The long wait to decide the future of Franck Ribery could soon be over after the player’s agent revealed that the Frenchman wants to sign for Real Madrid. Ribery has his pick of Europe’s top clubs this summer, but appears set on a move to the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid and Barcelona head the queue for the midfielder, but agent Alan Miglaccio says that the Bayern star has been persuaded that joining Madrid would be a better option by compatriot Zinedine Zidane, who now works for Los Merengues.
Bayern have previously stated that they do not want to sell Ribery and, although the club’s board and officials are currently on their holidays, a deal appears to be edging closer.
“Ribery would prefer to play for Real Madrid ahead of Barcelona,” Miglaccio told RAC-1. “The player has spoken with Zinedine Zidane and wants to sign for Los Merengues. Read more…
ESPN has won the rights to broadcast 46 live Premier League matches in the United Kingdom for the 2009-10 season, and has also been awarded a contract for the 2010-13 seasons.
The sports broadcaster, parent company of Soccernet, picked up both 23-match packages on offer in Monday’s auction. ESPN’s 46 live games will be split between Saturday evenings and Monday nights in the coming season. For the three seasons from 2010-11 to 2012-13 ESPN has the rights to a single package of 23 matches previously awarded to Setanta.
The Premier League ended its association with Setanta on Friday after it failed to meet a final deadline over a £30m payment which had been due this month. Setanta was also stripped of its Scottish Premier League contract on Monday.
“We are clearly delighted that our bid for exclusive media rights to the Barclays Premier League matches in the UK has been successful,” said Lynne Frank, ESPN Managing Director in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Read more…
Brazil are sure to remember their handsome 3-0 defeat of Italy in Tshwane/Pretoria on Sunday for a long time. After all, comfortable wins over old adversaries tend to be few and far between, which explains why the Brazilians were celebrating gleefully at the final whistle and then in the changing room.
The party over, Dunga’s men finally started making their way out of the stadium complex en route to the bus taking them back to their hotel, giving FIFA.com the opportunity to catch up with defensive mainstays Maicon and Lucio. Understandably, the duo were happy to talk and gave their exclusive views on a memorable night for Brazil and their army of fans around the world.
“It’s a historic match,” was the Inter Milan full-back’s verdict on the evening. “We played an absolutely fantastic game. We were extremely focused and we played with a lot of quality. It was one of those games you remember for a long time. We beat the world champions and we have to make the most of it.” Read more…
Michael Owen has confirmed that he will leave Newcastle United when his contract expires at the end of the month.
The 29-year-old, who rejected a new deal at St James’ Park at the turn of the year, is to end his stay on Tyneside four years after making a club record £17million switch from Real Madrid. Owen’s decision comes as no surprise as the Magpies attempt to slash their wage bill in the wake of a disastrous relegation from the Barclays Premier League.
His availability has been made known to a series of clubs both at home and abroad by his representatives in recent weeks, and he has admitted he is looking to stay in the Premier League, or to play at a comparative level in another country.
Owen told Sky Sports News: “I’m still obviously contracted to Newcastle. I’ve still got weeks, a month or whatever left, I’m not sure, so that’s where I am at the minute. Read more…
Alvaro Arbeloa’s agent has reportedly been at the Bernabeu this morning to hold talks about a possible move to Real Madrid.
The defender has been rumoured to be leaving Liverpool this summer and only has one year left on his deal with the English club.
Now Marca reports that Manuel Garcia Quilon, agent to both Arbeloa and Ruben de la Red, has been at the Bernabeu today possibly holding talks with the club.
One factor that seems to elude to a move away from Anfield for Arbeloa is the fact that Liverpool appear to be on the verge of signing another right-back in Glen Johnson.
Should the English defender arrive this summer then it is hard to see Arbeloa staying and playing mainly off the bench behind him. Read more…
Premier League champions Manchester United are set to make a €35.5 million (£30m) offer for Olympique Lyonnais’ Karim Benzema, according to a report in the British tabloid The Daily Mirror.
The 21-year-old has been linked with a move to Old Trafford since it emerged that Cristiano Ronaldo would leave for Real Madrid this summer.
While it is thought Les Gones would be reluctant to part with one of their most prized assets, advisor Bernard Lacombe recently admitted they may not be able to turn down a bid from the Red Devils.
The 6ft striker’s agent has claimed that his client has no intentions of leaving Stade Gerland at present, but it remains to be seen whether he would shun a move to United should they launch such a bid. Read more…
The coach is clearly not impressed at the World Champions crashed out of the tournament in dramatic style following the 3-0 humbling at the hands of Brazil.
Lippi has spoken after spending the night trying to analyse what went wrong. The former Juventus man admits it’s time for a revolution of the squad as he tries to forget about the Confederations Cup and think about an action plan for South Africa 2010. The coach woke up to an expected storm of criticism from the Italian press, and he agrees with it.
“This is the worst period I have seen since taking charge of the team,” Lippi told Sky Sport Italia.
“I have never said this is the team that will go to the World Cup. There will be adjustments.
“The project of renovation in underway and this is just a moment of our reconstruction.
“We have to continue to analyse and make provisions. The heart and spirit is there, but something else is missing.”
Lippi is now expected to take his summer holiday, and he will have time to begin thinking about what needs to be done if his Italian side are to stand up next year. Read more…
AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has said he will consider offers for Andrea Pirlo after being stunned by the size of the Italy midfielder’s salary.
Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf
Berlusconi had previously said no more big names would leave the San Siro after they sold Brazil playmaker Kaka to Real Madrid for £56m earlier this month but the Rossoneri chief has had a change of heart.
“If there’s an offer, it should be considered,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “We’ll see. I was the first to say that he must stay, but then they showed me the sums (for his salary).”
Chelsea are leading the race to sign the 30-year-old, who is thought to earn almost £6m a season, with former Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti keen to be reunited with the World Cup winner at Stamford Bridge.
Pirlo has a contract that runs through to 2012 and Milan are reportedly asking for £20m to part with the midfielder.
Meanwhile, Andriy Shevchenko wants to honour his contract with Chelsea and will report for pre-season training with the Blues on July 9. Read more…
Italy are out of the Confederations Cup after Brazil blew them away, scoring three goals without reply.
It was make or break for Italy, as Thursday night’s defeat to Egypt put their place in the tournament at risk.
The USA go through at the expense of Italy because of their superior goal difference after a stunning 3-0 victory over Egypt.
Marcello Lippi made four changes to the side that suffered so unexpectedly three days ago.
Andrea Dossena replaced Fabio Grosso at left-back and Riccardo Montolivo started ahead of Rino Gattuso in midfield. Read more…
