Chelsea To Snap Up Falcao
Chelsea have agreed a season-long loan deal with Monaco for Radamel Falcao. The Colombian spent last season on loan at Manchester United but boss Louis van Gaal opted against making the move permanent after he scored just four goals in 26 Premier League appearances. Falcao made his name in Europe with Mourinho’s former club Porto, where he scored 41 goals in the Portuguese Primera and 21 in 21 appearances in Europe. He moved to Atletico Madrid for £35million in 2011 where he continued to be prolific, scoring 70 goals in 90 appearances in all competitions. Monaco signed him in 2013 for £52m but he suffered from injuries and played just 22 times over two season, scoring 13 goals in all competitions. Falcao, who has 25 goals in 52 appearances for Colombia, was under considerable scrutiny at Old Trafford last season during an expensive loan for United, and was criticised by Van Gaal for a lack of fitness.
Nigerian defender
David Faramola Oniya has died after he suffered a heart attack during a
friendly match on Saturday between Malaysian club, T-Team, and Kelantan. The
30-year-old defender collapsed three minutes into the match in and was taken to
hospital. The match, played in Kota Bharu, was abandoned after 60 minutes after
a message was received from the hospital that Oniya had died. The club’s chief
executive, Syahrizan Mohd Zain, alleges that Oniya did not receive medical
treatment quickly enough. “He suffered a heart attack but it could have been a
different story,” he said. “Our defender was deprived of oxygen for several
minutes.” Oniya only recently joined T-Team, having spent over a decade playing
in Azerbaijan, and – since 2007 – in Uzbekistan. May his soul rest in peace.
Colombia coach Jose
Pekerman insists his team will stick to their playing philosophy against Brazil
despite losing their Copa America opener to Venezuela on Sunday. Colombia
were humbled by Salomon Rondon’s second-half header in a disappointing display
for the 2014 World Cup quarter-finalists. Pekerman’s charges on Wednesday take
on the Selecao, who started their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Peru.
“We will not change our system of play, all rivals are important,”
Pekerman said. Pekerman conceded his outfit were below their best on the
weekend. “We regret the defeat, but congratulate Venezuela for being a
great opponent. This is a typical opening match in the Copa America, where it
always takes a little time to find the rhythm. Unfortunately in this game the
result has not helped. We could not link the game and complete the passes that
we usually do. We had difficulties.”
Manchester City are growing increasingly confident of landing
Raheem Sterling for less than Liverpool’s £50million valuation. Liverpool’s
hopes of sparking a bidding war for the forward in an attempt to maximise the
transfer fee they’ll receive looks unlikely to materialise. Arsenal and Chelsea
are both interested, but have other priorities in the transfer market, while
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are unlikely to pay beyond the £30m Man City, who
will make an improved bid this week, have already offered. Sterling has just
two years left on his current deal and Liverpool know his value will begin to
fall rapidly over the next 12 months as a result, a factor Etihad chiefs are
also more than aware of.
Juventus defender
Patrice Evra has urged his former Manchester United team-mate Paul Pogba to
stay in Turin rather than move to Manchester City. Pogba has been linked
with a £60m move to the Etihad Stadium but Evra said: “I have told him he needs
to make the best decision for him. If he wants to leave for one of Europe’s big
clubs then that is fine but I think it would be a good idea if he stays where
he is. I don’t think Juventus will let him leave.”
Uruguay striker
Edinson Cavani has apologised for saying Jamaica are a difficult side to face
“like all African teams”. Cavani made the remark ahead of their
Copa America meeting between his country and the Caribbean nation. The Paris
Saint-Germain man expressed remorse soon after on Twitter, saying: “First
I want to apologise to Jamaica and its people. I wanted to make a comparison
between similar styles and playing characteristics between Jamaican national
team and those of African sides, but honestly I only put across half that
thought and it came out sounding awful. In any case, I would like to publicly
ask for forgiveness, and I hope my mistake will be taken with humour rather
than offence.”
Liverpool could have
moved one step closer to signing Inter Milan midfielder Mateo Kovacic, with
reports in Italy claiming a fee is now agreed for the player. Tuttosport
claim the Reds are said to be ready to part with almost £16m to sign the
player, with an extra £2m to be paid in add-ons. They lead with the headline:
“Inter’s Kovacic goes to Liverpool. It bursts the wrath of fans”. The
21-year-old has been linked with a move to Anfield throughout the summer, with
Brendan Rodgers reportedly earmarking him as a replacement for Steven Gerrard,
who has left Liverpool after 17 remarkable years.
Moroccan midfielder Adel Taarabt has signed a five-year deal
with Benfica after terminating his contract with QPR by mutual consent. The
26-year-old hardly featured for the Rs last season as they were relegated from
the Premier League to the Championship. Taarabt spent five years with QPR,
which included loan spells at Fulham and AC Milan.
Paris Saint-Germain
midfielder Yohan Cabaye says he would welcome a return to England as “it’s
clear” he has to leave the Ligue 1 champions. Cabaye, a reported
target of Crystal Palace, moved to Parc des Princes from Newcastle in January
2014. And although he has won two league titles, two Coupe de la Ligue medals
and the Coupe de France with the capital club, he is frustrated with his lack
of game-time. When asked if he expects
to stay at PSG, Cabaye replied: “Not really. I know that if I stay I could
do everything, but nothing would change. I had a talk with Laurent Blanc after
the win over Lille. For him, the player in my place is better than me – there
you go! It’s his opinion, not a problem. It’s clear [I will have to leave
before Euro 2016]. I know this. At the club, they know it too. It will be
important to make the best choice possible.
I was criticised when I went to Newcastle. Supposedly I didn’t want to
play the Champions League with Lille but I played in Euro 2012 and the 2014
World Cup. I’m not worried. Sometimes it’s better to go backward in order to go
forward. I enjoyed myself in England, in a league that works for me. “Today,
I am at PSG. Certainly, I’d like it to have happened differently, the club too,
but that’s reality. If I had the chance to return to England, I hope to get it
done … but there could be other destinations.”
Former Orlando Pirates coach Ruud Krol
has signed a two-year deal to coach Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca.Krol admitted recently that he had applied for
the vacant head coach position at Kaizer Chiefs, but hadn’t received a response
from the club. Amakhosi are seeking to replace Stuart Baxter, who recently
switched alliances to Turkish outfit Genclerbirligi.
West Ham have signed Spanish
midfielder Pedro Obiang from Sampdoria.The
23-year-old, who made 36 outings in all competitions last season, has penned a
four-year deal with the Premier League outfit. Obiang’s signing is the first
under new Hammers manager Slaven Bilic. Bilic was unveiled as Sam Allardyce’s
successor at Upton Park last Tuesday.
Newcastle have
appointed Steve McClaren as their new manager six months after initially
offering him the job. The former England coach, who has penned a three-year
contract, has been installed as Alan Pardew’s permanent replacement at St
James’ Park. The Magpies parted ways with caretaker bosses John Carver and
Steve Stone last Tuesday. Newcastle identified McClaren as their prime target
within weeks of Pardew’s departure in January. However, the 54-year-old opted
to stay at Derby and see through their ultimately unsuccessful bid for
promotion to the Premier League.
Cristiano Ronaldo,
Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gareth Bale are among the top 20 highest paid
sportsmen in the world, according to figures released by Forbes. Boxer
Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather set the pace for the second year in a row, raking in
$300m. Most of the money came from his victorious superbout with second-placed
Manny Pacquiao ($160m) on May 3. Real Madrid star Ronaldo is the best paid
footballer with earnings of $79.6m, just ahead of Barcelona’s Messi $73.8m. Paris
Saint-Germain talisman Ibrahimovic is 14th on the list with $39.1m. Real’s Bale
– a $131m world-record signing from Tottenham – is 18th with $35m.
TOP 20:
1. Floyd Mayweather (Boxing) $300m
2. Manny Pacquiao (Boxing) $160m
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Football) $79.6m
4. Lionel Messi (Football) $73.8m
5. Roger Federer (Tennis) $67m
6. LeBron James (Basketball) $64.8m
7. Kevin Durant (Basketball) $54.1m
8. Phil Mickelson (Golf) $50.8m
9. Tiger Woods (Golf) $50.6m
10. Kobe Bryant (Basketball) $49.5m
11. Ben Roethlisberger (American Football) $48.9m
12. Rory McIlroy (Golf) $48.3m
13. Novak Djokovic (Tennis) $48.2m
14. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Football) $39.1m
15. Lewis Hamilton (Formula One) $39m
16. Ndamukong Suh (American Football) $38.6m
17. Fernando Alonso (Formula One) $35.5m
18. Gareth Bale (Football) $35m
19. Jon Lester (Baseball) $34.1m
20. Derrick Rose (Basketball) $33.9m
Notable others:
23. Neymar (Football) $31m
34. Wayne Rooney (Football) $26.9m
45. Sergio Aguero (Football) $24.9m
Juventus striker
Carlos Tevez is likely to leave the Serie A and Italian Cup champions,
according to the club’s general director Giuseppe Marotta. Tevez, Juve’s
top scorer with 20 league goals this season, has been linked with former team
Boca Juniors and Atletico Madrid. Marotta told Sport said: “The
possibility that he [Tevez] leaves is quite high but I’m not going to give a
percentage. It’s more likely that he will leave than [Juventus veteran
midfielder Andrea] Pirlo. Tevez is a professional and we owe him a lot. But we
cannot prolong Tevez’s situation for much longer. We must reach a conclusion as
soon as possible.” Tevez has a year left on his contract, having arrived
in Turin in 2013 in a £10million transfer from Manchester City.
Ghanaian attacker Andre Ayew has joined Swansea City on a
four-year deal. Ayew was out of contract at Marseille, who he scored
52 goals in 181 games for since his debut in 2007. “I looked left and
right and I thought Swansea was the best choice for me to grow as player,”
Ayew told Sky Sports. “Not only football-wise but I heard about the squad,
how the players live together and the team spirit. So I thought it was great to
come to Swansea because I know how positive it is here. I’m going to do
everything to be ready to adapt but I’m lucky because I’ve played against a lot
of English players in the Champions League. “I’ll have a pre-season to get
ready before the season starts, so I’ll have time to adapt.” The
25-year-old says he spoke with a number of his compatriots that have featured
in the Premier League. “I’ve spoken a lot to players from Ghana who have
played in the Premier League,” Ayew said. “They heard I was going to
come but they didn’t know where. It’s a league I really like and they knew I
was going to come to England, but I took my time to make a decision. When I
spoke to them all, the Ghanaians love the Premiership and Asamoah Gyan, Michael
Essien and Sulley Muntari all said the same thing. I think it’s the best league
and I wanted to come and play against the best players.” Ayew, the BBC
African Footballer of the Year in 2011, has 62 caps for his country.
Brazilian fullback Dani Alves has
revealed Lionel Messi urged him to stay at Barcelona.Alves looked likely to leave Barca on a free
transfer this summer but last week agreed to a new two-year contract with the
treble winners. “Messi said to me: ‘Dani, stay, where are you going to
feel better than you do here?'” Alves told reporters. “Long ago we
talked about how well we were living at this club. We have wonderful things in
this city, gorgeous weather, and all of this influenced our decisions. Messi
and I had the same conversation a year ago when it was said someone wanted to
sign the two of us and we discussed that we would never have it so good
anywhere else. As I said at the treble celebration [on Sunday], and as I said
many times before, I’m just in the place where I feel loved. For a few moments
I had doubts but the other day it was very clear that most people here love me
and value me, and that was one of the things that made me decide to stay. I
always follow my heart. My heart was asking me to stay here and I still have
many things to offer. I have the best group of colleagues, I have never seen a
group with such connection and that helped in making the decision. A number of
positive factors have led me to make this decision.”
Fifa has suspended
the 2026 World Cup bidding process amid the widening corruption scandal
implicating previous bid contests. The US Department of Justice is
continuing its investigation into worldwide Fifa corruption, while the Russia
2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cup bids are both being investigated by Swiss
authorities due to rigging allegations. Fifa planned to write to its 209 member
federations this week to explain the bidding timetable and rules for the 2026
World Cup. The 2026 host was expected to be chosen by the 209 members at their
May 2017 meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and potential bidders include the
United States, Mexico, Canada, Colombia and countries from Europe. But Fifa
secretary general Jerome Valcke has confirmed: “Due to the situation, I think
it’s nonsense to start any bidding process for the time being. It will be
postponed.” Meanwhile, Fifa is
still pushing ahead with preparations for the 2018 tournament as Valcke
attended a meeting of the organisers in Russia on Wednesday. Russia 2018 LOC
chairman Vitaly Mutko said: “We as a host country continue to fulfil our
obligations to prepare all the events and projects of 2018 Fifa World Cup in
time, we are well on track and on schedule. There’s no doubt all the events of
the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia will go through at the top level.”
Wolfsburg midfielder
Kevin De Bruyne has confirmed Manchester City have made contact with his agent,
but says any interest in his services must be directed to his club. De
Bruyne has attracted widescale attention by scoring 15 goals and providing 25
assists in all competitions this past season for the Bundesliga runners-up. German
champions Bayern Munich and French counterparts Paris Saint-Germain are also
reportedly eyeing the 23-year-old, who cost his team €24m from Chelsea in
January 2014. “I know there are some informal contacts but we say to
everybody – if they want to do something they have to go to Wolfsburg, not to
me,” De Bruyne told Sky Sports News. “I always thought that I was going to
talk to my club first when the season was over. And for me the season is not
over. That starts probably next week or the week after but I will also be on
vacation. I don’t have any stress about these things. It will come this way and
I know that there are a lot of rumours and the papers are writing a lot,” added
the Belgium international.
Turkish club Genclerbirligi have confirmed that an agreement
has been reached with Stuart Baxter to become their new coach next season.Baxter’s
agent Steve Kapeluschnik said last Tuesday that a deal was imminent, and the
move was later confirmed by the club. Genclerbirligi has previous South African
football connections, having been a home to the late John ‘Shoes’ Moshoeu
between 1993-1995.
One of the men on
Interpol’s wanted list in connection with the worldwide Fifa corruption scandal
has turned himself in. Alejandro Burzaco, who was demised as the president
of Argentine sports marketing company Torneos y Competencias on June 3, handed
himself over to Italian authorities on Tuesday. He is one of 14 current and
ex-Fifa officials and associates indicted in the US Department of Justice
investigation into “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted corruption” in
world football. Burzaco is alleged to have conspired to win and keep hold of
lucrative media rights contracts from regional football federations by paying
up to $110-million in bribes. Interpol have issued ‘red notices’ for the arrest
of five other men for racketeering, conspiracy and corruption – fellow sports
marketers Hugo Jinkis, Mariano Jinkis and Jose Margulies, as well as former
Fifa executive members Jack Warner and Nicolas Leoz.
West Ham have
announced former player Slaven Bilic as their new head coach, replacing Sam
Allardyce at Upton Park. The 46-year-old, who played 54 matches for the
Hammers, becomes the 15th full-time manager in the club’s 120-year history. The
former Croatian international, who has since coached Turkish side Besiktas and
the Croatian national team, is confident of achieving “great things” with the
English club. West Ham finished 12th in the EPL standings in the 2014/15
season, 40 points behind champions Chelsea.