Juventus return suits Cannavaro

Veteran defender Fabio Cannavaro says he would relish a return to Juventus, as his time with Real Madrid appears to be coming to an end.

The 35-year-old Italy captain left Juve in the summer of 2006 to head to Spain, but looks poised to make the return journey at the end of the season.

He told Tuttosport: "I respect Real greatly, but it could be that my future doesn't lie here.

"However, I don't want to cause any problems at the Bernabeu at such a crucial point in the season.

"I know there has been contact with Juventus, but I am going to let my agent deal with that. I prefer not to meddle in negotiations.

"I have an agreement with (agent) Enrico Fedele that once everything is sorted he will call me and I will sign.

"Everyone knows that I would happily return to Juve where I spent two great seasons and won Scudetti that nobody can take away from me."

Meanwhile, current Juve coach Claudio Ranieri has given his blessing to moves to bring Cannavaro back to Turin.

He added: "We also asked questions about Cannavaro's age, but we couldn't let this chance escape.

"We would be able to rebuild the partnership with Giorgio Chiellini and we can sign him for free. When I was consulted about this I gave the go-ahead."

AC Milan have announced that veteran Brazil midfielder Emerson has left the club with immediate effect due to personal issues.

The 33-year-old former Juventus, Real Madrid and Roma star had been at the San Siro for nearly two seasons, but has drifted out of the first-team picture since the turn of the year.

A short statement from the club confirmed: "AC Milan announces that the player, Emerson Ferreira Da Rosa, has successfully applied to dissolve his contract with immediate effect because of personal reasons.

"We thank him for his efforts demonstrated during his time as a Rossonero and Milan wish him all the best for the future."

Meanwhile Gennaro Gattuso has returned to training with the Rossoneri following a serious knee injury, but the Italy international is still not expected to return to action this season.

Elsewhere, Atalanta coach Luigi Del Neri says he is content with his decision to leave the Serie A club at the end of the season.

The 58-year-old has spent two years in charge of the Bergamo outfit, but has rejected the offer to carry on next term.

He said: "It's not true that I have received an offer from another team. I am leaving simply because there is a difference in objectives between myself and the club.

"I said that I didn't want to fight for survival but for other goals and so I will either go elsewhere or take a year out."

Atalanta president Alessandro Ruggeri had recently stated: "We had high hopes he would renew his contract, but earlier this month he told me that an important club was interested in him.

"In our last meeting he said that he had no longer the motivation to continue with our adventure and that he wanted to do something more important."