Manchester City have released former Germany international Dietmar Hamann along with Danny Mills and Darius Vassell as part of a clearout by the English Premier League club.

City also confirmed on their website (www.mcfc.co.uk) that young forward Danny Sturridge was leaving after failing to agree a new contract with the club, which is now owned by Abu Dhabi billionaire Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan.

Hamann, who also played for Liverpool, joined City three years ago from Bolton Wanderers but a toe injury sidelined him for a chunk of last season.

City have spent heavily in the transfer market with England midfielder Gareth Barry arriving from Aston Villa and Roque Santa Cruz, the Paraguay striker, joining from Blackburn Rovers.

They have also made a bid to sign Samuel Eto'o from Barcelona and manager Mark Hughes is keen to bring Carlos Tevez across the city from Manchester United.

"Carlos is a player I have huge admiration for. He's a great player and a great competitor, and any manager would be delighted to have him in the team," Hughes told the website.

"Carlos would be a real asset to our future plans but at the moment he's not our player. We'll see what happens.

"We've lodged a bid for Samuel Eto'o, and I don't think there's any update on that. We've tracked the players we think will help us and he's one I've got a lot of respect for. We have to stand back and see what develops."