Football news

Giuseppe Rossi's future at Villarreal is in the balance and the nippy striker could be heading elsewhere next summer.

"Villarreal are in great difficulty at the moment and it's unlikely they will qualify for Europe. That could force them to part with some players and, faced with a club that presents a good offer, Villarreal could sell Rossi," agent Federico Pastorello said.

The main contenders for Rossi's signature in the Serie A could be Napoli and Juventus.

"I don't know if he'll return to England or Italy, but I find it fairly obvious that his future will not be in Spain," Pastorello added.

Rossi missed the Italy match against Cameroon in midweek following the death of his father.

Wright slams Man. City bosses

Ian Wright has accused senior Manchester City figures of treating his adopted son Shaun Wright-Phillips "like a youth-team player" in contract talks.

The 28-year-old is eager to extend his stay but, according to former Arsenal frontman Wright, City are "mugging off" the winger.

Wright said: "I tell you what was really awkward, they called him in and he wants to sign his deal so he can be settled and get ready to go to the World Cup.

"But there's these people like (football administration officer) Brian Marwood and (chief executive) Garry Cook mugging him off, treating him like a youth-team player."

Wright-Phillips joined City prior to the takeover by Sheikh Mansour in 2009 and several new arrivals have salaries higher than his own.

Capello wants versatility

Variety could be the spice of life for Fabio Capello in South Africa.

Although it is over two months before Capello even names his provisional squad, Wednesday's friendly win over Egypt was the last chance to see England in action before he names the 30 men that will eventually be whittled down to 23.

Already he is looking for players who are adept at more than one position.

"For instance, Shaun Wright-Phillips can play on the left and right. James Milner can play at left-back and in midfield," Capello said.

"It is better to have a lot of chances to change the team during games."

World Cup setback for Chelsea star

Chelsea full-back Jose Bosingwa will miss the rest of the season and the World Cup with Portugal as he requires further surgery on a knee injury.

Bosingwa had been back in light training after knee surgery but has now been ruled out for the season because another operation is required.

That means he is unavailable for Chelsea's challenge for a treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.

It also means he will not be able to play for Portugal in the World Cup.

Owen ruled out for rest of season

Manchester United striker Michael Owen will miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, manager Alex Ferguson said yesterday.

Owen pulled up during Sunday's League Cup final against Aston Villa, having scored United's equaliser in the 2-1 win.

"It's a terrible blow for the lad," Ferguson told reporters.

"It's more serious than we thought."

Ferguson also confirmed that Owen, who joined on a free transfer from Newcastle United last year, will have surgery on Monday.

Grant fined after rant at referee

Portsmouth manager Avram Grant was fined £1,000 with a further £4,000 suspended after he admitted a charge of improper conduct to the Football Association.

Although the fine was lenient, the FA also warned him as to his future conduct following his behaviour towards referee Kevin Friend during the Premier League match against Sunderland on Feb. 9 which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Grant stormed onto the Fratton Park pitch at the end of the first half and confronted Friend after Pompey had Ricardo Rocha sent off early in the match and a penalty appeal turned down.

Grant was dismissed from the dugout and watched the second half from the directors' box.

Easy ride for Ronaldo's sake

China took it easy in this week's 2-0 friendly defeat to Portugal for fear of injuring Cristiano Ronaldo and ruling him out of the World Cup, according to coach Gao Hongbo.

France striker Djibril Cisse suffered a broken leg after a challenge from China's Zheng Zhi in a warm-up match for the 2006 World Cup, ruling the former Liverpool striker out of the finals.

"There are so many superstars in the Portuguese team. We didn't want to see a repeat of the Cisse tragedy. We don't want a World Cup without Cristiano Ronaldo because of our fault," Gao said.

"We played conservatively because our players wanted to hurt neither themselves nor the Portuguese players."

China will not be going to South Africa having fallen at the first hurdle in Asian qualifying two years ago.