Nedved staying with relegated Juventus

Nedved staying with relegated Juventus

PRAGUE, (AFP) - Czech international Pavel Nedved has pledged his future to scandal-plagued Italian giants Juventus, vowing to stay with the club next season despite their relegation to Serie B.

The 34-year-old midfield star has decided against following Juve team-mates Emerson, Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta out of the Stadio delle Alpi and is preparing for life in the second division.

"Pavel will be a Juventus player next season," Nedved's agent David Nehoda was quoted as saying by the Czech news agency CTK.

Several top European clubs had expressed an interest in signing Nedved, the 2003 European Footballer of the Year and recognised as one of the most skilful midfielders in the world.

Among those believed to be chasing Nedved were French side Lyon and English Premiership outfit Tottenham.