Hughes said: “It is another one of those from a Portuguese paper and the quotes are cherry-picked.
“It is not a situation I am worried about as it was not the real message of the piece. I am as confident as I can be he will be here next season.
“I keep on trying to emphasise to people we are not a selling club. If we allowed Benni McCarthy to leave we would be weaker.
“He has had a fantastic season and it could not have gone better for him. We are delighted for him.”