Kevin Strootman said it would be disrespectful for him to talk about a move away from Roma after reports had linked him with a transfer to Manchester United.
Strootman said: “I’ve signed up for five years, but so far I’ve only been playing for six or seven months. I want to play and help Roma. If I spoke about other clubs that would be disrespectful, and I don’t want to do that.”
Strootman, who has just returned from knee surgery, has long been linked with a move to United, and coach Louis van Gaal on the bench at Old Trafford.
“I worked hard to come back. After the winter break I’ve been training with more confidence, I feel better,” Strootman said.
Champagne doubts
FIFA presidential hopeful Jerome Champagne has admitted he is not sure he will be able to get the five nominations required to be able to stand against Sepp Blatter.
A candidate needs to get five nominations from the 209 FIFA members to be able to stand for the presidency and, while Blatter and Jordanian Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein are both certain to pass that mark, Champagne admitted he may struggle to make it.
“It could be easier to get 50 votes sometimes than to get five letters of support because there is a lot of inertia,” he said.
“There is a lot of fear, sometimes pressure, and there is also some people fearing coming out.”
Dyke breaks silence over Evans case
Football Association chairman Greg Dyke says there is “no basis” for the governing body to intervene in the case of convicted rapist Ched Evans.
Evans blamed ‘mob rule’ for his move to Oldham collapsing on Thursday and for the first time apologised to the woman he was found guilty of raping.
Dyke said: “Rape and sexual violence are abhorrent and unacceptable. This cannot be overstated.
“We have reviewed the Ched Evans case in some detail at the FA and we have examined both the legal requirements and our rules and regulations and there is no basis for us to intervene directly in this particular case.”
Hefty payments
Stars like Andre Schurrle helped Chelsea earn more than one million dollars from the 2014 World Cup as the Premier League’s traditional top-four powers have all netted seven-figure sums from last summer’s tournament.
Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City received the hefty payments from FIFA in recognition of their top players’ exploits in Brazil.
FIFA has distributed $70m to clubs across the globe, with each outfit rewarded for the number of players who attended the World Cup.
Bayern Munich received the highest club payment – $1.7m.
Zaza keen to repay Sassuolo
Simone Zaza is keen to repay Sassuolo for the faith shown in him after putting pen to paper on a one-year contract extension this week.
The Italy international voiced his delight after signing a new improved deal that will keep him at the Emilia-Romagna club until June 2019.
“My aim is to do well and im-prove with Sassuolo,” Zaza said.
“This is the ideal place for me to grow.”
Zaza was strongly linked with a move to Juventus in January and Turin could be his likely destination in the near future.
Juve, who sold half of Zaza’s sporting rights to Sassuolo last summer, hold an option to acquire the 23-year-old in June for €15m.
Neymar at the double
Neymar’s double helped Barcelona cruise to a 5-0 victory in the first leg of their King’s Cup last 16 tie against Elche late Thursday to ease the pressure on coach Luis Enrique.
The Brazilian put the Catalan club ahead after 34 minutes and after that the flood gates opened against the bottom side in La Liga.
Lionel Messi, who was the focus of attention following a reported bust-up with Enrique, looked very motivated from the start with some lively runs and converted a penalty just before half-time.
Neymar got his second goal on the hour. Shortly afterwards he was substituted and made it clear he was unhappy as he shook his head when walking off.
Cesc ‘won’t be Messi middleman’
Cesc Fabregas has bristled at suggestions he might be involved in any Chelsea move to sign Lionel Messi.
Chelsea have been linked with a big-money swoop for Messi following claims in Spain this week that the 27-year-old’s relationship with his Barca coach Luis Enrique has broken down.
Fabregas said: “I’m upset that they say that I could be mediating for Messi to come to Chelsea. How can I be talking about contracts... I’m only a footballer.
“He (Messi) will do what makes him happiest. I doubt very much that what is being said is happening, because he’s a very relaxed guy and I’ve never seen any of that in the three years we spent together.”