City boss does not believes striker will be joining Real Madrid
Roberto Mancini has rubbished rumours that Sergio Aguero could move from Manchester City to Real Madrid at the end of the season.
The striker has proved a massive hit after joining City in a £38m summer switch from Atletico Madrid.
But speculation persists that Aguero wants to play for Real and only joined City as a stepping stone as Atletico will never sell to their fierce city rivals.
But Mancini says the Argentina ace is going nowhere as he has a five-year contract with the Premier League big-spenders.
The City boss told the Sunday Express: "It will be difficult for him to join Real Madrid because he has signed a five-year contract. I don't think this will happen."
Meanwhile, Mancini is delighted to be featuring in the UEFA Champions League but has hit out as City are scheduled to play away after all their group games, while rivals Manchester United will play at home.
He added: "It was important that we qualified straight into the Champions League, and since then we have brought in more good players. I am happy because we are playing well.
"I don't know what the Premier League can do (about City playing away after their Champions League games).
"But it is definitely better to play at home rather than away after the Champions League. OK, United have an advantage.
"After playing in the Champions League you need to recover. But if you are flying back from a game and then have to travel in the Premier League it becomes tough to recover. You can't train, you can only rest.
"We are happy to be in the Champions League but when you play every three days in the Premier League, the Champions League or the FA Cup it can get very, very hard."
Joleon Lescott glad to be playing in the blue half of Manchester this season
Despite being regularly replaced at the top of the table by their closest rivals, the England defender insists there is a power shift in the Premier League between the two clubs
Despite suggestions from some corners that the Citizens are still far behind their closest geographical rivals, Lescott is keen to state his belief that power has shifted in Manchester, particularly after City’s FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester United.
Lescott told The Sunday Mirror: “Manchester is the place to be at the moment – and I’m just glad that I’m on the blue side of the town.
“It’s been a crazy season so far. We’ve just gone out to try to win matches rather than worry about what other clubs are doing.
“But I’ve got to admit after we scored five against Tottenham we were delighted. Then a few hours later, United scored eight against Arsenal and you just think ‘wow’.
“We won’t worry too much about United just yet, though. We know that if we keep playing like we are, if we keep winning games, then we will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.
“Winning the FA Cup was a big breakthrough for us last season – and beating United in the semi-final really lifted the club.
“We went to Wembley thinking ‘there’s got to be one time we’ve got to beat them’ – and to do it in a big FA Cup semi-final gave us a lot of belief.
“We lost so many games against them in the last minute because they just keep going until the end. What happened at Wembley proved we can do it when it matters.”
However, Lescott also said that the Premier League title is not guaranteed to stay in Manchester, believing that Chelsea have the potential to challenge under manager Andre Villas-Boas.
He added: “I don’t think anyone here is writing off Chelsea because they are a top side and they will be difficult to beat.
“United have got a tough game against Chelsea but what happens in that game will mean nothing to us if we don’t beat Fulham.
“We have to concentrate on our job and then hope United and Chelsea cancel each other out.”
However, Lescott believes the challenge of the Champions League will only benefit Manchester City, and he thinks that their entire squad is one of the strongest in Europe.
He said: “It was hard combining the Premier League with Europe last year and now we’ve gone up another level. But we have as much strength in depth as any club in Europe so playing two games a week should not be a problem.
“Getting a point in the Champions League after going behind with only 20 minutes left showed there’s a lot of character in the team.
“The one thing we had last season was a lot of resilience and now we’ve added flair I think we can really become a force.”
UWAFFER CLAMP DOWN BOLLOX
MANCHESTER CITY claim their first big Champions League night against Napoli was undermined by over-officious UEFA.
Sky Sports had planned to follow the players on to the pitch to give viewers a close-up of the emotional entrance only for a UEFA official to block the cameraman.
UEFA also insisted there was no mention of the Etihad Stadium, with the ground referred to only as the City of Manchester Stadium.Players were also forced to take off tracksuit tops bearing the Etihad Airways logo.
Before being interviewed, manager Roberto Mancini had the Etihad logo on his coat hastily taped over so not to upset UEFA sponsors, who include Sony, Ford and Heineken
[spoiler]Melissa Satta
[/spoiler]OTHER BOLLOX
Chelsea striker Fernando Torres is set to be loaned out in January if he fails to find his goalscoring boots. Sunday Mirror
Striker Nicolas Anelka has told Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas he expects to leave in the summer. Sunday People
Arsenal are to fight Barcelona for the signature of Valencia striker Paco Alcacer. Metro
Liverpool winger Stewart Downing says Tottenham missed out on his signature because Harry Redknapp refused to gamble on his fitness. Sunday Mirror
Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Chelsea's Frank Lampard emerge as the latest transfer targets for big-spending Anzhi Makhachkala. Metro
Liverpool could launch a shock bid for Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen in January - but could end up selling defender Daniel Agger as a result. Caught Offside
The Anfield club are also interested in Bologna's attacking all-rounder Gaston Ramirez. InsideFutbol
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is interested in signing young Peruvian defender Horacio Benincasa. Caught Offside
QPR captain Joey Barton could face action from the FA after his post-match Twitter attack on Wolves manager Mick McCarthy. Sunday Telegraph
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says the media "have an agenda" against goalkeeper David de Gea. ManUtd.com
Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has been offered the chance to take charge of Spartak Moscow. InsideFutbol
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will recommend Jose Mourinho as his successor when he eventually leaves Old Trafford. Mail on Sunday
Louis Saha faces a showdown with manager David Moyes after sulking about being left out of the Everton team. The French striker took to Twitter to vent his frustration after not even making the bench for the visit of Wigan. the Sun
QPR captain Joey Barton offers to give advice to Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg. Metro
Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas reveals his first encounter with his Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson was a chat about Stoke outside a gents' toilet. Metro
FOOTSIE INDEX BOLLOX
Market Units Change
1. UK 50 +17 (100)%
2. Italy 12 +4 (100)%
3. USA 11 0 (100)%
4. Saudi Arabia 9 +3 (100)%
5. China 7 +4 (100)%
6. Russia 7 +6 (100)%
7. Malaysia 6 +5 (100)%
8. United Arab Emirates 6 +3 (100)%
9. France 5 +1 (100)%
10. Australia 5 0 (100)%
