Weah free to move on

Milan have agreed to cancel the contract of their Liberian striker George Weah, allowing him to leave on a free transfer. A Milan spokesman said the decision had been taken mutually after a meeting yesterday.

Milan have agreed to cancel the contract of their Liberian striker George Weah, allowing him to leave on a free transfer. A Milan spokesman said the decision had been taken mutually after a meeting yesterday.

Weah, 34, had one year remaining on his current deal but a move was the likely outcome following a disagreement last term with the Milan coach, Alberto Zaccheroni, which saw him loaned out to Chelsea for the rest of the season.

"For me and our supporters it is a sad day," Milan's vice-president, Adriano Galliani, said. "A piece of Milan's history is leaving, someone who made a decisive contribution to the winning of two titles and who will always remain part of the history of this club."

Galliani said Weah had decided to leave because he wanted regular first-team football. "He wanted to play but we couldn't guarantee a place in the starting line-up," he added.

Weah joined Milan from Paris St Germain in 1995 and helped them to Serie A titles in 1996 and 1999. In 1995 he became the first African to be voted European Player of the Year. The 33-year-old made 114 appearances for Milan.

Roma, who are currently coached by the man who brought Weah to Italy, Fabio Capello, have shown an interest in the player despite having an impressive roster of strikers, including the Argentinian Gabriel Batistuta and Francesco Totti. Reports have also suggested that Fulham could be interested in signing the Liberian, and Bologna are also waiting in the wings.

Real Madrid's technical director, Jose Martinez Pirri, said yesterday that the Argentinian midfielder Fernando Redondo was not available for transfer.

Redondo, 30, is a transfer target by Milan, with the deal reported to be worth £11million, but Pirri, who flew into Real's training camp in Switzerland yesterday, insisted that a deal was not on the cards.