Football news

Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko is on the verge of re-signing for Milan after a meeting between club owners Roman Abramovich and Silvio Berlusconi, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported.

Berlusconi has never hidden his desire to bring Ukrainian Shevchenko back to the San Siro.

Although Shevchenko has also been linked with a loan move to Sampdoria, there is no denying Milan are his number one choice.

The Rossoneri's negotiations for Branislav Ivanovic collapsed when Chelsea refused to include an option to buy at the end of the season-long loan. However, if Shevchenko's loan is included as part of a package deal, then Milan may well be willing to overlook that stumbling block.

Hargreaves hopes to be fit soon

Manchester United's England midfielder Owen Hargreaves has told the club's website that he played in their Champions and Premier League-winning season without ever being fully fit.

"There is a lot more to come from me," he said.

"I don't think I played a game healthy last season. I was at about 50 or 60 per cent at best. When I had a scan on the knee this summer it hadn't improved, so I came back early to try to fix it at the start of pre-season.

"Hopefully I'll be fit soon."

Pavlyuchenko settled in Russia

Spartak Moscow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko is happy to stay in Russia for the time being despite interest from foreign clubs.

Pavlyuchenko left a good impression during Russia's Euro 2008 campaign and has subsequently been linked with a move to Tottenham while other English clubs have also shown interest.

"I can't say anything concrete, since I don't really know myself (the situation)," Pavlyuchenko said.

"Everything is still being discussed. Maybe Spartak have already made a decision, but I haven't decided one way or the other.

"Moreover, the transfer to England which everyone is talking about, would be a big problem for my family, as we have a young child. So we need to discuss it properly."

Shakhtar report City to FIFA

Shakhtar Donetsk have lodged a claim with FIFA demanding that Manchester City pay £475,000 as part of the deal that saw Elano join the English Premier League club last season.

The Brazilian playmaker moved to Eastlands at the beginning of last season in a deal worth £9.5 million for the Ukraine champions.

Donetsk claim City still need to settle a "solidarity payment", which usually equates to five per cent of the total sum of the deal.

The payment is distributed between clubs that played a part in the youth development of the player, however, City reportedly think the selling club are responsible for the payment.

Riise eyeing regular football at Roma

John Arne Riise is determined to secure a regular place at Roma after leaving Liverpool.

Other Premier League clubs were keen on the 27-year-old Riise but he couldn't see himself playing for another English team after his Liverpool spell.

"It was sudden. One day I was a Liverpool player, the next I was going to leave," Riise said.

"I just wanted to make sure I got the best possible team. There was no way I was going to be comfortable playing for another English club, and I had plenty of offers from other clubs in the Premier League.

"I spent seven years at Liverpool and played more than 250 games. The challenge in Italy was the right one for my career."

Inter to revive Quaresma interest

Inter are set to renew their efforts to sign Ricardo Quaresma but doubts persist over David Suazo's future at the San Siro, according to reports in Italy.

The Italian champions were strongly linked with Quaresma at the start of the summer but refused to meet Porto's £30m valuation of the Portuguese international.

However, Jose Mourinho is reportedly determined to sign his compatriot and Inter could table one final offer of around £17m.

According to Sportmediaset, Quaresma's potential arrival will hold the door open for Suazo to leave. Benfica are rumoured to be leading the chase for the Honduran striker who failed to make the expected impact after joining Inter from Cagliari last summer.

Stubbs calls time on career

Derby County defender Alan Stubbs has retired from football after failing to recover from a serious knee injury.

Scans showed a recurrence of the problem that ended his 2007/08 season and resulted in him undergoing surgery.

The 36-year-old battled back to full fitness but was forced off on the opening day of this campaign.

Stubbs twice overcame testicular cancer during his time with Celtic and played 127 matches for the Bhoys in his five years at Parkhead.

Stubbs, who also had spells with Bolton Wanderers, Everton and Sunderland, has brought his career to an end after 551 starts, 45 substitute appearances and 27 goals.