Monaco releases veteran defender Carvalho

Monaco - Former Porto, Real Madrid and Chelsea star Ricardo Carvalho has been told by Ligue 1 outfit Monaco he is surplus to requirements, the club said on Tuesday.

The 38-year-old central defender won Euro 2016 with Portugal this summer, but Monaco is rebuilding and has decided against prolonging his three-year stay there.

"Concerning Ricardo Carvalho, we have had talks and agreed there will be no contract extension," the club's vice-president Vadim Vasilyev said. "He's been huge for us but the time has come to move on."

Monaco has signed three defenders over the summer in Polish international central defender Kamil Glik, up-and-coming left-back Benjamin Mendy, 21, from Marseille, and pipped Arsenal to the signature of Lille's Djibril Sidibe.

Carvalho came to prominence at Porto where he won the 2003 UEFA Cup and the 2004 Champions League under Jose Mourinho, who he then followed to Chelsea and later to Real Madrid.