London - Middlesbrough revealed Tuesday that they will not renew the contracts of midfielder Fabio Rochemback and Gaizka Mendieta or forward Lee Dong-Gook. "We both feel that the time is right for Fabio to have a fresh challenge," the Boro manager Gareth Southgate said.
"I think he's just had his best season for us, while it was fitting that he should bow out against Manchester City on Sunday with probably his best performance in a Middlesbrough shirt."
Middlesbrough won that game 8-1, their biggest ever victory in the Premier League.
It looks probable that Rochemback will rejoin Sporting, the club from whom he joined Boro in 2005.
Spanish midfielder Mendieta and South Korean forward Lee were barely involved this season.
Meanwhile Southgate is keen to persuade goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to sign a new deal and stay at the club, despite interest from a host of clubs, including Bayern Munich.
"I'd like him to stay," Southgate said. "He is the one in our dressing room who can truly say he has played at the highest level - in World Cups, in Europe, in cup finals and so on.
"Mark has been here a long time so he has to decide if he needs a fresh challenge, whether what we are trying to do is going to excite him, whether he feels he is going to be appreciated here."
