Cavani angered by transfer rumours

The Uruguay star insists he is not worried about where he will play his football next season and is only focused on playing for his country

Edinson Cavani says he is angered by persistent rumours surrounding his future as he looks to fire Uruguay to victory in their Confederations Cup third-place play-off against Italy on Sunday.

The Napoli striker has been linked with a whole host of clubs across Europe, with Real Madrid and Manchester City both reported to hold a strong interest in acquiring his services.

But the 26-year-old has grown tired of the persistent rumours and has refused to discuss his future anymore in a bid to focus on his next international test.

“Your talking at the beginning didn’t disturb me but now I have to confess these rumours are bothering me,” he told reporters.

“You’re talking too much about things you shouldn’t be talking about now. I’m still engaged in this competition and just thinking about the next game [versus Italy].

“I play in Italy, I know all of them. I was expecting them to play a great tournament, so I must congratulate them. But tomorrow, we want to win. I want to raise my country in the world standings as much as possible.”

Oscar Tabarez echoed his striker’s words: “We are facing a strong side but at this stage anything can happen. We want to try to the end and finish this competition in the best possible way.”

Luis Suarez and Diego Godin then revealed they would be using the clash with the Azzurri as an opportunity to exorcise their demons from losing the World Cup 2010 third place play-off to Germany.

“Every time we pull on the Celeste shirt we want to win and claiming third place would really mean a lot to us,” Suarez revealed to Fifa.com.

“What’s more, it still rankles that we didn’t finish on the podium at South Africa 2010, when we lost to Germany.”

“It was really painful for us all, because we came so close to reaching the final,” Godin reiterated. “All we’re thinking about now is beating Italy. Finishing fourth is not the same as finishing third.”