low cross looked sure to be turned home by Vinicius Junior, but he made only the slightest of connections and the ball deflected in off Bounou, with Thibaut Courtois  late save from Lucas Ocampos at the other end securing a valuable victory.

1 Yassine Bounou is the first goalkeeper to score an own goal in LaLiga this …

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid 11th or 1st European title / Image via footyheadlines.com

The stage is set and European football community will be in for yet another memorable Champions League final on 28 May in Milano, there is no doubt about that.

The fans are in for another classic clash between Madrid rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid who earned their right to fight for the trophy having beaten Bayern Munich and Manchester City in the competition’s semi-final, respectively.

Diego Simeone and Zinedine Zidane are presented with a glorious chance of crowning the season with the most coveted title of them all. At the same time, La Liga rivals are still vying for domestic honours, with Los Rojiblancos sitting level with Barcelona and Los Blancos just a poin…

Guus Hiddink has described Chelsea s failure to secure European Football next season as a football disaster .

After cantering to the Premier League title in 2014-15, a tumultuous season that included the sacking of Jose Mourinho nears its conclusion with Chelsea unable to achieve even a spot in the Europa League.

Departing Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini claimed it would be  disastrous if his side failed to earn a top-four spot and a place in the Champions League.

And Chelsea s interim boss Hiddink acknowledged that, in footballing terms, a failure to play in Europe is a huge underachievement for a club of Chelsea s size.

When I talk about big words like disaster , there are bigger things in the world, but in the football world you migh…

Espanyol shrugged off the loss of departing first team stars Albert Riera and Pablo Zabaleta to defeat Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday in the curtain raiser of the 2008/09 Spanish league season.

Espanyol s Luis Garcia, still recovering from the disappointment of being dropped from the Spain squad shortly before Euro 2008, had the honour of scoring the first goal of the new season a minute after the break.

It proved enough as Espanyol won their first league match since mid-March while new coach Bartolome Marquez enjoyed a winning start in his first match in charge.

Espanyol went into the match trying to reshuffle their team after deciding to sell Riera and Zabaleta despite having little time to find replacements.

Spanish international Riera is poised to jo…

Arsenal have been relentless in their quest for the Premier League title, doing very well without Emile Smith Rowe, once considered among the hottest prospects wearing the Gunners shirt. Since his return to contention after a long-term injury absence, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder hasn t been able to displace either Martin Odegaard as the No. 10, or Gabriel Martinelli on the left wing.

Here s what manager Mikel Arteta has to say on the subject.

He needs to prove how much he wants to win and how much he s going to contribute to this team to be better and to win, he s going to have to show that to get into the team.

Mikel Arteta on Emile Smith Rowe fighting for a place in the Arsenal team since his return

— Football Daily (@footballdaily)

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