Craig Bellamy could be about to become the first high-profile casualty of Manchester City's pursuit of a Premier League title.
Bellamy looks to have played his last game for City after falling out with manager Roberto Mancini in the latest bust up in a series marking the 31-year-old Wales striker's career.
Normally, that wouldn't present a problem to a player whose talent outweighs his reputation enough for a long list of clubs to become interested every time he is available for a transfer. But these are not normal times.
New league rules mean that City must name a 25-man squad by Sept. 1 and City's huge wealth means it has an unprecedented amount of control over Bellamy's future.
Mancini will not pick him but City can afford to leave Bellamy on the sidelines or subsidize his wages while loaning him to the club of its choice.
Tottenham beat City to reach a Champions League playoff last season and heads the list of teams interested in adding the speedy, skillful Bellamy to its own squad. But City won't let him join any team it perceives as a rival.
''They wouldn't want to loan him to us,'' Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said. ''I don't think they want to loan anyone to us. That's why they would loan Fulham Bellamy but wouldn't loan people to us.''
City's stance opens the possibility that a player who has cost a total of about 45 million pounds ($70.4 million) in transfer fees over the past decade could be heading to second-tier Cardiff rather than playing in Europe's top club competition.
The situation highlights the weakness of the 25-man squad limit, which is being introduced this season in an attempt to wean clubs off big-money transfers and develop young talent.
But Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has already criticized the ruling repeatedly, not least because he believes that wealthy sides can still stockpile talent and then choose where to send them on loan if they do not need them.
''With this 25-man ruling, it doesn't matter how well I train or how good my attitude is, I might not be registered to play,'' Bellamy said. ''So do I go without playing football until January, or do I find myself a club where I can play football?''
Bellamy has said he has already turned down the chance to join German club Wolfsburg. Fulham and Scottish club Celtic, where Bellamy played on loan in 2005, are also interested in signing him.
Fulham manager Mark Hughes coached Bellamy with Wales, Blackburn and Manchester City before joining the west London club last month.
So, Cardiff would appear to have little chance of signing such a high-profile player. But Bellamy is so exasperated with his situation at City that he even spoke last week of quitting football altogether.
''I might finish, full stop,'' Bellamy said. ''Or look at every option. This game is ruthless.''
