Blackburn Rejects Man City offer for Santa Cruz

Blackburn have rejected a bid "significantly higher than £12m" from Manchester City for Roque Santa Cruz, according to Mark Hughes.

The Manchester City manager is keen to add some firepower to his squad, with the club just two points above the relegation zone, but Blackburn are desperate to hang on to the former Bayern Munich striker — who has scored three goals in 13 games this season, but scored 19 for Rovers in 2007-08.

Rovers released a brief statement on their official website: "Blackburn Rovers can confirm receiving a bid from Manchester City for striker Roque Santa Cruz. The bid has been rejected."

Hughes has already spent around £8m this month to bring the Chelsea left-back Wayne Bridge to Eastlands and has the backing of the club's owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was yesterday listed as the richest man in British football with an estimated personal fortune of £15bn.