Luis Figo sent a message of calm to worried Barcelona fans yesterday, finally denying reports he had signed a pre-contract agreement to join arch-rivals Real Madrid.
Spanish soccer was rocked last week when rumours began to spread that the Portuguese international had signed a deal with Real Madrid presidential candidate Florentino Perez.
For several days, Figo refused to make any comment on the matter, leading the Spanish media to start talking of the deal as a fait accompli.
But in a lengthy interview with Barcelona-based Sport newspaper yesterday, Figo emphatically denied the story, although he confirmed he had had offers from Perez and other clubs including Lazio.
The player blamed the current situation on the refusal of president Josep Lluis Nunez - who will step down later in July - to negotiate over an improved contract.
Meanwhile, Spanish side Alaves are set to sign Manchester United's Jordi Cruyff. The Primera Liga side said: "We have reached agreement in principle and are confident that we can present the player to our public at the beginning of next week."
The 26-year-old Dutchman, capped nine times for his national team, has already played in the Spanish league with Barcelona, when it was being coached by his father former Dutch international Johan.
Spanish international goalkeeper Jose Molina is set to join Deportivo Coruna after agreeing a six-year contract with the reigning champions.
Molina, who was dropped from the Spanish team at Euro 2000 after his mistake handed Norway a 1-0 win in their opening game, met Deportivo officials over the weekend to finalise the deal.
Italian champions Lazio are trying to buy Dutchman Boudewijn Zenden from Barcelona, Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper reported yesterday. It said Lazio had offered the Spanish club 24 billion lire ($11.77 million) for the left-sided player, part of the Dutch side who reached the semi-finals of Euro 2000.
Zenden would be a useful asset to the Serie A side if, as expected, Portuguese midfielder Sergio Conceicao moves to Parma, Gazzetta said.
