Manzano bids farewell to Atlético

'Honour to have him here'
"Both Manzano and myself agreed that it was best for us not to renew the contract," said club president Enrique Cerezo. "A great person has worked for this club and it was an honour to have him here."

'Intense experience'
The 47-year-old Manzano said he had made the decision not to stay at the club more than two months ago and believed that it was time to move on. "It was a very intense experience," he said. "There have been some disappointments but also some successes and all I hope is that this season forms the basis of future triumphs."

No decision
Cerezo said the club had not yet decided who would replace Manzano, who had signed a one-year contract last year. Although the team spent much of the campaign in the upper reaches of the table they had to settle for a place in the UEFA Intertoto Cup after finishing seventh.

Burgos leaving
Meanwhile, former Argentina goalkeeper Burgos is also leaving. The 35-year-old was in the headlines last season after undergoing an operation to remove a cancerous growth from his kidney, but made a rapid recovery. This season he had a string of injury problems and was dropped in January after a poor performance in the 4-0 defeat by Sevilla FC in the first leg of their Spanish Cup quarter-final.

Other departures
The other goalkeeper on his way out of the Manzanares is Juanma, 23, who replaced Burgos when he fell ill but, like the Argentinian, has since proved unable to displace the first choice, Sergio Aragoneses. Also leaving the club is 21-year-old midfield player Juan Manuel Ortiz, who is joining CA Osasuna on a two-year loan.