The news that legendary Italian stopper Fabio Cannavaro wants to end his career with a ‘phenomenal project’ will have been music to the ears of the Manchester City hierarchy.
The Real Madrid defender and World Cup-winner is out of contract at the Bernabeu in the summer and is unlikely to stay on with the La Liga giants.
The 35-year-old has predictably been linked with a free-transfer switch to Manchester City, while Tottenham and AC Milan have also been mooted.
“Fabio wants to aim for an important project as he nears the end of his career, one that I would call phenomenal,” his agent Gaetano Fedele revealed.
It’s safe to say a transfer to Eastlands would be a significant ‘project’ considering City’s owners are plotting a Champions League assault over the next few seasons.
Backed by their wealthy owner Sheikh Mansour, City have set their sights on playing Champions League football and the close season is sure to bring more multi-million talent into the ambitious club.
There will be an extended list of agents trying their best to win mega-buck contracts for their players at City at the end of the season and how much value City would get from a 35-year-old bringing the curtain down on his career is debatable.
However with City increasingly aware of their need to compete with rivals United in the merchandising stakes, then the prospect of selling ‘Cannavaro 98’ shirts might be an appealing one both at home and abroad.
Cannavaro, who has won league titles in Spain and Italy, would in his prime have graced the English top flight, but whether or not the veteran could cut the mustard in the cut and thrust of the Premier League remains to be seen.
It’s unlikely that any of the Premier League’s big guns would be looking to sign the former Parma man and one of the lesser teams might be his only option, however there are suggestions AC Milan or his home-town club Napoli could be interested, making these choices a good outside football bet .
By Phil Tomlinson
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