Reports suggest that Fiorentina's striking star Adrian Mutu is on Real Madrid's radar, but the Romanian insists that he is happy in Florence.
After a tough chapter in his career, Mutu has reinvented himself at the Stadio Artemio Franchi and has become one of Serie A's most reliable hitmen.
Having hit 16 goals last term, the 28-year-old already has five to his name in the current campaign.
According to Spanish website Sport.es, La Liga champions Real Madrid are ready to offer around £12m for Mutu and would double his wage bill, but claims he is immovable.
'In Florence, just as in the national side, I have found a family where I feel at home,' the ex-Chelsea man told the Press.
'I get on very well with the players and the atmosphere of the city really suits me. At the moment I'm happy and I'm going nowhere.'
Madrid isn't the only destination to be suggested in recent weeks. Manchester City, Lyon and Dynamo Moscow have all been linked with unlikely swoops.
It is also believed that Milan are keeping a close eye on Mutu, as key striker Ronaldo's future remains uncertain.
05 October 2007
Russia coach Guus Hiddink named a 19-man preliminary squad Friday for his team's European Championship qualifier against England.
Hiddink dropped Udinese midfielder Viktor Budyanskiy and Spartak Moscow half back Vladimir Bystrov from the 23-man squad named for matches in September.
The list, however, can be extended after Russian league matches this weekend.
The team's first practice is scheduled for Wednesday. Russia, which is idle on Oct. 13 when England hosts Estonia, will have a week to prepare for the crucial match against the English.
Russia is third in Group E with 18 points from nine matches, two points behind England. Croatia leads the standings with 23 points.
To qualify for the Euro 2008 tournament in Switzerland and Austria, Russia must win its remaining three matches against England, Israel and Andorra.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Vyacheslav Malafeev (Zenit St. Petersburg), Anton Shunin (Dynamo Moscow), Vladimir Gabulov (Kuban)
Defenders: Alexander Anyukov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Alexei Berezutskiy (CSKA Moscow), Vasiliy Berezutskiy (CSKA Moscow), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Denis Kolodin (Dynamo Moscow)
Midfielders: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow), Ivan Saenko (FC Nuremberg), Igor Semshov (Dynamo Moscow), Konstantin Zyryanov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Dmitry Torbinskiy (Spartak Moscow)
Forwards: Alexander Kerzhakov (Sevilla), Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St. Petersburg), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Spartak Mosocw), Dmitry Sychev (Lokomotiv Moscow)
