First up are reports suggesting that Carlos Tevez could be on his way to Serie A giants Juventus this summer.
The 29-year-old, who scored 17 goals for City in all competitions this term, is said to be a target for the Italian side as they aim to secure the services of a top striker.
The Mirror’s Neil McLeman writes: “The Serie A champions have the Manchester City striker and Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain on a shopping list to boost a Champions League bid next season.
“Sporting director Beppe Marotta said: ‘I have to say that Higuain is a bit younger and has a higher market value. Tevez on the other hand has a year left on his contract so maybe between the two, the Tevez deal is easier.
“‘We are not the first to notice his quality and experience. He is a player with a big desire to rebuild his career. Nevertheless, he is owned by City and we have made no approach to them. It is obvious that even in the event of an agreement with the player, the club still has an important say.’
“Tevez signed a five-year contract with Manchester City in 2009 but the player admits interest from Paris St Germain and Monaco could lead to an early departure.
“He told French TV station Telefoot: ‘There was interest from PSG for me, and we talked with Leonardo, but we could not reach an agreement.’”
Meanwhile, Samir Nasri has done his best to put to bed the speculation linking him with a move back to France.
The midfielder, who was recalled to the French national team last week, has been linked with Paris Saint Germain and Monaco.
But Goal.com reports that Nasri expects to remain at the Etihad Stadium next season.
"Next year I'm staying in Manchester. PSG is just a rumour. Nobody contacted me," he told Telefoot.
On being selected for France once again, he added: "Honestly, I was very happy [to be remembered]. This is something I was missing. I watched every game of the play-offs with great pride, but also a knot in my stomach.
"I never thought it was over. But I was somewhat disheartened when I was not selected. But it was okay because I was not good with my club. You question yourself, but I always knew that if I would be at my best again."
Pepe on Manchester City radar
Manchester City are hot on the trail of Real Madrid defender Pepe, Spanish daily Marca has revealed.
With Malaga boss Manuel Pellegrini almost certain to take over the reigns at Etihad, he is already thinking about potential summer signings.
According to Marca, the Chilean boss is hoping to sign Real Madrid castaway Pepe in the summer transfer window.
Pellegrini knows the Portugal international well from his time at the Santiago Bernabeu and he is eager to add him to his squad at Etihad seeing as how both Joleon Lescott and Kolo Toure are set to leave.
Pepe is hoping to leave los Blancos at the end of the season after he was treated poorly by Jose Mourinho, but it remains to be seen whether new Real Madrid boss will be prepared to let him go.
The Portuguese defender would face a stiff competition for a starting place at Etihad with Vincent Kompany and Matija Nastasic having established an excellent partnership.
Aleksandar Kolarov seals ugly end to season in the dock once again
Defender 'gestured' at fans as campaign ends in disarray and show of support for Mancini
Manchester City fly off to a post- season tour of the United States this afternoon, with their left-back, Aleksandar Kolarov, accused for the second time this season of abusing members of the crowd.
The Serbian defender was said to have made gestures to some City fans during the second half of a flat and listless final game of the season that was pockmarked by chants of support for the deposed manager, Roberto Mancini. The club could not confirm or deny what had happened but at Newcastle in December the defender was cleared of using abusive language to a group of supporters carrying an Albanian flag.
Although Mancini's likely successor, Manuel Pellegrini, will not be with City in New York and St Louis, where they play another temporarily managerless club in Chelsea, he could start work sooner than expected. Pellegrini's club, Malaga, did not play in La Liga this weekend but defeats for Getafe and Seville have all but ensured they will qualify for the Europa League, which was the 59-year-old's stated target before the season began. Pellegrini was reluctant to leave Malaga until qualification was achieved and the board may now choose to release him before the final game of the season, at home to Deportivo La Coruna.
He will face a tough task to win over those Manchester City fans who chanted Mancini's name long and loud on Sunday. Brian Kidd, one of the few remaining members of Mancini's coaching staff to have survived the bloody cull, said he could understand the show of support for the Italian.
On Saturday, Mancini had taken out a full-page advert in the Manchester Evening News thanking City's supporters for the last three years. It was a classy and intelligent gesture in what, despite a reported £7m severance package, has become a bitter divorce.
"I can understand the cheers for the boss," said Kidd. "He would have been disappointed if there hadn't been anything after all he has done here. We have fallen short of the standards we set last season but it was not from a lack of effort.
"I don't have to say anything to the fans. They have proved themselves over the years. It is their community and their club and I know they will respond because they have since the year dot.
"Emotionally and right through the club, this has been a week that has taken a lot out of people. Now there is a new manager coming in and hopefully that will be done as quickly as possible so he can assess the situation."
Before the FA Cup final, which marked the end of the Mancini era at Eastlands, the club captain, Vincent Kompany, said he expected "a busy summer" and City have already been linked with a bid for Radamel Falcao, perhaps the most sought-after striker in the world. His contract at Atletico Madrid has a £54m buy-out clause which City may be prepared to meet. It will be some statement of intent but it will be matched by significant departures.
Kolarov is one of a number of players who paraded around the Etihad Stadium with a banner thanking the crowd for its support, who are unlikely to be at Manchester City next season. Kolo Touré and Costel Pantilimon are definite departures while, until his sacking, Mancini suggested that Joleon Lescott, Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko had limited futures at the Etihad. Neither Maicon nor Javi Garcia of the summer signings who proved such inadequate reinforcements for the club's defence of its title, have remotely lived up to expectations or their salary. They cannot expect long to survive their manager.
KOLAROV THREAD:http://mancityfans.net/mcfnet/viewtopic.php?f=119&t=45943
Chairmen who act more like players... now that's fantasy football
Nicola Cortese is the chairman of Southampton. Hold on to that fact because in the age of the owner-manager it is easy to become confused. Cortese has spent the last week holding his club, the club he runs, to ransom.
There have been veiled threats, there have been carefully floated ultimatums, there has been disruption and wild talk of disintegration. Not from his lips, obviously, but informed sources. Nothing was ever denied and in the end, he got what he wanted.
If Cortese were Wayne Rooney or Harry Redknapp, a figure from the sweaty end of football’s market place, he would no doubt have been pilloried. As he wears a suit, his brinkmanship passes without comment.
Meanwhile, over at Manchester City, a rather tawdry smear campaign against Roberto Mancini is being used to realign the position of incoming coach Manuel Pellegrini. The so-called holistic approach is merely just an old-fashioned grab for power by the executives. The owner-manager age is reaching its logical conclusion.
They think they are players, these guys. Literally and metaphorically. It is always about Cortese at Southampton. When he grants an interview he rarely mentions the manager and if he is beginning to talk up the work of Mauricio Pochettino, it is only because his appointment in controversial circumstances was so plainly Cortese’s call that he basks in any reflected glory.
After a week of confusion, Cortese’s decision to stay at Southampton, announced on Saturday, was depicted as having prevented a mass walk-out.
Quite where everyone was going to walk to, considering manager and players are under contract and Cortese doesn’t own a football club, is a mystery. Cortese’s great talent is for spending another man’s fortune. Most owners, from Roman Abramovich to Tony Fernandes, are capable of doing that themselves.
The benefactor at Southampton was the late Markus Liebherr who, having bought the club and employed Cortese as chairman, died in 2011. Southampton is now in the hands of the Liebherr Trust, run by Katharina Liebherr, and she has allowed Cortese to continue with a generous budget.
Here the conflict lies. Cortese is an ambitious man. Ambition costs money in the Premier League. Liebherr Trust money.
Katharina did not appear to share Cortese’s enthusiasm for spending her father’s bequest. So Cortese played up, just as a manager would. Stories began appearing that he would quit.
Then Pochettino said he would go with him. Morgan Schneiderlin spoke for the players, claiming many would consider their future. The fans were certainly on Cortese’s side because fans always want their club to spend.
Yet it is very easy to be big-hearted Charlie with another man’s money. By acting like a manager, Southampton’s chairman only shines light on the real hero here: Katharina Liebherr.
Nobody sings her name, yet what is Cortese without her? He’s a guy playing fantasy football. Where does this owner-manager tendency end? Will chairmen start demanding showdown talks with themselves?
As just about every move the player has made in his career has led to a financial improvement, however, we shall see.
Telling themselves: back me or I quit? Maybe in times of crisis a chairman will give himself a vote of confidence — and sack himself two days later. We wish.
Yet if Cortese sees himself only as an employee, not the custodian, what happens when Southampton hit that inevitable glass ceiling? Does he agitate for a move to a bigger club, as a manager might? Is Southampton just his stepping stone?
Chelsea are increasingly convinced they will sign Southampton’s most exciting prospect, left back Luke Shaw. Did this week of upheaval play a part? It can hardly have helped, if Shaw was pondering his future, to hear that half the club, from the chairman down, was doing the same.
Yet the owner-manager phenomenon is spreading. It is not just owners who want to run the club these days.
There is a middle raft of executives — Cortese at Southampton, Daniel Levy at Tottenham Hotspur and the former Barcelona pair Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano freshly installed at Manchester City — who are seizing their moment.
At City, the trashing of Mancini’s reputation — he even took out a full page ad in the Manchester Evening News to thank the fans, the rotter — is merely a smokescreen.
It is being used to usher in a change of approach that will, ostensibly, guard against another tyrannical reign. In reality, Begiristain and Soriano are expanding their empires. Pellegrini will dance to their tune.
There is already talk of Pellegrini grooming Patrick Vieira to be manager, long-term. He hasn’t turned up yet and they are already counting down to when he can go.
Isn’t it strange that, however important these executive roles are made to appear, it is only the manager who must plan to be shunted aside.
The director of football wants to be judged in 10 years; the manager gets 10 games.
David Moyes has been given a six-year contract at Manchester United, Pellegrini is likely to receive one third of that at Manchester City.
Now which club is truly taking a holistic approach? DSSC
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas will target Porto midfielder Joao Moutinho, 26, this summer. Sun
Liverpool could make a move for Tottenham defender Danny Rose, 22, who has spent the season on loan at Sunderland. DSSC
Bayer Leverkusen striker Andre Schurrle is confident of making a move to Chelsea this summer. The Germany striker, 22, claims Leverkusen's 1-0 win at Hamburg was his final game for the club. Sky Sports
Hull are prepared to pay £3m for Peter Odemwingie after the 31-year-old Nigerian striker, who failed to force through a January move to QPR, angered his West Brom team-mates once again by criticising them in the wake of the 4-0 defeat at Norwich. Daily Mirror
Norwich and Swansea are both interested in Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter, 23. Sky Sports
Real Madrid may sack Jose Mourinho with two games still to play in the Spanish season as relations with the club's directors hit a new low following the defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey final. El Mundo
Fiorentina sporting director Daniele Prade says the club are set to decide on the future of Montenegro forward Stevan Jovetic, 23, who has been linked with Arsenal, Manchester City and Juventus. Tuttosport
Barcelona defender Dani Alves, 30, has said he would consider a move to Paris St-Germain or Monaco. Sport 24
Sevilla's Spain forward Alvaro Negredo, 27, has rejected interest from West Ham as he wants to join a bigger club. Marca
Coach Walter Mazzarri has confirmed he will leave Napoli this summer. Tuttosport
Retiring Paris St-Germain midfielder David Beckham, 38, has been tipped for a role in management by the Ligue 1 side's boss Carlo Ancelotti. Daily Telegraph
Former Blackburn, Blackpool and Portsmouth boss Michael Appleton is set to be unveiled as the new boss of newly-promoted Championship side Doncaster Rovers. Sun
Aston Villa have started talks over a new deal for Belgium striker Christian Benteke, 22, who has scored 23 goals since joining from Genk last summer. Birmingham Mail
Sir Alex Ferguson did not always enjoy the best relationships with referees, but officials Michael Oliver, Chris Foy, Ceri Richards and Dave Bryan had their photographs taken with him and got autographs from the retiring Manchester United manager after the 5-5 draw at West Brom. DSSC
Chelsea's players gave Guus Hiddink a £200,000 watch at the end of his spell at Stamford Bridge but outgoing boss Rafael Benitez did not even receive thanks from John Terry, Frank Lampard or Paulo Ferreira during on-pitch speeches following the 2-1 win over Everton. Daily Mirror
TWEETS OF THE DAY
As well as saying a fond farewell to a whole host of retirees, the tweeters of the game have been reflecting on their seasons while already looking forward to next year
The Premier League is over for another year, and this will be remembered as the season some of the greatest names in the business said goodbye.
Sir Alex Ferguson has called time on his illustrious managerial career, ending with an incredible 5-5 draw at West Brom, while Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes are among the Premier League legends who have ended their playing days.
The footballing Twitter community has been saying its goodbyes to the greats of the game while reflecting on their own seasons, and Goal.com has gathered a few snippets for today’s Word on the Tweet...
"5-5.....what a mad result! Lets be honest the boss was never going out with a boring 0-0!!"
Rio Ferdinand reflects on Sir Alex Ferguson's frankly astonishing last game in charge of Manchester United.
"What a strange game to end a managerial career like Sir Alex's #Manutd but what manager he has been for all his players!!"
Edwin van der Sar was also among those paying tribute to Sir Alex. The former Red Devils goalkeeper might have been disappointed to see one of his replacements let in five, however...
"Wow! Where do I start? Huge thanks to the Stoke fans. They sang my name non stop and gave me a send off I will never forget. #specialfans"
Another big name saying goodbye is Michael Owen, who was delighted with the reception he received in his last game for Stoke at Southampton.
"Carra 737 games. Unbelievable. The numbers says it all. YNWA"
Daniel Agger lets maths do the talking after his fellow Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher also says goodbye.
"Congratulations to Carra, Scholesy and all those players retiring today. Legends of the game."
Michael Owen takes time out from his goodbyes to salute former England team-mates Jamie Carrager and Paul Scholes as they bow out.
"Scored goals. Got a great transfer. Few weeks to relax and get my self ready for what is gonna be an unforgettable new season..."
Demba Ba is clearly very happy with life at Chelsea and is already raring to go for next season, which kicks off in 89 days.
"The end of a season means the beginning of a new one. Nothing but thanks for all the great support, it really meant a lot. #MCFC"
Vincent Kompany is clearly in a reflective mood after a trophyless season with Manchester City, but he too is preparing for August's curtain-raiser.
"With Maicon in the airport Manchester! Next stop New York "
Sergio Aguero isn't too down though, with the prospect of a few days in America and a double-header of friendlies against Chelsea to enjoy.
"A kinda anti climax but saying that 9th and a major trophy! Amazing season for all involved with Swansea... Thank you everyone!"
Wayne Routledge, meanwhile, is pretty happy with Swansea's historic season despite finishing with a 3-0 defeat at home to Fulham.
"Thanks for your support during the season. Have a nice summer. Felly"
Marouane Fellaini bids farewell to the Everton faithful and also raises questions over a surprisingly poor nickname for a man with such a magnificent hairstyle.
MORE BOLLOX LATER
