NEWS ROUND UP

From TeamTalk:

Sir Alex Ferguson has denied speculation linking Manchester United with an end-of-season swoop for Ajax and Holland star Rafael van der Vaart.

Reports claim United are chasing the Dutch 21-year-old, but that Ferguson could miss out as Barcelona are emerging as favourites to land the midfielder.

Asked what was happening on the van der Vaart front, Ferguson stressed:

"Absolutely nothing. You can run it [the story] if you like. I would be delighted if you did to keep the scent off."

Meanwhile, van der Vaart has backed up Ferguson's words saying he has had no contact from Old Trafford although he remains adamant a decision on his future will be made soon.

"Alex Ferguson has not been visiting me, and that's a fact," he said.

"I haven't made a decision yet, but I understand that I'll have to make one soon," he added.

Bellion in the MEN:

“I'm not going to say it has been my best season because I know I have a lot to learn at the club. United is the biggest club in the world and the best place to learn and I still have a long way to go.

"When you see the standard of players like Scholesy, Keano and Giggsy you want to be like them, know what's in their minds and concentrate all the time.

"I know what it means to wear the United shirt and that's why I always try and give more than 100 per cent for the club.

"I am confident I can get there. The training is OK, I am doing better than I was six months ago so I am very happy.

"I am enjoying every day of my life here and I am happy to just keep working hard.

"It is difficult only because you love football and want to play in every game but at the same time it is a test to know how you react when you don't play.

"I am looking forward to the time when I am a regular and when I am scoring goals.

"I know if I want to be a success there is logic in the process I have to go through.

"I am very confident because when I look at Giggsy - one of my favourite players - I know how important it is that he is in the team all the time.

"I want to be part of the 11 and I know I'll get there.

"When I first arrived I was new and did not know anybody but you watch and learn and now I know what I have to do.

"I know I have to improve my concentration and I think I have. When I train I try to be aware and look before I get the ball. That is very important at United.

"I know I have made mistakes but I am learning. That's the difference with the experienced players, they are not perfect but they rarely make mistakes.

"They are great players and we have a new adventure at the club now with new young players coming into the reckoning.

"I don't compare myself to anybody because that would be big-headed but I love the way Ryan Giggs plays. For me he is amazing. When he is on fire nobody can stop him.

"Paul Scholes is maybe a more complete player and Roy Keane is a big-game player, but for me I just love to see Ryan Giggs.

"The way he beats three of four players as if they were not there. When he gets the ball the game is just great to watch.

"It's great because the FA Cup means so much to people. It always means a lot to beat Arsenal and to do it in the FA Cup was even better because of the rivalry.

"The fans were brilliant and it was like having a 12th man out there. The game seemed to last forever but when you come on even for five minutes - like I did - you have to concentrate and not lose the ball. I almost scored but just missed the chance.

"It was a good win and we stopped the treble for them which everybody said they would win.

"If I can be part of the FA Cup Final that would be a great way to end my first season at United.”

Only one European Cup in four seasons of Galacticos, compared to two in three seasons immediately prior to Perez’s revolution. The locals aren’t happy in Madrid, from Reuters:

Real Madrid's shock exit from the European Cup at the hands of an inspired Monaco has caused many to question the wisdom of the superstar recruitment policy of club president Florentino Perez.

After an apparently conclusive 4-2 win in the first leg at the Bernabeu, the talk at Real had switched to a titanic semi-final against Chelsea or Arsenal as the prelude to a glorious 10th European Cup triumph.

But in a bitter piece of irony one of the players the club decided to discard at the start of the season ended up leading unfancied Monaco to the most unexpected of victories.

Striker Fernando Morientes, who had been marginalised at Real since the signing of Ronaldo two years ago, finally decided to give in to the club's pressure and accept a loan move to the team from the Principality at the start of the season.

It was Morientes's late goal in the first leg that gave Didier Deschamps' side a glimmer of hope for the return match in Monaco.

In what sports daily Marca termed "an act of sweet revenge", the Spanish international helped seal the fate of his old team by scoring the second goal in their 3-1 triumph that ensured them of an away goals victory against their illustrious opponents.

"I'm a professional and I'm going to enjoy this victory," Morientes said after the match. "I know this is a big blow to Madrid as I have a lot of friends there and I hope they now go on to win the league now."

To rub salt into the wound another Real reject, Claude Makelele, also helped his new side secure a place in the semis with an authoritative performance at the heart of the Chelsea midfield in their victory over favourites Arsenal.

The decision to let both players go at the start of the season came from the very top at Real as part of the president's declared policy of building the team on a combination of world class "galacticos" like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham and emerging young players from the club's youth ranks.

In such a model there was little place for middle ranking players like Morientes and Makelele, who did much of the team's dirty work, but sold few shirts and did little to help boost the club's image in the global market place.

Sports daily AS, renowned for its loyalty to the Perez cause, broke ranks on Wednesday and claimed that coming only three weeks after a shock defeat in the final of the King's Cup the new blow at Monaco had been proof of the "failure of the project".

The defeat also brought renewed criticism of the Perez's decision to send the squad on an exhausting pre-season tour of Asia, designed to boost the club's image in the Far East.

For the last two months Real have looked stale, relying on the individual brilliance of their leading players to get them out of trouble, but the fact that the squad is so thin has meant that few first choice players have been able to rest.

Coach Carlos Queiroz has consistently warned about the dangers of having such a small squad and made it clear that he thought the club should have recruited at least one defender to bring some balance to the team.

On Tuesday night, his warnings came back to haunt him.