As usual there is no shortage of City related ‘news’ - and we use the word in its most loose sense - in the British Sunday papers or on the web.
Blues fans have a keen sense of how the owners of their club operate so whether the stories are fact or fiction, likely or libellous we will let them decide.
Needless to say the outrageous is rubbing shoulders with the outlandish!
In no particular order, we kick off in the Sunday Mirror where Jim Hughes has linked us with a move for one of football’s star names.
‘Cristiano Ronaldo has told friends that Manchester City would have to break the bank to get him,’ he writes.
‘Sunday Mirror Sport has learnt that the Real Madrid superstar is bragging to friends that he is wanted by City’s Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour as he strives to make the Blues football’s No.1 club.
‘Ronaldo has told confidantes in Manchester that someone connected to the Sheikh’s family has contacted him informally with a mind-blowing package that is tempting the former Manchester United hero to move to Eastlands.
‘However, last night City insisted that no approach had been made by them or on their behalf.’
That last sentence might just be the one on which to concentrate!
Over in the Star on Sunday their web pieces link City to two new faces.
‘Manchester City have switched their striker search to the player who describes himself as the new Carlos Tevez – fellow Argie Ezequiel Lavezzi,’ reckons Paul Hetherington.
‘It means Mancini’s Manchester City are closing in on the player who would appear to be the perfect replacement for Tevez if he quits Eastlands for Real Madrid.
‘Lavezzi, 26, is valued at £18million by his Italian club Napoli and the Daily Star Sunday can reveal that City have already held talks about bringing him to Manchester.’
Elsewhere in its pages the paper says it believes Roberto Mancini is interested in Lens full back Serge Aurier.
In other news the Mirror says Nedum Onuoha has told teammates at Sunderland he will reject a £6million permanent move to fight for his place at Manchester City.
Duncan Castles in the National, Abu Dhabi’s paper, picks up on the supposed battle for Alexis Sanchez.
‘Manchester City will intensify their efforts to sign Chile forward Alexis Sanchez this week in the hope of securing their principal summer transfer target.
‘The 22-year-old's preference is to move to Barcelona, Manchester United or Inter Milan, but City believe they can persuade the player that his career would be better served by a move from Udinese to Eastlands which will host Champions League football next season.’
The News of the World reckons City are still chasing Jack Rodwell from Everton, that Bolton want Shaun Wright-Phillips though they face competition from Blackburn who are also eyeing Roque Santa Cruz and Nedum Onuoha.
The Mail on Sunday says the Blues want £4million for Craig Bellamy and the Sunday Telegraph has linked City with Ivorian Gervinho.
mcfc.co.uk
Tranny wants £400k a week to join City
Crstiano Ronaldo has told friends that Manchester City would have to break the bank to get him.
Sunday Mirror Sport has learnt that the Real Madrid superstar is bragging to friends that he is wanted by City’s Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour as he strives to make the Blues football’s No.1 club.
Ronaldo has told confidantes in Manchester that someone connected to the Sheikh’s family has contacted him informally with a mindblowing package that is tempting the former Manchester United hero to move to Eastlands.
However, last night City insisted that no approach had been made by them or on their behalf.
Ronaldo has put together a list of astonishing demands if he was to return to England.
The Portuguese star told a friend:
The No.7 shirt and captain’s armband.
A guarantee that he will always be the club’s highest paid player.
The 26-year-old forward has claimed that City would have to pay Real a near 100 per cent profit on the £80million world record transfer fee they paid to United for him two years ago.
And Ronaldo believes that City would pay him a £350,000-a-week basic wage with a bonus and image rights package that would see his earnings soar even higher.
However, he wants £400,000 a week.
A source close to Ronaldo confirmed: “Cristiano says there has been contact between him and a third party. He says that he is extremely flattered at the lengths they’re willing to go to.
“He claimed that they will pay him what it takes to make him a Manchester City player.
“He says he wants £400k as taxes are higher in England.”
Ronaldo also claims that he was invited over to Abu Dhabi.
However, he did not go to the Middle East, but the source added he would want to become the captain and wear his favourite No.7 shirt.
Ronaldo also claimed he would want a guarantee that he would always be the club’s highest paid player.
His future at the Bernabeu has become uncertain in recent months.
United finally sold him to the Spanish giants in the summer of 2009 after years of speculation linking him to Real. But in two seasons, Madrid have been second best to bitter rivals Barcelona.
Ronaldo scored 53 goals last season – including the winner against Barca in the Copa del Rey final last month.
But that remains the only trophy he has won in the all-white kit of his boyhood idols.
Reports in Spain suggest that Ronaldo has become disillusioned with the tactics of Jose Mourinho and that Real were ready to cash in for £150m.
Only City would be able to meet such a valuation – but club officials were quick to dismiss claims of a move for Ronaldo last month.
Real Madrid took the unprecedented step of announcing: “There is no substance in these reports whatsoever.”
Ronaldo, himself, has previously insisted that the only team he would play for in England is United.
He still keeps in contact with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and calls the Reds boss his “football father.”
Becoming a City player while Ferguson is still in charge at Old Trafford would be a massive step for the star to take.
However, the figures being mentioned would turn any player’s head.
It would cost City a staggering £250million just to meet Real’s asking price and Ronaldo’s basic wage.
But Sheikh Mansour has an estimated personal fortune of £20billion and his family has assets of almost £600billion.
Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli caught speeding in Milan
Manchester City star Mario Balotelli has been fined and had points put on his driving licence after being caught speeding in Italy.
The 20-year-old, who has racked up £10,000 in parking fines in Manchester and had his car impounded dozens of times, was caught in central Milan doing 80kph in a 30kph zone in his Mercedes S65AMG.
Police fined him €380 and docked him five points, plus another five points for failing to register blacked-out windows in the car's logbook.
Since the season ended, Balotelli has been involved in a scuffle with a group of men outside a Milan nightclub and been shown around a drug-ridden estate in Naples by the mafia.
Kolo Toure could still be handed two-year ban for failed drugs test
Kolo Toure could still be ruled out for all of next season because of his failed drugs test.
Sporting watchdogs are to study whether the FA were too soft with their six-month ban for the Manchester City defender, who tested positive after using a banned diuretic. The offence can carry a two year suspension.
Awaiting results: Kolo Toure could yet have his suspension extended
Both UK Anti Doping and the World Anti Doping Authority, who monitor drug test results, have the power to appeal if they consider a sentence too lenient.
Toure tested positive for bendroflumethiazide in February but avoided the two-year ban, the recommended penalty, after arguing he took the substance inadvertently in slimming tablets and did not intend to enhance his performance.
The FA-appointed panel accepted Toure's evidence and handed him a six-month ban last month, back-dated to March, which means he can play again in September.
The drug is also used as a masking agent as it causes athletes to urinate frequently over a short period and could flush substances out of the system.
Toure's lawyers will say that Professor David Cowan, head of the laboratory conducting the tests, conceded it was 'unlikely' Toure was using the drug for this purpose.
Craig Bellamy stunned after Manchester City demand £4m for striker
Manchester City have placed a £4million price-tag on Craig Bellamy and put him on a collision course with boss Roberto Mancini.
Bellamy was stunned that they are demanding any fee for him.
Collision course: City's tough stance has scared off interest in Craig Bellamy
City's tough stance has scared off Everton and Bolton but, having paid the bulk of Bellamy's wages during his loan to Cardiff, they do not see why they should let a player who cost them £15m and has two years left on his contract go for nothing.
ROBERTO MANCINI TO FLUSH OUT £18M NEW LAV
MANCHESTER CITY have switched their striker search to the player who describes himself as the new Carlos Tevez – fellow Argie Ezequiel Lavezzi.
It means Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City are closing in on the player who would appear to be the perfect replacement for Tevez if he quits Eastlands for Real Madrid.
Lavezzi, 26, is valued at £18million by his Italian club Napoli and the Daily Star Sunday can reveal that City have already held talks about bringing him to Manchester.
As a young player in Argentina, he was hailed as “the new Diego Maradona” because of his skill and chunky build.
But Lavezzi responded to that by stating: “I am not the new Maradona – I am more like Tevez.”
Lavezzi also interests Tottenham and has been linked with Champions League winners Barcelona. The Argentine international joined Napoli for £6m from San Lorenzo in his home country.
City were originally eyeing Lavezzi’s Napoli striker partner Edinson Cavani – but he has signed a new contract with the Serie A club.
Meanwhile, Edwin van der Sar has put a consoling arm around Joe Hart after his Wembley howler and tipped him to be one of the top keepers in the world.
Van der Sar, who has now retired as Manchester United’s No.1, watched with sympathy as City stopper Hart was blamed for both Swiss goals in the 2-2 draw with England last Saturday.
The Dutch legend has seen all great keepers have an off day and still reckons there’s a massive future ahead for the City star.
Van der Sar said: “Joe Hart has been excellent this season so what happened at Wembley shouldn’t erase that.
“He’s still young and has got loads of time to develop into an even better keeper for club and country.”
TUEART'S BOLLOX
Dennis Tueart has warned Carlos Tevez: “You will be leaving the capital of the football world if you quit Manchester.”
Manchester City legend Tueart, 61, today reveals his astonishment at Tevez’s ‘I hate Manchester’ rant and asked: “What more does he want?”
The Argentine striker’s future is in doubt and he has so far refused to confirm whether he will still be at Eastlands next season – with Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid poised to make a £30million move.
But Tueart, a former City player and director, responded to the huge uncertainty surrounding Tevez, saying: “He’s on more money than anyone.
“He is in the Champions League next season and he’s with a club which will challenge for the Premier League title. After Barcelona, Manchester City are the most exciting club in the world to be at.
“They are now on a par with Manchester United. So what more does Tevez want?
“Manchester is the place to be for football – and Tevez should know that, having been at both clubs.
“What is happening in the city now reminds me of the 1970s, when I moved to Maine Road from Sunderland.
“One of the reasons I came to Manchester was because it was the place to be for football. It was then and it certainly is now.
“City and United were competing with each other for trophies and had exciting teams. Also in the North West equation were Liverpool, of course, and history is repeating itself when you look at what is happening there again since Kenny Dalglish returned as manager.
“What advantage would there be to Tevez in leaving this area at a time like this?”
Tevez has revealed that he misses his family back in Argentina – which Tueart understands.
City’s top scorer has also complained about the wet weather in Manchester – but Tueart doesn’t get that.
“Argentina isn’t exactly the Caribbean – they get bad weather there at times,” the City hero pointed out. “As for the family situation, I do understand that. Everyone wants their family around them but if he leaves City I can’t see him going back to Argentina to play his football.
“He would be more likely to go to Spain or Italy.
“That’s Europe, not South America. He would still have to get on a plane to go to Argentina – and he can do that from Manchester.
“What you have to do when your career takes you to a different country is embrace the culture.
“I did that when I moved to New York to play for the Cosmos. Okay, there wasn’t a language problem there for me but you can learn another language.
“When I was at Sunderland, I used to go through to Newcastle for French lessons, just to give me another string to my bow.”
Tueart, who scored City’s winning goal in the 1976 League Cup Final – their last trophy until winning the FA Cup last month – admits it is not ideal to have an unhappy player at the club.
He added: “I’m a people person. If someone doesn’t want to be there, I can understand there being a feeling that it might be better if he goes.”
But Tueart, who bagged 59 goals in 140 appearances for the Blues between 1974 and 1978, just can’t understand
why Tevez would want to go at a time when City have started achieving again – finally winning a trophy and qualifying for the Champions League.
He doesn’t want to see what he still regards as his club lose a world-class player and their most-potent attacking talent.
More significantly, though, Tueart is baffled at Tevez, who has netted 43 times in 65 games at Eastlands, making noises about being unhappy playing for the world’s richest club.
It’s also a club which happens to be in what is currently football’s most successful city.
Unsettled Tevez is due to report for international duty in the coming weeks ahead of next month’s Copa America which his native Argentina are hosting.
And the former Manchester United forward, 27, who is currently in his homeland, has stated: “I’m enjoying spending time with my children – so it will be tough going back to England next season.”
WAG OF THE DAY
OTHER BOLLOX
Chelsea have stepped up their efforts to sign Brazilian prodigy Neymar by offering Santos around £30m for the striker, according to reports in Italy. Sunday Telegraph
The Blues want to keep striker Daniel Sturridge at Stamford Bridge and have put a £20m valuation on the 21-year-old in an attempt to deter possible suitors. Sunday People
Everton boss David Moyes fears he could lose playmaker Mikel Arteta, with Spanish side Valencia thought to be eyeing the 29-year-old. Daily Star
Fulham striker Andrew Johnson has emerged as a transfer target for newly promoted QPR, with the Loftus Road club set to bid £3m for his services. Metro
Birmingham centre-back Roger Johnson's agent says the player has been put up for sale by the club after their relegation from the Premier League. talkSPORT
Blackpool boss Ian Holloway will hold talks this week with former Manchester United winger Bojan Djordjic, who was once tipped as Ryan Giggs's successor at Old Trafford. Mail on Sunday
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident he can retain the services of 23-year-old midfielder Samir Nasri but is less certain that he can keep 24-year-old Cesc Fabregas at the Emirates. Sunday Mirror
England Under-21 defender Michael Mancienne says he is confident his decision to quit Chelsea for Hamburg will make him a better player. talkSPORT
Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has called for the Premier League season to kick off on a Sunday so that players do not have two games in less than 72 hours at the start of a 10-month season. Mail on Sunday
Meanwhile, the Anfield club's American owners have told Dalglish that he can carry on spending as Liverpool look to build a squad capable of challenging for the Premier League title. Sunday Mirror
Dutch legend Frank Rijkaard, 48, would say yes to Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner should the American offer him the vacant manager's job at Villa Park. Daily Star
MORE BOLLOX SOON ...
