Barcelona Clear Way for Deco, Ronaldinho and Eto'o to Leave

Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto'o moved a step closer to the Camp Nou exit and potential transfers to the Premier League after the new Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola, revealed the trio are not part of his plans for next season.

All three players were below their best last season and missed large chunks of the campaign through injury. Their commitment has also been questioned amid reports of dressing-room disharmony under the previous coach, Frank Rijkaard. Guardiola, who was officially unveiled as Barcelona's coach yesterday, looks set to wipe the slate clean by selling the trio.

"All of the players in the first-team squad last season are of a very high level," he said. "But with the technical secretary [Txiki Begiristain] we are forming a squad and Deco, Ronaldinho and Eto'o are not in our minds."

Manchester City are courting Ronaldinho and Deco has been linked with Chelsea, where he would work with his current Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, although Internazionale are also keen. Tottenham have shown an interest in Eto'o, but the Cameroon striker's wage demands make a move to Spurs unlikely.

Guardiola said he would love to see Ronaldinho recapture his best form for Barcelona but believes that scenario is unlikely. "If I felt that he wanted to be the player he was again, he would be here."

The coach ruled out trying to compete with Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo, who has said he would like to leave Manchester United for the Bernabéu. "I wouldn't make a space for him in the team, even though I think he is a very good player," said the former Spain international, who wants Thierry Henry to stay.

United have succeeded in their efforts to have Park Ji-sung withdrawn from South Korea's Olympic squad amid concerns about his fitness and an admission yesterday that the midfielder was suffering from "mental stress". Park had been identified as one of three over-age players to represent his country in Beijing but United submitted a medical report stating he needed "rest and dental treatment".

Further tests over the past week have shown that Park is also suffering from "mild arthritis" in the knee that required cruciate ligament surgery last summer, and Park Sung-hwa, the national under-23 coach, said the player was suffering the effects of a rigorous end to the season.

"Due to fatigue, Park appears to have been suffering from mental stress over his selection for the Olympics," he said.