Craig Bellamy issues quit threat over new squad rules
Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy has threatened to quit football altogether if he doesn’t make the cut from manager Roberto Mancini’s squad.
Under new league rules, English Premier League clubs must register 25 senior players for the season, a figure which can be supplemented by youngsters. But with a raft of summer arrivals at the City of Manchester Stadium and murmurings of a frosty relationship with Mancini, Bellamy is believed to be among the casualties as the manager chooses his squad.
The player himself believes he will not be among the 25, but said that he feels he deserves not to be frozen out of top-flight action. He told reporters that: "I feel strongly that I can offer something at the club. But if I don't get in the 25-man squad, I don't know what I will do. I might finish, full stop, or look at every option I get. This game is as ruthless as any. I sort of feel I am not going to be part of it [at Manchester City]. I can see it from a distance. I have to see what options I have. I am here to play football.”
German side made move
German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg made a move for the 31-year-old in the close season, but Bellamy revealed he turned down the chance to play under Steve McClaren. He said that: "I let him know as politely as I could that I didn't see Wolfsburg as an option at that time because I still felt I had a really good chance of playing for Manchester City."
Bellamy added that his manager had not spoken to him for six months, giving further evidence to his belief that he will not be included in the squad. He said that: "He hasn't spoken to me since February. I don't think you have to be high-fiving the manager and speaking to him on a day-to-day basis but, with this 25-man squad, all the indications me and my agent have had are that my name will not be on it."
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