Ashley Cole: The latest Galactico?

Spanish giants Real Madrid are buying everyone it seems, with a bid for Chelsea's Ashley Cole now said to be on the cards.

The England left-back has recently rejected a Chelsea extension due to a disagreement over his wages, after the Blues' latest offer fell £30,000-a-week short of the club's top earners.

Remaining committed at Stamford Bridge, would require the right contract for Cole.

A source revealed: "Ashley loves Chelsea and is genuinely excited about working with new boss Carlo Ancelotti.

"He wants to give the best years of his career to the club but the deal has to be right for such an important contract.

"He needs to feel as valued as any of the club's other top players."

With money being no object for Real Madrid, Cole could be playing at the Bernabeu, just like everyone else.

Marseille sign Cissé and Diawara

Olympique de Marseille have made two signings from fellow UEFA Champions League group-stage participants with midfielder Edouard Cissé arriving from Beşiktaş JK and FC Girondins de Bordeaux defender Souleymane Diawara also heading to the Stade Vélodrome.

Cissé return
The 31-year-old Cissé returns to his native country joining on a free transfer from the Turkish champions and penning a two-year deal. The former Stade Rennais FC, AS Monaco FC and West Ham United FC player spent two years with Beşiktaş playing 54 league games following his transfer from Marseille's arch-rivals Paris Saint-Germain FC.

Consistent performer
No details of Senegal centre-back Diawara's transfer have been released. The 30-year-old was one of the key men in Bordeaux's title-winning campaign last term, only missing two league games all season. Diawara spent two years with Laurent Blanc's outfit, making 64 top-flight appearances, after arriving from Charlton Athletic FC.

Madrid ready to take the Maicon?

Maicon's agent expects Real Madrid to launch a transfer "offensive" for the Inter Milan right-back.

The 27-year-old was a key figure as Jose Mourinho's Inter clinched a fourth straight Serie A title last term and shone at the Confederations Cup with Brazil this month, but could be on his way out of the San Siro after demanding a pay increase.

Manchester City are the only club to have made an offer for Maicon, who has also been linked with Chelsea, but his agent believes the Spanish giants - who have spent over 200 million euros already this summer - could move soon.

"I think that Maicon will be the cherry on the Real Madrid cake," said Antonio Caliendo. "At the moment there's nothing but I believe the situation is destined to change.

"After having bought (Karim) Benzema, now Real are focusing on (Franck) Ribery and Xabi Alonso, but then they will turn to Maicon.

"I have already said it and I repeat it - I'm expecting an offensive from them to try to buy him because he is the best in the world in his position.

"There's margin to manoeuvre with Inter.

"If the amount that will come to Inter will be the right one, everything could be finalised very soon."

Maicon is under contract with the Nerazzurri until June 2013.

Chelsea snare young striker Sturridge

Chelsea FC have boosted their striking options ahead of the new season by signing Manchester City FC forward Daniel Sturridge.

Four-year deal
Sturridge has penned a four-year contract with the London club after turning down a new deal at City although a transfer fee for the 19-year-old is still to be agreed. He made his debut for City in the 2006/07 campaign but truly came to the fore last season making 16 of his 21 top-flight appearances and scoring four goals. Sturridge also played eight games in City's run to the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Chelsea have qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage this season.

City's mind-blowing offer for Terry

Manchester City have made Chelsea defender John Terry a staggering £300,000-a-week offer to join the Eastlands outfit.

If accepted, the earnings would make him the highest-paid player in football, even brushing aside Cristiano Ronaldo's £255,000-a-week at Real Madrid.

The figure which amounts to an astronomical £15.6million-a-year is testament to Terry's perceived integral role in City boss Mark Hughes' grand scheme.

City backed with their new found wealth courtesy of new owner Sheikh Mansour, are seemingly unrelenting in their desire to break into the Premier League's top four.

Chelsea, however, could be a major stumbling block for City's revamp plans.

It was previously reported that a £30million bid for Terry was firmly rejected by Chelsea.

Reports in The Sun newspaper now suggest that another offer is in the pipelines - a bid in the region of £40m.

According to sources, Terry was impressed by Hughes' confidence in him.

John Terry has made 272 appearances and scored 17 goals for Chelsea since he arrived at Stamford Bridge in 1998.

Real Madrid agree on Benzema deal

Real Madrid have reached an agreement to sign striker Karim Benzema from French side Lyon, subject to the 21-year-old passing a medical.

The Spanish club will pay an initial £30m for the France international, a figure that could rise to £35m if performance-related clauses are met.

"Benzema will have his medical in the next few days," said a Real statement.

Benzema, who will sign a six-year-deal at the Bernabeu, had been linked with a move to Manchester United.

Real have already signed forwards Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and defender Raul Albiol for a combined £148m this summer.

Former France and Real Madrid great Zinedine Zidane, who is now a senior advisor at the Spanish club, is believed to have recommended Benzema to club president Florentino Perez after negotiations to sign David Villa from Valencia broke down. "A few days ago Karim Benzema informed the club president Jean Michel Aulas of his desire to move to the Madrid club, which had always been his favourite club after Lyon, earlier than he had foreseen," said a statement on the French club's website.

"The player wanted to seize the opportunity which Real Madrid offered him to be one of the major elements in their new ambitious project based around the greatest players of the world.

"Lyon accepted Karim Benzema's decision and negotiated the conditions of a transfer which satisfies all the different parties.

"The club wishes Karim the greatest success with Real Madrid."

Benzema joined Lyon's youth academy at the age of nine and progressed through club's ranks before making his first-team debut aged 17.

He scored 31 goals in 51 games during the 2007-08 season to finish top scorer in Ligue 1.

Benzema scored 23 goals in all competitions last season but could not prevent Lyon ending the season without league title for the first time in eight years.

Owen seals shock Utd move

Manchester United have confirmed the shock capture of striker Michael Owen.

The England forward was available on a free transfer after his contract at Newcastle United expired at the end of June.

A number of sides were interested in signing the former Liverpool and Real Madrid attacker, but United emerged as favourites to secure his signature.

The 29-year-old underwent a medical in Manchester on Friday and has now sealed his move to the Premier League champions, inking a two-year deal.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson told the club's official website: "Michael is a world class forward with a proven goalscoring record at the highest level and that has never been in question.
Fantastic opportunity

"Coming to Manchester United with the expectations that we have is something that Michael will relish."

Owen said: "I had just begun to talk to other clubs when out of the blue Sir Alex phoned me on Wednesday afternoon, invited me to have breakfast with him the next morning during which he told me that he wanted to sign me. I agreed without a moment's thought.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I intend to seize it with both hands.

"I am now looking forward to being a Manchester United player and I am fortunate that I already know so many of the players here. I missed pre-season last year and am pleased that I will be starting at Carrington from day one.

"I want to thank Sir Alex for the faith he has shown in me and I give him my assurance that I will repay him with my goals and performances"

Sahar leaves Chelsea for Espanyol

Chelsea's teenage striker Ben Sahar has moved to Spanish side Espanyol.

The 19-year-old, who became Israel's youngest international when he made his debut at the age of 17 in 2007, has signed a four-year contract.

Sahar joined Chelsea from Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv in 2006 and last season had a six-month spell on loan at Dutch club De Graafschap.

He made five appearances for the Blues and also spent time on loan at QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth.

Sahar played nine games for QPR in the 2007-2008 campaign before moving to the Owls, where he scored three goals in 12 outings.Last summer he switched to Pompey but he did not play for the first team during a six-month stay at Fratton Park and moved on to Eredivisie side De Graafschap, where he scored on his debut.

Benitez defends Johnson move

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has defended his decision to pay over the odds for right-back Glen Johnson.

The Portsmouth defender yesterday agreed to move to Anfield and he is expected to formally sign a contract in the next couple of days.

Reports suggest the transfer is costing £17million, although much of that will be written off because of money still owed by Pompey after Peter Crouch's move to Fratton Park last summer.

Chelsea tried to take their former player back to Stamford Bridge but Benitez was always confident the England international would choose Anfield - even if it was at a premium.

"Sometimes you have to spend a little bit more," said the Liverpool boss.

"You can't compete in the top four of the Premier League unless you spend some money.

"We were looking for a player of quality and also somebody who is British because of the new Champions League rules.

"Glen Johnson fits both categories."

The fact Benitez has been able to make his first summer signing will help fend off claims the club are in financial trouble.

Kop Holdings, the club's parent company, posted a £42.6million loss in the year to August 2008 but concerns over the £350million loan taken out by American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to buy Liverpool appear to have lessened after reports today suggested a refinancing package had been agreed.

Benitez is confident he will make other signings, although he may spend more of his time trying to hang on to the likes of Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa and Javier Mascherano who have all been linked with moves to Real Madrid and Barcelona.

"We have a plan. We can sign one more player if necessary, but that's without any players leaving," he told the Liverpool Echo.

"Alvaro Arbeloa has had a very good season but he has one year left on his contract.

"If he signs that will be good because we will have more competition, but if we get a good offer we will have to consider it."

Benitez is also hoping Sebastien Leto and Andriy Voronin - who both were loaned out last season - will bring in more funds along with left-back Andrea Dossena, who could return to Italy after just one season at Anfield.

Leto is on the verge of a move to Panathinaikos after he became impatient waiting for Olympiacos, where he was on loan last season, to make their move.

"I think that the possibilities to play at Panathinaikos next season right now are more than 90%," said the Argentinian winger.

"I have been waiting for something from Olympiacos all these weeks but they didn't make a move to buy me so far."

Espanyol seal deal for Nakamura

Shunsuke Nakamura has agreed to join Espanyol on a two-year contract, subject to a medical examination.

The midfielder, 31 on Wednesday, had been expected to return to Japan with former club Yokohama F. Marinos once his terms at Celtic expired.

However, Nakamura has chosen to extend his stay in Europe with the club who finished 10th in La Liga last season.

He helped Celtic win three league titles during a four-year stay after three seasons with Reggina in Italy.

Nakamura's Celtic contract will expire at the end of June and he is to be paraded as an Espanyol player on 10 July.

The PFA Scotland's player of the year in 2007 helped Celtic to a Scottish Cup success and two League Cup victories as well as three consecutive championship wins.

In May, Yokohama indicated that they were willing to make Nakamura their highest-paid player, with a contract worth £1m per year on offer.

The J-League club wanted to buy him in January but were foiled after club sponsors Nissan suffered financial problems.

Nakamura left Marinos in 2002 for Reggina before his £1.25m switch to Glasgow from Serie A.

"It is a pity that we couldn't sign him," said Marinos president Masaharu Saito.

"But we respect his decision and hope he will have a productive spell in the Spanish league."

Santa Cruz ‘delighted’ with move

Roque Santa Cruz has signed a four-year deal at Manchester City after they agreed a fee in the region of £18million with Blackburn for the Paraguayan international.

The South American will link up again with former Blackburn manager Mark Hughes at Eastlands and expressed his happiness at finally making the switch to Manchester after being linked with a transfer during the January window.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Santa Cruz said he was glad to finally seal the move to City, and excited for the future.

"Well it took a very long time to get me here and now everything is done. I am very happy and delighted with everything and looking forward to the season."

"I think everybody is expecting a lot and the fact the club are signing big players, great players, also shows we want to be as good as possible", Santa Cruz noted.

"I think everybody is talking about breaking the top four so once we get there, we need to keep looking forward and see what is the best we can get."

The 27-year-old further admitted that the fact that Mark Hughes was in charge at Eastlands was a big factor in his move.

"It's very good I know the way he [Hughes] trains and the people who were with him and the fact that he's a winner and he wants to perform better and better."

"So having him here has helped me a lot to decide and also of course that it is a great club with great fans, and I am looking forward to playing games here."

Santa Cruz is City's second signing of the summer after Gareth Barry, with reports speculating that the club are also in the hunt for strikers Carlos Tevez and Samuel Eto'o as well as Arsenal defender Kolo Toure.

Tevez agreed City deal weeks ago

Reports in England are claiming that Manchester City-bound Carlos Tevez decided to leave Old Trafford over two weeks ago.

The Mirror newspaper has reported that City will announce a £25.5 million move in the coming days, something that seems increasingly likely to be validated after United announced over the weekend that Tevez had rejected a five-year contract offer from the Red Devils.

A statement on United's website said that despite an offer that would make him one of the highest earners at Old Trafford," his advisers informed the club that, despite the success he has enjoyed during one of the club's most successful periods, he does not wish to continue playing for Manchester United."

Speculation is rife that Tevez was upset by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's reluctance to give him a starting spot, and the Argentine has earlier claimed he did not feel like "part of the family" in Manchester.

Tevez apparently made his decision to leave since he felt he was not valued enough at the Theatre of Dreams, despite being a fan favourite, with cries of "Sign him up, sign him up" often erupting in the stands whenever he appeared toward the end of the season.

At Eastlands, Tevez is apparently set to sign a £100,000 a week contract, and will be the third signing for City after they snapped up Gareth Barry and Roque Santa Cruz.

Manager Mark Hughes, backed by the club's Arab owners, is looking to revamp a City side that looking attackingly listless last season, and Tevez will join fellow new signing Santa Cruz as well as Robinho and Craig Bellamy up front for them.

After losing both Cristiano Ronaldo and Tevez early in the summer, Ferguson will certainly be under pressure to bring in new players, but United have so far been quiet in the market, despite being linked with Antonio Valencia, Douglas Costa and Karim Benzema among others.

Barca prepare Mascherano bid

Liverpool's Javier Mascherano is wanted by Spanish giants Barcelona who are readying a bid for the combative midfielder.

According to a report in the British tabloid The Daily Mail, Barca are looking to tempt Reds boss Rafael Benitez with a substantial bid for the Argentine international.

It is claimed the midfielder has decided to leave the Merseyside outfit because his wife has failed to settle in England, with a move to Spain the preferred option.

It is thought that Benitez understands the predicament the holding-midfielder finds himself in and would be prepared to let him go, provided his valuation is met.

Benitez values Mascherano at 41.5 million euro's - but Pep Guardiola may test the Premier League club's resolve by offering a cash plus player deal, possibly including his highly-rated young striker Bojan.

Wigan capture Gomez from Espanyol

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has made his first signing for the club by bringing in playmaker Jordi Gomez from Espanyol on a three-year contract.

Martinez, who took over as Latics boss this summer after leaving Swansea, had Gomez on a year-long loan in Wales last season from the Spanish side.

Gomez, 24, scored 14 goals for Swansea and is thought to have cost £1.7m.

"Jordi is a real quality player. I have no doubts that he will do well in the Premier League," said Martinez.

"I think he can go all the way in the game, and to play in the Premier League is the next step in his career.

"He is a creative player with fantastic technical ability but he also knows how to look after himself on a football field. He was very popular with the supporters at Swansea and I'm sure that will be the same here."To be honest I was surprised we managed to get him at Swansea last season, but now that he is available, he is a player I really wanted to bring on board. He can play in several different positions and will score goals from midfield."

Left-footer Gomez began his career at Barcelona before switching to their city rivals Espanyol.

Martinez added: "We are a little light in numbers and I want to press ahead and bring in some more real quality into the squad.

"You need to have healthy competition for places and we must make sure that the players coming in are of the correct standard and mental attitude for us. Watch this space."

Arsenal confirm Vermaelen signing

Arsenal have completed the signing of Belgium defender Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax in a deal worth up to £10m.

The 23-year-old centre-back is a regular at international level and made his debut for Belgium in March 2006.

"Thomas is a great signing for Arsenal and we are all delighted that he is joining us," Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger told the club's website.

"He is a solid performer with good experience of Champions League and Uefa Cup football."

Vermaelen made his debut for Ajax at the age of 18 and made 143 appearances for the side as he worked his way up to become club captain.

"Firstly, I have to say that I'm sad to be leaving Ajax and I would just like to thank everyone for their help and friendship towards me over the past eight years," he said."I'm just so happy to be joining Arsenal. This is a great club with a world-class manager, high-quality players and a fantastic stadium.

"Everything is set up for Arsenal to be very successful for years to come.

"I have had a good taste of the Champions League during my time with Ajax and this is something I am looking forward to experiencing again with Arsenal.

"I'm also looking forward to playing in the English Premier League, which for me, is the best league in the world. Also, I just want to assure the Arsenal fans that I will give everything for this club and I hope we can enjoy winning some trophies together next season."

The defender won the Dutch league in 2004 but leaves Ajax after a disappointing campaign that saw his side finish third in the Eredivisie and out of the Champions League qualifying places.

Since making his international debut in a 2-0 win away to Luxembourg in March 2006, Vermaelen has made 21 appearances for Belgium.

His signing comes after manager Arsene Wenger admitted in a shareholders meeting in May that his side must shore up their defence if they are to close an 18-point gap between themselves and the top of the league.

"In the passing quality in the final third and in the opposition half, we are as good as Manchester United," he said.

"We have conceded more goals and that is where the difference lies; we have conceded 36, they have conceded 24."

Inter out to land Carvalho & Deco

Inter Milan have revealed they are hopeful of taking Chelsea pair Ricardo Carvalho and Deco to the San Siro.

The Italian club's former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho wants both 31-year-olds, who played for him in Porto's Champions League triumph against Monaco in 2004.

Inter president Massimo Moratti told Gazzetta dello Sport talks had begun on defender Carvalho and midfielder Deco.

He said: "Mourinho has asked us for Deco and Carvalho and we are working towards making him happy."

Deco fell from favour after arriving at Chelsea in an £8m move from Barcelona in the summer of 2008 - and recently admitted he hoped to be reunited with Mourinho in Italy.And Carvalho, a success at Stamford Bridge but restricted by injury to only 18 appearances last season, has revealed he wants to leave Chelsea after four years.

Moratti added: "Our wish is to sign both players and I have seen that the players' intention is to join us. We still haven't reached an agreement with Chelsea but I think we will do in a short time."

And Moratti is convinced Carvalho will bring crucial experience to Inter's defence and stated: "We are interested in Carvalho primarily for the Champions League. He has the right experience, he is calm under pressure and brings experience in the defensive line.

"Our coach has guaranteed quality and I have every intention to make him happy.

"Deco will have two tasks: to do well immediately and to help Brazilian player Philippe Coutinho mature as a player. Coutinho will arrive next season from Vasco de Gama and plays in the same role as Deco."

Carvalho was critical of Chelsea as he prepares to make his departure, saying: "When a player plays, everything is beautiful but, when things do not run so well, there is no support.

"I believe my time at Chelsea has come to an end. I am happy such a big club as Inter is interested in me. It would be good to return to working with Jose Mourinho."

Celtic challenge excites Mowbray

Tony Mowbray says he feels "hugely honoured" after being appointed Celtic's new manager.

Mowbray, 45, told a media conference at Celtic Park on Wednesday that he was relishing the challenge of bringing silverware to the Glasgow club.

The former Celtic defender said he "felt drawn to this opportunity" and that he hoped supporters would watch his side with a sense of pride.

"My initial thoughts: I can't wait to get started, really," he said.

Mowbray arrives from West Brom along with assistant Mark Venus and first-team coach Peter Grant.

He has succeeded Gordon Strachan to become Celtic's 16th manager after the club agreed to pay £2m in compensation to West Brom.

Mowbray said he lived his life by "honesty, integrity, humility and respect" and he hoped to bring those qualities to the Celtic team.He played for Celtic between 1991 and 1995, straddled by spells with Middlesbrough and Ipswich, with whom he started his coaching career.

Present Celtic coach Neil Lennon will remain as part of the Scottish Premier League club's management team.

"I played here for four years in the early 1990s at a time when the club wasn't at its greatest heights," said Mowbray.

"Yet, when I left Celtic, I was overwhelmed by the support the greater family gave me."

Mowbray lost his wife to breast cancer during his playing time at the club and said he received thousands of messages of goodwill and support.

"It leaves you with a warmth and a support system behind you," he said. "When this opportunity arose for me, I felt drawn to it and here I am today."

Celtic chairman John Reid suggested that Mowbray was the natural choice as Strachan's successor.

"Welcome back Tony and, in a very real sense, welcome home," he said.

"Because that's how the Celtic supporters and the wider Celtic family feel. We're absolutely delighted to have secured Tony Mowbray as our manager.

"Tony's career speaks for itself; here and elsewhere as a player and a manager.

"The reason he is here today is because it was our firm view that he's not only shown he can bring football success with flair but he's also shown character, strength and determination."

Reid thought that Mowbray could revive Celtic's fortunes after losing the SPL title to Rangers.

"We've had a degree of success in recent years, but we had a disappointment three weeks and three days ago," he said.

"The fightback starts here and there's nobody better to lead that than Tony."

Milan saved from financial ruin

Kaka's blockbuster move from Milan to Real Madrid has helped keep the club out of financial trouble.

The Brazilian ace move the the Santiago Bernabeu for a €67.2million fee on Monday. Reports before the sale claimed an eventual move was inevitable as the club wanted to bring their accounts in line with its economic policies.

"Kaka's sale has balanced the books at Milan and the directors did well," Milan chief executive officer Fedele Confaloneri told reporters at a meeting in Milan as reported by Il Corriere Dello Sport.

"Certain offers have to be taken into consideration."

The chief is hoping new coach Leonardo can emulate the success enjoyed by former coaches such as Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello.

"We still have a nice team with younger players and a young coach who can be the new Sacchi or Capello," concluded Confaloneri.

Calderon: Agreement was in place

Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon claims an agreement existed over Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer before he left his post.

Real had an £80million offer for the Portuguese accepted by Manchester United yesterday, less than two weeks after Florentino Perez returned as the Bernabeu club's supremo.

Perez has been credited with immediately instilling the 'Galacticos' culture of his previous reign, with a deal for Kaka clinched earlier this week.

However, Calderon, who came close to signing Ronaldo last summer, insists he was responsible for much of the groundwork that led to yesterday's events.

"We were in touch with the player. That is the important thing to know now," Calderon told The Sun.

"As far as I knew, he got the agreement with the club. He wanted to leave at the end of this season.

"That was what he agreed with the club and therefore it was easy, knowing that the player wanted to come to Real Madrid, to get a deal let's say. We agreed everything and he decided to come."

Calderon added: "Let's say it was a gentleman's agreement in order not to bother Manchester last season, because (United manager, Sir Alex) Ferguson also wanted to keep the player.

"For this reason we decided to wait until this season and that is what has happened."

Is it wise to spent 100 million euros on a player ?????

Real Madrid in a span of days spent 56 million pounds on Kaka and agreed a deal worth 80 million pounds for Christiano Ronaldo . Is it worth to pay such high amounts for a single player ? That too on time of recession when the number of unemployment is on rise and people are spending with strings tied around their wallet ..

Whatever be the reason that the Spanish outfit is paying such heavy sums on players is ridiculous and their shopping list is not complete yet . Some new players will find a place on their hit list and they will publicly go for the player like what happened to United


It is the time for Michael Platini to act rather than accusing English clubs . For the last one year Madrid was after Ronaldo and Platini was trying to regulate the transfer activities of English clubs . With the amount they are spending on a single player is more than the budget of many nations it is time for somebody to act