Cassano stays at Sampdoria

Sampdoria are probably very glad to have got themselves a bargain in agreeing a free transfer for Antonio Cassano from Real Madrid. The troubled Talentino has been on loan with the Genoese side since last August, and, as expected, won't be coming back to Madrid. His successful season at Sampdoria has resulted in a call-up from Roberto Donadoni for the Italian squad in Euro 2008 and some observers were suggesting that Real Madrid would wait until the end of the championship to maximise their asking price for the striker.

However, it seems that Mijatovic and co. do not want to take any risks with Cassano and his €4 million annual salary and have agreed to let him go on a free with a few strings attached. Should Sampdoria decide to sell him on within the year (Inter are said to be interested), Real will receive around €7 million. This figure drops to around €5 million if he's sold on in the next three years. So, it looks like Real have waived the fee agreed between the two sides last year (around €5 million) in return for a potentially larger pay-out in the event that Sampdoria are looking to make a quick profit, plus a guarantee that they will take the troublesome striker off their hands.