Cannavaro's last season?

Fabio Cannavaro could be about to start his third and last season with Real Madrid, according to his agent. In an interview with Italian radio station Kiss Kiss, Gaetano Fedele said that "the way things currently stand, this will be Fabio's last season wearing the Real Madrid shirt. In any case, we will see during the season whether there is an opportunity to renew the contract with Real Madrid. Fabio's dream has always been to return to play for Napoli".

Cannavaro joined Real Madrid from Juventus in 2006 (following the "Moggigate" match-fixing scandal which saw them demoted to Serie B) and signed a three-year contract, which, if he leaves at the end of next June, he will have seen out in its entirety. This is consistent with his recent comments about the Cristiano Ronaldo affair and Sepp Blatter's rather misguided intervention: "slavery is a big word, someone who signs a contract must respect it".

Clearly, there is some wiggle room, and Fedele's comments could be construed as a gentle salvo to Real Madrid about a possible contract extension. While Real have the ready-made replacement of Garay waiting in the wings for next season, it may be prudent to wait and see whether Metzelder, who had a relatively poor European championship following his return from injury, is up to the task. I expect that, barring injury, Pepe will be a regular starter in the centre of defence this season, accompanied by both Cannavaro and Metzelder, depending on form.