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Real Madrid midfielder Mahamadou Diarra is looking increasingly likely to join Inter Milan in the summer, according to the Corriere dello Sport.
The Mali international has been tipped to leave Madrid for quite sometime now due to his frosty relationship with Coach Bernd Schuster.
Things took another turn for the worse yesterday when it was revealed that Diarra had been fined €300,000, a month's wages, for returning to Spain late from the African Cup of Nations.
With Schuster seemingly set to exclude him from his team for tonight's match with Recreativo, despite injuries to Guti and Wesley Sneijder, an end of season exit is looking inevitable.
Inter have identified the signing of a top-class centre midfielder as their priority in this summer's transfer market, and Roberto Mancini's first-choice is Diarra.
Yesterday the player's agent, Frederic Guerra, admitted that a move to Inter was very possible."Milan, Liverpool and Juve have all called, but the team that interests us the most is Inter," the representative said.
"Diarrà still has three years left on his contract, but we can still listen and then speak to Real Madrid.
"The player will be the one that decides, but it will not be easy as Madrid wll ask for €25 or €30m."
Anthony Sormani
Goal.com
Boca Juniors playmaker Juan Román Riquelme has stated that he never considered another life outside of football and that if he was reborn he would still want to come back as himself.
Speaking after filming an advert for Adidas, Riquelme made it clear that football was the only route in life he ever considered and that he loves playing the game for living.
"This is what I dreamed of from when I was very small... it enchants me to live this life, it is wonderful and it has given me more than I could ever have hoped. For that reason if I could return to my birth I would still be Riquelme," he told Olé.
Although he always dreamed of playing football, Riquelme insisted that the fame that comes with it was never his primary motivation.
"No, it took a while for me to get used to people praising my ability. I know that I bring something unique to the football pitch when I play the game and that brings attention. In the time I have been a football player I avoided seeking out attention for myself."
He was asked whether he would like for his son to follow in his footsteps.
"Yes I would be happy... I have a five year old. If he want to play football then I would welcome it."
Riquelme explained the situation surrounding his return to Boca in January and confirmed that there had been interest in him from clubs in Germany and England.
"I was close to a move to Atlético Madrid earlier in the year, but it was not finalised. Later I could go to Germany or England, but I made the decision to come to Boca. I said to the Villarreal board that I would either stay there or go to Boca. Now I am at home, surrounded by the people I love.
"I did not imagine that I would be at Boca now. I knew clearly that I had a contract until June of 2009 in Europe and that later I would try to return. However, it was good that it did occur and I am now fulfilling a dream every day: in the matches and in training.
"Whenever I saw another player wearing the number ten shirt for Boca it felt wrong to me. It felt like the shirt had been lent out because it was mine. For that reason it makes me happy to wear that shirt in every match," he concluded.
Nick Dorrington
Goal.com
