Diego frustrated by Atletico Madrid impasse: 'I was playing for a permanent move'

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Diego has spoken of his frustration at seeing Atletico Madrid fail to make an offer to Wolfsburg to keep him at the club beyond the expiration of his loan deal

. The 27-year-old arrived in the Spanish capital after falling out with Felix Magath at the tail end of the 2010-11 campaign, and subsequently excelled under Diego Simeone's leadership as he went on to lift the Europa League trophy.

 The midfielder is keen to stay with Atleti on a permanent basis, but he admits he is beginning to harbour doubts about the possibility of plying his trade "First, I want to thank the fans for the affection [shown to me].

 It was special to me and was instrumental in our success into reality. I will never forget in my life, the moments that I lived with them. Always be in my heart," Diego told Marca. "There is still no offer from Atletico and that means something.

 I now do not think I am among the priorities of the club and I do not know why, but I understand them anyway.

 "I already made a financial investment at the beginning of last season and even waited until the last minute for Atletico, who finally arrived.

 "I played as well as I could to make the club invest in me [permanently], but things are not given. The rest is up to me. I starred on the field for the club to act now."

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Rooney ready for redemption

Rooney

England striker Wayne Rooney said he will ensure he is ready to return after missing the first two games of Euro 2012 through suspension.

The 26-year-old has joined his England team-mates at their Hertfordshire base ahead of Saturday's friendly with Belgium at Wembley, a game in which he is not expected to feature.

But the Manchester United forward says that he will train as hard as possible to get back into Roy Hodgson's team upon the completion of his ban.

"I've had a rest and I probably needed that. Being in the squad feels good. It's a few weeks before I can play so I will aim to do some good training to be ready if needed," Rooney told TheFA.com.

The striker also expressed delight at his inclusion in Hodgson's first squad, highlighting that new managers often look to different players.

"You don't know if a new manager will have you in his plans so it was nice to know that I am," he added.

"It is important I do my training right. I have had a long time to think about missing the first games; it's disappointing but something I've dealt with and I am looking forward to the first game for the rest of the lads and hoping we can get something out of that."

And Rooney echoed the thoughts of captain Steven Gerrard, insisting that the Three Lions will take the tournament one game at a time.

"We are in a tough group so we have to be focused in every game and take each game as it comes," he continued.

"We have a lot of young players which is good so we should be fresh with lots of energy."

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Welbeck, Johnson selected for England

Injured duo Danny Welbeck and Glen Johnson have been included in England's 23-man squad for Euro 2012.

Manchester United forward Welbeck has been struggling with an ankle injury sustained in a challenge from Nigel de Jong in the Manchester derby towards the end of last season while Johnson has sat out training recently with an infected toe.

In attack Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe and Welbeck will fight over the forward positions in the absence of the suspended Wayne Rooney for the opening two games in Group D.

Roy Hodgson's team kick-off their campaign on June 8 against France.

Full England squad:-

Goalkeepers - Joe Hart (Manchester City) Robert Green (West Ham) Jack Butland (Birmingham)

Defenders - Glen Johnson (Liverpool) Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), John Terry (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton) Phil Jones (Manchester United) Joleon Lescott (Manchester City) Phil Jagielka (Everton)

Midfielders - Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) Theo Walcott (Arsenal) Frank Lampard (Chelsea) Ashley Young (Manchester United) James Milner (Manchester City) Scott Parker (Tottenham) Stewart Downing (Liverpool) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal)

Attackers - Andy Carroll (Liverpool) Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) Jermain Defoe (Tottenham) Danny Welbeck (Manchester United)

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