Wish you were here: Internationals Walker and Mulgrew holiday in sunny Barbados

After a long, gruelling season, the world of football will now be able to kick back and enjoy a long, hot summer as the game's brightest stars head off on their holidays. 

Sportsmail will be there every step of the way, bringing you the very best snaps from Las Vegas, to Dubai, Ibiza (and back to Las Vegas) on a daily basis. 

 

KYLE WALKER (BARBADOS)

Having missed England's dismal European U21 Championship through injury, Tottenham star Kyle Walker has been sunning himself in Barbados.

The former Sheffield United defender was spotted strolling along Sandy Lane beach with a mystery woman as well as having fun on a jet ski.

Wearing black shorts and a grey vest, Walker was seen having a laugh with fellow beach-goers before boarding the jet ski.

After a long campaign that saw Spurs narrowly miss out Champions League qualification finishing one place behind North London rivals Arsenal, Walker seemed to be enjoying his summer break.

The England international was forced to pull out of manager Roy Hodgson's squad with a fibula injury he picked up whilst playing for Spurs in a friendly against Jamaica in the Bahamas.

Had Walker avoided injury, he would still have been unavailable to U21 boss Stuart Pearce after the FA said that any players selected for the senior side for the friendlies against Brazil and the Republic of Ireland could not be selected to play for the U21s.

CHARLIE MULGREW (BARBADOS)

Kyle Walker wasn't the only international defender enjoying himself on Barbados' Sandy Lane Beach.

Scotland's recent newly-wed Charlie Mulgrew has also been snapped at the same holiday destination with new wife Alana.

The Celtic star was left out of Gordon Strachan's squad that faced Croatia so that he could get married on June 8. Fortunately, his team-mates didn't miss him too much as they secured a brilliant 1-0 victory in Zagreb courtesy of a Robert Snodgrass goal.

The former Aberdeen man applied sun cream to his new spouse before the pair chilled out on sun loungers.

Nani wants dream Juve or Monaco switch with United willing to take £8m for wing king

Out-of-favour Manchester United winger Nani has his heart set on a move to Juventus or Monaco this summer.

The Portuguese international has suffered an inconsistent couple of seasons at Old Trafford and is not in manager David Moyes’s plans for the Barclays Premier League champions.

Nani has attracted interest from Galatasaray in Turkey and from clubs in his home country but has told friends in Portugal that he would prefer a move to Italy or France.

Juventus and Monaco both have an interest and have had informal talks with Nani’s representatives from Jorge Mendes’s Gestifute agency.

United, for their part, want in the region of £8million for the player.

Reports in Portugal suggested that United have a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with Benfica for Argentinian central defender Ezequiel Garay.

Sportsmail revealed United’s interest in the 26-year-old last winter but the club distanced themselves from the latest reports yesterday.

Meanwhile, former United midfielder Paul Scholes — who retired at the end of last season — is still waiting to be invited for talks about a coaching role at Old Trafford. The former England star is expected eventually to become part of United’s youth coaching set-up.

City and Arsenal on alert with Milan ready to cash in on El Shaarawy

Manchester City’s pursuit of youngster Stephan El Shaarawy may be back on after AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani indicated that the club may cash in on the Italian.

The forward, 20, recently said that he was flattered to be linked with the Premier League club, but that he was happy at Milan for the time being.

Galliani’s quotes have also opened the door for fellow Serie A side Napoli, and it could also mean a swap deal with City involving Carlos Tevez, who is widely tipped to make the move to Italy this summer.

Last season El Shaarawy established himself as a regular at the Rossoneri for the first time since his move from Genoa in 2011, scoring 16 goals, and is regarded as a great prospect in his homeland.

His performances have also seen him gain recognition from the national team, making his first cap last October.

Galliani yesterday denied that the club had received an offer from City, but has now said that El Shaarawy may not necessarily stay at the San Siro, and pointed to Napoli as a possible destination.

 ‘El Shaarawy? We never said he is not for sale,’ the vice-president told Corriere dello Sport.

‘Napoli? Ask the president Aurelio De Laurentiis.’

El Shaarawy’s form in the last campaign dipped slightly upon the arrival of former City player Mario Balotelli in January, but is one of the strikers on a wishlist to replace the void the 22-year-old left at the Etihad this summer.

Also linked with a move as soon-to-be boss Manuel Pellegrini sets out to rejuvenate the side are Edinson Cavani and Robert Lewandowski, while Tevez is expected to move on.

It is believed that the Argentinian wants a move to either Milan or Serie A champions Juventus, as he looks to put a turbulent spell in Manchester behind him.

He's turning 40 (and out injured for six months), but veteran Inter skipper Zanetti bags new one-year contract extension

Injured Inter Milan captain Javier Zanetti has been given a one-year contract extension by the Serie A club despite facing months out of action and turning 40 in August.

The Argentine defender, who has played more than 840 games for Inter, had an operation on his ruptured Achilles at the end of April and was told he faced six months on the sidelines.

'We talked at length about the injury and we decided to do another year together,' Zanetti told the club website (www.inter.it) on Wednesday.

'They have shown once again their belief in me and my passion for Inter.

'I hope I can repay them on the pitch for this gesture of affection and esteem.'

'I am doing everything I can to come back fit and healthy, and to be ready for the coach and my team-mates.'

Zanetti has been at Inter for 18 years and in that time has won five Serie A titles, four Coppa Italia trophies, the Uefa Cup and the Champions League.

Inter finished ninth in Serie A last season, missing out on all the European competitions.

Fiorentina have agreed to buy former Spain winger Joaquin from La Liga side Malaga pending a medical, the two clubs said on Wednesday.

Joaquin, who will be 32 next month, began his professional career at Real Betis and joined Malaga in 2011 after a five-year stint at Valencia.

He became a firm favourite with the fans and scored several vital goals on the Qatar-owned club's run to the last eight of the Champions League last season.

'Malaga would like to thank Joaquin for his dedication, professionalism and commitment to the club and wish him good luck in his first professional experience outside Spain,' the club said on their website.

Fiorentina finished fourth in Serie A last season and qualified for the Europa League, the continent's second-tier club competition.

Man United face competition for Cabaye with Monaco, Napoli and Roma interested

Monaco, Napoli and Roma are interested in Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye.

The 27-year-old made a public declaration of his ambition to move to a bigger club on French television last week, with Manchester United also tracking the player.

Paris St Germain have long held an interest in Cabaye but now Monaco have added him to their star-studded shopping list.

Monaco CEO Vadim Vasilyev said: 'Yohan Cabaye? He is an exciting player.'

Rafa Benitez, now with Napoli, and new Roma coach Rudi Garcia are also weighing up offers but the latter depends on whether Daniele de Rossi leaves.

International and club team-mate, Massadio Haidara, though, remains hopeful his fellow countryman will remain at St James’ Park.

He said: 'Of course I want Yohan to remain at Newcastle. He’s a really important player for the club and for the team.

'He’s a great player and has certainly shown how important he is for Newcastle and for the French national team.

'From a personal point of view I didn’t really know Yohan that well before I came to Newcastle.

'But I had played against him before and he’s one of the players who gave me the warmest welcome.'

Swansea cut all ties to Laudrup's agent who they claim is planning manager's escape

Relations between Swansea City and Michael Laudrup fell to a new low last night, with the club severing all ties with their manager’s representative.

Sportsmail can reveal that a massive disagreement between chairman Huw Jenkins and Laudrup’s agent of more than 20 years, Bayram Tutumlu, is partially respopnsible for the bust-up that could lead to the Dane’s departure this summer.

In a series of damning allegations, senior officials at the club have claimed Tutumlu has been attempting to dictate and control the club’s transfer policy for months and they have now taken the step of preventing him from holding any authorisation to recruit or sell players.

Among the most provocative allegations emanating from the club concerns a moment in the closing stages of last season when Tutumlu is said to have declared his intention to sell Ashley Williams.

Jenkins opposed the suggestion and the incident is understood to have triggered a shouting match between the pair, virtually destroying the club’s relationship with an adviser Laudrup has trusted since his playing days at Barcelona.

Further claims have been made that Tutumlu insisted all new players are signed through him, while he is also said to have met prospective signings without Jenkins’s or the club’s knowledge. A further claim is that Tutumlu attempted to scupper deals the club had arranged via other agents in Europe.

Laudrup last night insisted he would continue working with Tutumlu and insisted his ‘intention’ is to stay at Swansea. He said: ‘Bayram is my agent and that’s not going to change.

‘If the club do not want to work with him or Bayram does not want to work with them, it’s their problem not mine. Again I say that my intention is to stay — I have repeated it so many times in the last three months.

‘The only thing I am interested in is having the best players at Swansea within the budget that is possible. 

That’s what I have been fighting for every day. That will always be the most important thing for me wherever I end up in the future.’

Tutumlu issued an attack on Jenkins, insisting he had made no money on any deal he has been involved in. He told Sportsmail: ‘Everything I have done at the club has been on behalf of Michael. I have made no money. The club have never paid me to do work for them. The work I have done has been to help Michael, to help Swansea and it has all been done the correct way. I have done nothing wrong.

‘If Huw Jenkins wants to say things about me, he should show his balls and do it face to face, in front of television cameras.’

The club have not banned Tutumlu from the Liberty Stadium or the training facilities for fear that Laudrup will claim his position has been made untenable. There is a suspicion among the Swansea board that Laudrup is trying to engineer a way out.

Laudrup and Jenkins have spoken this week, but the Swansea board have almost lost hope of keeping their manager. The latest twist follows the peculiar developments of Tuesday, when the club are understood to have rejected Laudrup’s suggestion that they sign West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie.

In an indication of the distrust that is circling the Liberty, there is a belief at the club that the proposal of a 31-year-old striker with a difficult history was made in the expectation that Jenkins would refuse the move, thus giving Laudrup grounds for complaint.

Paris St-Germain are keen on Laudrup if their move for Andre Villas-Boas falls through.

Watch Zlatan get away with 'no-look pass' slamming into the opposing keeper's face

Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored two goals in his country's 2-0 win against the Faroe Islands in their World Cup qualifier last night, and late on managed to rub it in Faroes goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen's face even more.

The Paris St-Germain star is used to embarrassing players with his fancy flicks and skillful footwork, but the 31-year-old chucking the ball at his opponent in the dying seconds of the match took precedent over his ability in Stockholm.

While confronting the referee, Ibrahimovic threw the ball towards the conveniently placed Nielsen  who took it square to the jaw and received no punishment, with the official seemingly convinced by the skipper's cheeky post-match verdict that it was a 'no look pass'.

The talismanic forward has made his name for some strange actions on and the football pitch, threatening to break Rafael van der Vaart's legs, and having a training bust up with former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira.

Because of this, and his inconsistent displays against Premier League clubs, the English press haven't always recognised his footballing powers.

'I will show you,' said Zlatan back in 2010, and he certainly did when he scored a stunning 30 yard overhead kick against England in a friendly in November.

The win means Sweden go level on points with Republic of Ireland and Austria on 11 in Group C, five points behind runaway leaders Germany.

The Irish beat the Faroe Islands 4-0 last week, so will be encouraged by Sweden's apparent lack of firepower as they aim to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil next year.

Giovanni Trapattoni's side almost managed to hold World Cup winners Spain to a draw in New York last night, as late goals from Roberto Soldado and Juan Mata broke Irish hearts.