(Cover) - EN Showbiz - George Clooney and Elisabetta Canalis have confirmed they have split.

The couple, who have been dating since 2009, released a statement today in London where George is currently filming his new movie, Gravity.

Describing the break-up as "very difficult", they asked for privacy.

"We're not together anymore. It's very difficult and very personal, so we hope that our privacy is respected," the statement said.

Rumours that the pair are about to split have been circulating for a while, and earlier this month Italian beauty Elisabetta hinted in an interview that she was ready for marriage and children a subject that 50-year-old George has always been keen to avoid.

"I could never be with someone who every time he opens his mouth says he doesn't want a child with me or to marry me," she told Italian magazine Chi. (C) Cover Media