Source: Telegraph
Manchester United's chances of signing David Villa fade
Speculation surrounding the Spanish international's future has been rife for some weeks with United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea all being linked. But following the 27-year-old's latest comments at the Confederations Cup, it seems any possibility of a move to the Premier League has been ruled out.
"A week ago my future was clear, and now it's not," he said. "I've been through some tough moments, which are partly my own fault, but I decided to put it all aside and I've not thought about it in the last five days.
'"When I said I had taken a decision it was true, and this decision is that next season I will play in Spain because it is the league that is best for me, I will not go abroad."
The news will come as a major blow to Sir Alex Ferguson who is looking to fill the goal scoring void left by the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. The Scot's only option if he wants to see the deal go through is to enter a bidding war with his Spanish competition in the hope that cash-strapped Valencia will consider their financial grievances a more important priority than Villa's wish to continue playing in La Liga.
According to the Mirror, United are prepared to spend a sizeable chunk of the £80 million acquired from Ronaldo's departure and are more than capable of competing with Barcelona and Real when it comes to wages.
Meanwhile, Ferguson has given Wigan something to think about in his attempts to sign Antonio Valencia, by offering the services of Nani.
The Portuguese winger has failed to impress since arriving at United in 2007 and despite interest from Sporting Lisbon, Nani may favour the chance to remain in the Premier League.
