Football news

Manchester City intend to keep Mark Hughes as manager as reports said club officials had held initial talks over an extension to his contract.

Hughes, formerly of Blackburn, is currently less than 12 months into the three-year contract he signed in June.

Hughes, criticised for an inconsistent season, said he would be pleased to put pen to paper on fresh terms at ambitious City.

"I've got two years left on my contract, but there have been talks about a new one," he said. "But you will have to speak to the owners about that."

Treviso thugs attack directors

Serie B strugglers Treviso are again in the news for the wrong reasons following an attack on club officials by a group of hooligans who broke into the headquarters during a meeting on Saturday afternoon.

Bottom-placed Treviso are in deep trouble after coach Abel Balbo resigned just two weeks after signing a contract, saying the club were nowhere near professional status.

A group of around 20 fans stormed the Treviso offices on Saturday. Reports said three club officials were slightly injured. At the time, club president Ettore Setten was holding a meeting.

Berbatov to miss Bulgaria qualifiers

Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov will miss Bulgaria's 2010 World Cup qualifiers away to Ireland on March 28 and at home against Cyprus four days later due to an ankle injury.

The 28-year-old Bulgaria captain, who boasts a remarkable scoring ratio with 41 goals in 67 full internationals, suffered the injury during United's 2-0 loss at Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday.

"There's no chance Berbatov will play against Ireland and Cyprus," Bulgarian national team doctor Mihail Iliev said.

"I've spoken to Manchester United's medical staff and they informed me that he'll need to rest in the next two weeks and his foot will be immovable during that period," he added.

Wenger told he can stay for life

Arsene Wenger, 59, has been promised a job for life at Arsenal by the Premier League club's new chief executive Ivan Gazidis.

Wenger has been in charge of the Gunners since September 1996 and has led the north London team to three league titles, four FA Cups and a Champions League final appearance.

Arsenal's relatively disappointing form this season has raised questions about Wenger's future for the first time.

But Gazidis said: "I'd like Arsene to stay for as long as he has the motivation to do the job and I don't see any dimming on his part.

"It is difficult for me to imagine him not being the manager."

Capello still has doubts on Beckham

Fabio Capello has said he is pleased David Beckham will stay at Milan until the end of the season but that the move would not guarantee his England place.

Beckham will play for both Milan in Serie A and Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS which means that the midfielder, who will be 34 in May, will be playing without a break for up to 15 months before next year's World Cup in South Africa.

Capello said: "I have watched the last few games that David has played and I am very happy with his performances.

"When I look at it, player age does not come into it. I'm looking for the best players. Italy still pick Fabio Cannavaro and he is 35 years old. I'm looking at other things."

Celtic's McGeady on Bayern's radar

Bundesliga giants Bayern are looking to strengthen their squad next season with the signing of Ireland winger Aiden McGeady.

Bayern have already made a fact-finding mission on the Celtic player as Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni told reporters he was asked to give his assessment on McGeady by the Bayern scouts.

Trapattoni said: "They asked me what I think about McGeady because they have followed him. They wanted to know my opinion and I said McGeady is one of our most important players."

Aurelio wants to remain at Anfield

Fabio Aurelio wants to extend his stay at Anfield, following on the decision of manager Rafa Benitez to sign a five-year extension at Liverpool.

Aurelio knows Benitez better than most, having spent three years with him at Valencia before joining him at Anfield in 2006. The Brazilian left-back will become a free agent next summer.

"If the club and the boss are happy with my work, for sure I'll be happy to continue, so it should not be complicated," Aurelio said of potentially signing a new deal.

"I had one talk with the boss but he wanted to sort out his position before talking to the players who were finishing contracts."