Benfica sporting director Rui Costa has made it clear that Fabio Coentrao will not be available on the cheap as he warns interested clubs it will take a significant offer to secure his services.

Real Madrid are still eager to add the Portuguese international to their squad this summer, but are reluctant to meet Benfica’s valuation of €30 million.

Bayern Munich are also in the running. As Goal.com previously revealed, Bayern have made Coentrao their primary target in the summer transfer market and the Bavarians appear to be ready to splash out €25m to capture the wide player.

However, Rui Costa said the clubs would have to meet their demands, and that there is little room for negotiation.

“Fabio Coentrao has made great progress. He is doing well and everyone is keeping an eye on him,” he told Mediaset Premium show ‘Europa League Live’.

“If we lose him it will be for a fee that satisfies us.”

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Ajax coach Frank de Boer has expressed his delight with the Amsterdam outfit’s Eredivisie success. The Godenzonen beat last year’s champions Twente 3-1 in the Amsterdam ArenA on Sunday to clinch their 30th league title.

“We fought very hard to achieve our goals. It’s simply amazing that our football philosophy has already led to such a big success,” De Boer was quoted as saying by Voetbal International.

De Boer admitted that it was not an easy game for Ajax, but added that they deserved to win.

“This match really could have gone either way. I think that we eventually deserved our win though. It was all or nothing and we struggled to hold on to our lead. We let them push us back too much in the closing stages, but that is not too strange as we have a very young team.

“Everybody in Amsterdam had been waiting for his third star for such a long time and we now finally have it. I can only give everybody a compliment.”

Ajax clinched their first Eredivisie title since 2004 with the win.

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Juventus coach Luigi Del Neri was far from pleased with his side’s 1-0 away loss to Parma on Sunday afternoon and added that it will be pretty much impossible for the Turin outfit to qualify for the Europa League.

“Barring a miracle, we’re out of Europe, but it hasn’t been decided in this penultimate match,” Del Neri said on the club’s official website.

“Today, we’ve used very young players such as [Manuel] Giandonato, and preparing for this game hasn’t been easy.”

Del Neri then went on to say that Juventus have no excuses for their poor performance though.

“In all cases, we don’t need excuses, because there aren’t any. We played poorly, lacking in energy to face a very aggressive side. We’re all upset, because we wanted to finish our season differently.

“Unfortunately, our championship was very unique, characterised by several mistakes. Last summer, the club underwent several changes, many new players joined Juventus and difficulties were inevitable. Now, against Napoli, we’ll try to at least finish in the best way possible.”

Juventus are three points behind Roma with one match left in Serie A.

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Uruguay international Diego Forlan appears to be on his way out of La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid as Besiktas are set to complete the signing of the highly rated attacker next week, NTV Spor reports.

Besiktas are determined to add a big name to their squad in the summer transfer window and have made the 31-year-old their primary target.

Forlan joined Atletico from Villarreal in the summer of 2007 and has since made over 100 official appearances for last year’s Europa League winners.

Nevertheless, he has been struggling to find his best form ever since the 2010 World Cup and even lost his starting berth at Atletico in recent weeks.

Therefore, Forlan has set his sights on a move away from the Vicente Calderon and Besiktas appear to be his next destination. The parties involved in the move have yet to comment on the transfer, but the Turkish outfit are expected to release an official statement next week.

Besiktas will reportedly pay a fee in the region of €10 million to secure the services of Forlan.

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Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne praised the fight that his Aston Villa team-mates showed in their impressive 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates.

Two goals from Darren Bent secured the win for Gary McAllister’s side and despite a late goal from Robin Van Persie, Villa held on for the three points.

“I think today showed how much everyone was fighting for the club and how much we wanted to put some respect into our season,” Dunne told SkySports.

“If you can get in front against the top sides then you know you’ve got a lot of defending to do. Luckily for us we have Darren and he got two great goals and gave us something to hold onto.”

The majority of the match after Bent’s brace was played inside the Aston Villa half, and only superb defending from James Collins and Dunne kept Arsenal at bay.

“Overall I think we defended well and that’s the most important thing. It’s disappointing that they got a goal at the end but the most important thing was to get the three points today.”

Arsenal had a huge penalty shout in the first half when Dunne appeared to foul Aaron Ramsey in the area, but Dunne believes referee Michael Oliver made the correct decision.

“It wasn’t a penalty. I got myself inbetween the ball and him [Ramsey] and Friedel collected the ball.

“At the time Arsenal were two up so they were shouting for everything!”

Goalscorer Bent echoed Dunne’s comments by speaking of the team spirit within the Aston Villa camp, and is looking at an improvement in Villa’s Premier League finish next season.

“The boys have stuck together and we always believe in each other, it’s game likes this where you really appreciate that and we’re over the moon with the three points.

“It’s been a bit of a rocky season. Aston Villa have finished 6th two seasons in a row, but next season we will start again and will be fighting fit and ready to go.”

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Ivory Coast FA boss Jacques Anoma has denied accepting bribes to the value of $1.5 million to vote for Qatar as hosts of the 2022 World Cup finals.

The Ivorian said he welcomes Fifa investigations into the Sunday Times accusations to establish the truth of the issue.

According to a report on Caf’s official website the Fifa executive committee member is ready to resort to all legal avenues against the British newspaper to clear his name.

Anoma was accused together with the Caf president Issa Hayatou of having received the said amount to give their ballot to the Middle East country.

He has described it as false and malicious.

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Fifa presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam has written an open letter defending world football’s governing body from allegations it is corrupt.

His message, published on his official website, comes less than 24 hours after he denied the Qatar World Cup bid team paid Fifa Ex-co members for votes.

Bin Hammam, who is fighting current Fifa president Sepp Blatter for office in the June elections, feels Fifa is not corrupt, but said work needs to be done to change the current landscape.

His letter reads:

“It has become clear yet again in recent days that something urgently needs to be done to improve and enhance the image of Fifa; the name of our great sport and its leading institution have been dragged through the mud once more.

“I will happily and unreservedly restate that I firmly believe Fifa, as a decision-making body and as an organisation, is not corrupt.

“Much wonderful work is done by Fifa and to label the entire organisation corrupt would be to tarnish the efforts of all those who operate tirelessly to bring all that is positively associated with our sport to people all over the globe.

“Football is a force for good and Fifa is at the vanguard of making positive changes across the world. I have seen it first hand in my involvement in initiatives such as the Goal Project, which has boosted communities in some of the poorest, most underprivileged nations.”

It is a pledge for change, as he suggested it’s time for Blatter to step aside.

“However, under the current status quo it is impossible to deny that the governing body’s reputation has been sullied beyond compare and it is time for that to change.

“Currently, the president has taken on too much of an executive role, as evidenced by the recently announced initiative to donate €20 million to Interpol. Imagine Fifa financing Interpol’s activities!

“This decision was taken arbitrarily by the Fifa president and was not discussed with the Executive Committee.

“It is just another example of the current regime choosing to run football how it sees fit, rather than doing so in a manner that is consistent with the governing body’s proper procedures.

“How on earth can we convince people of Fifa’s innocence?

“A new atmosphere needs to descend upon Fifa; there needs to be an opportunity for new ideas to take hold and for the organisation to take a new direction.”

The presidential elections take place on June 1.

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AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi is leaving the door open for a return for Real Madrid playmaker Kaka.

The 29-year-old Brazilian continues to be linked with Chelsea though, and there are strong feelings he could be on his way to the Premier League following a less than perfect spell in Spain.

However, despite Premier League suspicions, Berlusconi has thrown his weight behind a return to San Siro as Kaka was, for a long time, the hallmark of the Rossoneri.

“Kaka is an extraordinary man and we are ready to welcome him back with open arms if he wants to come back to Milan,” Berlusconi told Radio Kiss Kiss.

Napoli’s Marek Hamsik has also been linked with Milan, but the chief feels the Azzurri will not want to sell in light of their likely Champions League group stage participation next season.

“I don’t think Napoli intend to sell one of their stars, especially with the aims they have,” he added.

Coach Massimiliano Allegri helped build a championship-winning side, and there are plenty of positive feelings for Berlusconi.

“The Scudetto is deserved and we are happy at Milan as we confirmed ourselves as being the most successful side in the world,” he added.

“There were some dramatic moments during the season, with many injuries, but in the end we were able to win.”

Milan welcome Cagliari on Saturday night and will be presented with the Serie A trophy having wrapped up the title with two games to spare.

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Atletico Madrid have been dealt a blow with the news that Diego Costa and Tiago may miss Saturday’s encounter with Malaga through injury.

Diego Costa sprained his ankle in training on Wednesday and will face a race against the clock to be fit for the club’s game this weekend.

Tiago is also unlikely to feature after his picked up a back injury in last week’s 1-0 victory over Deportivo.

“I’m still not good. Let’s see how I am tomorrow because today has been very difficult, although a back injury can get better in only a day. We have to wait another day to see if playing [against Malaga] is possible,” the player told the club’s official website.

Some good news for the club is that Koke has recovered from a sprained left knee and is likely to be in the matchday squad on Saturday.

Atletico are currently sixth in La Liga, chasing a European spot with only four games to go.

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Ian Holloway has committed his future to Blackpool following speculation that he might leave the club.

The Tangerines boss admits he has made mistakes in the past, having resigned as Plymouth boss, and vowed that he will not renege on a contract again.

“I had a contract at Plymouth, I walked out on it and I will never do that again,” Holloway said.

“I’ve got a contract here for this year and next year and I’m delighted and very proud to be a very small part of a magnificent football club.

“I saw it again the other evening, the statue we have outside now of Jimmy Armfield – this is an amazing club with an amazing history, and I like to feel that I have added to that.”

The Blackpool boss is delighted with the situation at the club and revealed he has a good understanding with chairman Karl Oyston.

“I’ve got a great relationship with my chairman, who will choose when I’m not here anymore,” Holloway said.

“I wouldn’t have signed my contract for the length that I did if I wasn’t totally intent on seeing it through.”

Asked what would happen if he were to be headhunted by another club, Holloway said: “It would be nothing to do with me – my chairman would have to say ‘these people want you, I don’t want you anymore and you can go.’

“If he doesn’t want me to go then I would be happy to sit with him and discuss the length of a contract.

“Football isn’t how it used to be, but this football club is and that is what I love about it.

“Every day I’ve been at this football club I’ve tried to treasure it and polish the badge, and I haven’t finished polishing yet.

“I was polishing Plymouth and I decided to leave that. I never explained why and I hate to say it, but I was wrong.

“I’m sorry for that and I’m sorry to Leicester for letting them down.

“I’m certainly never, ever going to bite the hand that feeds me.

“I make mistakes once and learn from them, and that is what I have done.”

The Seasiders currently lie in 17th place and are only out of the relegation zone due to goal difference, but chairman Oyston admits he is still happy with their season and would not be concerned if they went down.

He told the Blackpool Gazette: “Whatever happens, we’ve had a fantastic season. I certainly hope Ian will be manager next season. And, unless he’s told you different, he will definitely be the manager here next season.

“It is still in our hands, which is a fantastic achievement by the manager and the team.

“I think we’d all have settled for it being in our hands with three games to go and the only time the league table matters is after the final whistle on the last day.”

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