Football news

Shunsuke Nakamura will be staying at Celtic until the end of the season as J-League club Yokohama F Marinos have decided not to bid for the 30-year-old.

Yokohama's parent company, Nissan, had raised a fee of around £3m in a bid to sign the Japan midfielder in January. But, with the credit crunch hitting the automobile giants hard, they will wait until his contract expires in June.

Nakamura was widely expected to return to his homeland in the New Year should Celtic exit European competition.

Last week's defeat to Aalborg meant that Celtic have not only failed to qualify from the group stages of the Champions League but also missed out on a slot in the UEFA Cup.

Nakamura signed for Celtic in the summer of 2005.

'I'm not the culprit' - van Persie

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie told reporters that he was not the one who causes trouble at the Gunners' dressing-room and surely not the disruptive influence described by team-mate William Gallas.

Gallas's outburst last month caused him to be stripped of the captaincy by manager Arsene Wenger. Gallas accused a 25-year-old player of alienating his colleagues with his spiky behaviour. But the Holland forward, 25, is confident he is not the target of the criticism.

"Are you suggesting that William was talking about me?" van Persie said.

"I don't know that, because he never told me anything and I didn't see my name in the papers, so I never felt that he was speaking about me."

Bulgaria sack coach Markov

Bulgaria have sacked national coach Plamen Markov and could look abroad for a replacement, the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) said.

"It was a tough decision but all 13 (executive committee) members voted for Markov's departure," BFU president Borislav Mihaylov told a news conference.

"It was preceded by a serious discussion as we wanted to understand why the national team doesn't perform well on the pitch," he said.

The 51-year-old Markov had a contract with the BFU until the end of 2009.

Real agree to sign Huntelaar

Real Madrid have reached an agreement to sign Netherlands striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar from Ajax Amsterdam, the Spanish champions said yesterday.

The 25-year-old, who will sign a contract until 2013, will not be able to play for Real until January when he will be available to replace compatriot Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Ajax said Real would pay up to 27 million euros, made up of a 20 million euro fixed payment and a 7 million euro variable payment.

His first appearance for the side will depend on how quickly he recovers from an ankle injury.

Lavezzi says Naples the place to stay

Ezequiel Lavezzi made it clear that he will not leave Napoli to join Chelsea in the Premier League in the near future.

The Argentine has been linked with a move to the London club who are keen to acquire his services, but his desire is to stay in Italy.

"I am happy at Napoli," Lavezzi said. "I like the city and the team. I will remain here, it's better here than going to England."

The 23-year-old joined Napoli in the summer of 2007 from San Lorenzo in his homeland and has enjoyed a starring role with the Serie A outfit, earning a call up from Argentina. Lavezzi is under contract until 2013.

No action against Robinho

Mark Hughes said there will be no disciplinary action against Robinho following the Brazilian's comments that Manchester City do not have the winning mentality to challenge for honours at the highest level.

Hughes believes the comments have been taken out of context.

"I view this as a different matter because people have jumped on certain statements," the Man. City manager said.

"They are trying to emphasise the negative part of it. I think it is a phrase from Robinho that has been taken out of context and it should be viewed as it was given at the time."

Hughes also played down suggestions that Robinho had been giving him transfer advice.

Menez wants to leave Roma

Jeremy Menez told Roma he is considering leaving the club and wants a return home.

The French midfielder, signed from Monaco last summer, only started four times for Roma apart from seven appearances as a substitute. The 21-year-old had previously stated that he had no regrets at joining Roma but things seem to have changed.

"I haven't made a definite decision and I will have to discuss it with my agent, but if I'm not playing regularly I'd rather leave," Menez said.

"I'd prefer to return to France because I know that world and I feel I fit in better.

"I would like to return to Paris, given that I am from there, but obviously I would be happy to play for Lyon or Marseille."