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He can play Joe Cole on the left what... Thats where he plays for England... And do very well also... The problem here I feel is, I think its because of Deco... He wants to accommodate all 3 "creative midfielders" in Ballack, Lampard & Deco and still need a defensive midfielder, so how to play winger? depend on Bosingwa lor...
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Football rich list: Roman Abramovich knocked off top spot by Manchester City owner
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the money man behind Manchester City.
Roman Abramovich officially lost his place as football’s richest man last night - as the new world order saw Manchester City named as the dominant financial force.
Chelsea’s owner has headed the annual rich list of football owners since arriving out of nowhere to oversee his blue revolution in 2003. But five years later and having spent £600million on players, wages and Stamford Bridge, Abramovich has lost top spot to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the money man behind Manchester City.
The transfer of power from Russian to Middle East oil is stark proof of the sheer scale of funds that City boss Mark Hughes has at his disposal.
Abramovich is now not even the wealthiest club boss in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, having been overtaken by Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, the major investor at QPR. Yet David Beckham’s status as the richest player remains unchallenged with a fortune estimated at £125m, more than three times that of nearest - and distant - challenger Michael Owen.
The new sea change at the top is no surprise but suggests why Chelsea have entered a new era of relative austerity as they seek to become "self-funding" by the end of the next financial year.
While Abramovich’s estimated wealth once stood at £7billion, he is believed to have lost a third of that in the world economic downturn. That helps to explains why the Russian oligarch has turned off the money taps at the Bridge, telling boss Luiz Felipe Scolari there will be no money available in the transfer window, with even the £12m raised by the sale of Wayne Bridge placed on hold until the summer.
Sheikh Mansour’s elevation to the top of the list, compiled by FourFourTwo magazine, is no surprise after his incredible takeover at City. Even before his buy-out of Thaksin Shinawatra was completed, Sheikh Mansour, estimated to be worth £15bn, had gazumped Chelsea to land Scolari’s prime target, Real Madrid striker Robinho, in a British record £32.5m deal.
That is just the start of a spree likely to surpass even Abramovich’s outlay of £121m in his first year as Blues owner.
Bridge is set to be followed into Eastlands by a clutch of new signings as Sheikh Mansour gives Hughes the heaviest purse in the history of the game, despite a run of poor results including the FA Cup embarrassment by Nottingham Forest.
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The thing here is his price which was agreed 2 yrs ago is a little high today but if they look at it from a different point, then it should still be ok.
They United have already paid $10m for his 2 yrs service. Whatever happens, this $10m is already gone, it was for these last 2 successful years... If they look at it from another point of view that he is worth $22m today and not factor in that $10m, then it should still be a good buy...
The problem here isn't Fergie, its the money. Do they have it? Maybe if they start to think its $32m rather than $22m then they feel its over-priced. But if they get a brand new striker, maybe it will cost around that figure too unless Fergie has other ideas on his mind like promoting Welbeck or take Cambell back. Or maybe even buy another top striker he has his eyes on...
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Deni lands Trotters trial
BOLTON are giving a trial to Brazilian Denilson — who was once the world’s most expensive player.
The tricky winger, 31, is a free agent after leaving Palmeiras last month.
Trotters boss Gary Megson has moved quickly to bring over Denilson for a week’s training at the Reebok.
He hit the headlines in 1998 when he signed for Real Betis for £21million from Sao Paolo. Four years later, Denilson won the World Cup under Chelsea boss Phil Scolari.
He has since had spells with Flamengo and Bordeaux.
Megson wants to sign a winger and had a £3m bid for West Brom’s James Morrison rejected last week.
Sunderland star Kieran Richardson is also a target.
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£12M TARGET ... Andrei Arshavin
ANDREI ARSHAVIN is on standby for a £12million move to Arsenal. The Gunners, who have eyed the Russian striker for months, hope to seal a cut-price deal after his club Zenit St Petersberg dropped their £20m asking price.
Agent Dennis Lachter said: “Maybe somebody will call me tomorrow to say there is an agreement. “Whenever that is concluded I will come over to represent my client.”
Zenit tried to hold out for £20m after Arshavin starred at last summer’s European Championships. But club bosses now admit they will drop their price due to the credit crunch and, according to Russian sources, the two clubs officially opened talks yesterday.
General director Maxim Mitrofanov revealed: “It’s very difficult to discuss the Arshavin value. “We want to get an adequate payment. “It will depend upon the particular offer from the particular club. We also need to see what player will be coming to us to replace Andrei.”
Arsenal refused to comment on the deal last night but boss Arsene Wenger has been tracking the 27-year-old for months.
Arshavin would not be available for the Champions League last-16 tie against Roma as he has already played against the Italians for Zenit already this term. But Wenger insists that would not be a problem.
The striker has previously been linked with Tottenham and Real Madrid but Arsenal remains his first choice. Zenit boss Dick Advocaat admits he is resigned to losing his star man.
Advocaat added: “I am aware that Arsenal are interested but I don’t know any more than that. However, I am expecting Arshavin to leave. “He is a top player and he could play for any team and any of the top teams in England. “He was voted player of the year by the sports writers last season — and they know everything!
“Arshavin played well for us last season but he didn’t play as well as he can. “There is still more to come from him and people will see that.”
Edited by zocoss 07 Jan `09, 10:19AM
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Mark Hughes is hoping to offload Jo, Tal Ben Haim and Elano.
• Elano, Jo and Ben Haim placed on transfer list
• Players complain to City chief about manager
Mark Hughes is hoping to offload Jo, Tal Ben Haim and Elano.
Mark Hughes has identified a small but influential group of Manchester City players he fears are trying to lead a dressing-room mutiny against him. There has already been one meeting at which the ringleaders shared their grievances, and a fringe player has complained about Hughes to the club's executive chairman, Garry Cook.
Hughes, the latest Premier League manager to face speculation about a prospective sacking, is said to be dismayed but unsurprised by the unrest. He has been comforted by the fact he retains the backing of the majority of his squad but he has also had prolonged difficulties with some of the players he inherited from Sven-Goran Eriksson, most notably the Brazilian midfielder Elano. His relationship has also deteriorated with two of the players who were bought to the club under his management but entirely on the say-so of the former owner Thaksin Shinawatra, Tal Ben Haim and the Brazilian striker Jo.
Hughes is already seeking ways to offload several of the players he has come to regard as bad apples. Ben Haim has been offered to Blackburn as part of a proposed cash-plus-player exchange for Roque Santa Cruz that would also see City pay a fee of around £18m, and the Israel international is unlikely to be the only player to leave Eastlands.
Elano's relationship with Hughes has rarely been anything better than tepid and, despite being recognised as one of City's more talented passers, the Brazilian has created so many problems he, too, is available to potential buyers. Jo, a £19m recruit from CSKA Moscow, will also be sold or loaned if Hughes gets his way, and it is a measure of how strongly the manager feels that he is prepared for it to impact on the happiness of a third Brazilian, Robinho.
The priority for Hughes, according to well-placed sources inside the club, is to bring in new players and he remains hopeful of taking his spending at City over the £100m mark this week by concluding the deal for Santa Cruz as well as the £12m capture of West Ham's Scott Parker. City have also resurrected their interest in Kolo Touré of Arsenal and lodged a bid for Parker's team-mate, Craig Bellamy. Shay Given, the Newcastle United goalkeeper, is also on Hughes's wish-list.
Once City have worked through that list of names, however, Hughes will confirm to Cook there are several players with whom he feels he can no longer work - some because of their ability but others because of their attitude.
Potential buyers will be encouraged to look at a list that includes Dietmar Hamann, Michael Ball, Javier Garrido, Kasper Schmeichel, Nedum Onuoha and Darius Vassell.
Cook is sympathetic towards the manager and made that perfectly clear to the player who complained to him. However, quotes attributed to Cook yesterday, insisting there is no danger of Hughes being sacked, came from a month-old interview – before the run of games that saw City briefly drop into the Premier League's relegation zone as well as being humiliated in the FA Cup on Saturday by a Nottingham Forest side currently fourth from bottom of the Championship.
That 3-0 defeat has led to calls for Hughes's head from some supporters, although he is still thought to retain the backing of the club's billionaire owners in Abu Dhabi. Yet Hughes's problems can be gauged by the fact that one of the players who was involved in Saturday's game was seen laughing and joking in the showers directly afterwards.
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LIVERPOOL will shatter AC Milan’s hopes of taking Daniel Agger to Italy in an £8.5million move this month.
The Italian giants admitted centre-back Agger — still to sort a new contract at Anfield — is on their radar. But Kop boss Rafa Benitez will block any bids to land the Danish defender, insisting he wants to keep his squad together to chase a first Premier League title.
Agger, who also interested Real Madrid, missed most of last season with a broken foot. But he has been outstanding since getting his place back after Martin Skrtel’s knee ligament injury in October.
Milan need replacements for San Siro legends Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta. The Serie A giants’ vice-president Adriano Galliani said: “We have a list of three or four players — Agger is one of them. In January we’ll sign one of them.”
Benitez also shot down reports he is ready to off-load Andrea Dossena just six months after his £7m arrival from Udinese. The Italian left-back recently lost his place to Emiliano Insua. But the Argentine rookie is out for the next month after being called up for the South American Under-20 Championships.
Benitez said: “I am not considering selling Dossena. It is important to keep the squad together.”
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Manchester United braced for new Ronaldo raid as Real Madrid presidential hopefuls are set to make him their No 1 target
Another hurdle: Cristiano Ronaldo is still in Real Madrid's long-term planning.
Real Madrid are set to reopen their public courtship of Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo. United may have hoped the saga was over but sources in Spain suggest that the Ronaldo will be at the centre of a power struggle at the Bernabeu.
Madrid president Ramon Calderon has closed the door on very public attempts to sign the winger in the short term. But Sportsmail understands that Florentino Perez is expected to stand for election for Calderon's job with a pledge of trying to sign Ronaldo.
The well-connected 'Confidential' column in Catalan newspaper Sport reports that Perez even has a verbal agreement with the player's agent Jorge Mendes that Ronaldo would be ready to leave Old Trafford by the time of the 2010 elections.
The pledge is likely to be such a vote-winner that Calderon is expected to follow suit and declare he would also try to sign the former Sporting Lisbon star - despite the risk of angering Manchester United once again.
To make things even more messy, Barcelona also hold presidential elections on the summer of 2010, with former director Sandro Rossell set to stand for election with a pledge to take the 23-year-old to the Nou Camp.
Top honours: Ronaldo is passed the Club World Cup trophy by team-mate Nemanja Vidic.
Ronaldo recently said he was happy to stay at Old Trafford despite agitating for a move to Spain last summer.
A Spanish newspaper close to Perez last month claimed that Madrid had a secret agreement to sign Ronaldo next summer, which has been denied by United and the player.
The leak has been interpreted as some observers as trying to destabalise any approach by Calderon for Ronaldo before the elections in 18 months' time.
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Milan Set To Announce Pennant Move - Reports
Italian media claim that the Rossoneri have wrapped up a deal to bring in the Liverpool man next summer.
The Corriere dello Sport reports this morning that Milan have completed an incredible swoop for Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant and have reached an agreement to sign him next July when his contract with the Reds will run out and the 25-year-old will become a free-agent.
The newspaper considers the move a done deal and reveals that the Rossoneri will soon make it official.
Arsenal snapped up the midfielder from Notts County in 1999 and he was handed his Premier League debut at the age of 16.
He has been with Liverpool since 2006 and turned down moves to Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers over the summer, but the Premier League leaders have decided not to take up the option to invoke a one-year-extension on his current deal and he will be free to walk away in the summer.
Meanwhile, there are reports that Beckham has shaken off his muscular problem and will make his debut in a Diavoli jersey in the game with Hamburg this afternoon.
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ON THE CHARGE ... John Terry
JOHN TERRY insists Chelsea’s season is not crumbling and reckons they can still win a TREBLE.
The Blues were held 1-1 at home by League One Southend in the FA Cup on Saturday. Phil Scolari’s men have also dropped 14 home points in the Premier League this campaign and suffered a woeful Carling Cup exit at the hands of Burnley.
But skipper Terry (left), who has served his three-match ban, said: “So far we are not doing that badly. “Going out of the Carling Cup was a sickener and we’ve drifted three points behind Liverpool in the league — but that can be put right.
“We’re in the last 16 of the Champions League and still in the FA Cup. We need to play better but we can still win all three. “We want more winners’ medals. We didn’t get any in 2008, we need to put that right.”
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Micah Richards
MICAH RICHARDS has blasted the critics who claim he is overweight and out of condition.
The 20-year-old defender has struggled to recapture his best form as City have slipped down the Premier League table. But Richards insists his below-par performances have nothing to do with his size.
He fumed: "People are saying stuff about me looking slower or heavier or whatever but to be honest that's rubbish. "If anything I have lost weight and have less body fat than I did last year. We are constantly monitored in both those areas.
"I am working as hard as ever and I don't feel as if I have done anything drastically wrong this season for people to comment on. "What I don't do is let anything that is thrown at me get in the way of training or learning."
Richards is also determined to force his way back into the England squad after being overlooked by Fabio Capello. He added: "I take criticism in my stride. All players have dips and I am staying positive.
"I know I give 100 per cent in every match. "Of course I am not the finished article. I have lots to learn and would be a fool to think anything else. "I believe in my ability and I think City fans know what I am capable of. "It is just a matter of finding the form I was in last season."
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Luiz Felipe Scolari to heal disunity at Chelsea
Luiz Felipe Scolari is becoming concerned that associates of players at Chelsea could undermine the club's unity by leaking stories.
Concerned: Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari wants his players to pull together.
The Chelsea manager is known to feel extremely strongly about the importance of keeping all dressing-room or team discussions in-house and has been frustrated by some reports that have appeared in the media following the club's disappointing recent run.
Scolari is adamant that the spirit at Chelsea is strong, but pointedly remarked that "sometimes the walls have ears" at his press conference on Friday. Chelsea, who face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, believe that there are people from outside the club who have been agitating.
Last year Chelsea experienced similar a problem under Avram Grant, who instructed the media not to listen to agents "too much", following the Carling Cup final defeat against Tottenham.
Prior to the match, captain John Terry and first-team coach Henk ten Cate had a training-ground row that quickly became public knowledge.
Terry yesterday also called on Chelsea to improve their unity in 2009 as the club strive to win a potential treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
"We need to be more consistent, we need to play better and sometimes we need to be together more, including the fans," he said. "We can certainly do all that. Now we must all stick together. We take on the world as one: us players, management and staff and especially the fans. We support each other, we win together."
Scolari, who is optimistic about the progress of Michael Essien, is also particularly encouraged by the improving injury situation and believes that his staff have been successful in tackling some of the recurring issues. Despite the sale of Wayne Bridge to Manchester City, Scolari is not expecting to make any buys in the January transfer window.
Chelsea intend to be self-funding on an annual basis from July and no longer reliant on interest-free loans from Roman Abramovich. A spending review has seen the departure of 15 club scouts and even a cut of free tickets for players from eight to four per game.
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I believe there is a good reason for all this... First of all, Pennant left only less than 6 months to his Pool contract so he will be going for what is mentioned around $3m. But a player of his age and skill level could command a fee of around $7 to $8 million so should he don't work out at Real or AC, they can easily sell him back to a mid table English club for a profit of $3 to $5 million next year...
Anyway, he isn't a bad player leh... I still remember he scored that goal against Chelsea... Super shot...
I also think he is a better player than SWP...
Edited by zocoss 06 Jan `09, 7:09PM
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Now a move to Milan beckons for Liverpool winger Pennant
Back-up: Milan want Jermaine Pennant as a replacement for David Beckham when he leave.
AC Milan have joined the chase for Jermaine Pennant, less than a fortnight after the Liverpool winger looked to have missed out on a move to Real Madrid.
San Siro boss Carlo Ancelotti has been alerted to Pennant's imminent availability on a free transfer and ordered his negotiating team to draw up a pre-contract offer ahead of a summer move.
A switch to the Bernabeu fell through over personal terms but could yet be revived.
However, Ancelotti remembers the threat posed by Liverpool's out-of-favour winger, 26 next week, when Milan and Liverpool met in the 2007 Champions League Final.
Milan are exploring ways of keeping David Beckham beyond his two-month loan but see Pennant as a good back-up position.
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is eager to recoup some of the £6million paid to Birmingham for the one-time Arsenal winger and may try to loan him to another Barclays Premier League club until the end of the season in order to receive a fee. Wigan, Hull and Stoke are thought to be keen.
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RYAN GIGGS has stunned Manchester United by hinting he could retire at the end of the season. The veteran winger’s current deal expires in May and he is yet to be offered a new deal to stay at Old Trafford.
Giggs’ experience has been vital for the Red Devils but the Welsh ace, 35, said: “I will keep playing as long as I enjoy it, I am fit and the manager wants me. “If one of those three things stops, I will consider retiring.
“It could be at the end of this season. Or it could be the next one. “I am at the end of my contract in May, so we will see. “At the minute, there hasn’t been any contact with United. “I am as fit as I have ever been. The only difference is recovering from games.
“Two days after a game, I am still tired. Before, I could play Saturday-Wednesday, Saturday-Wednesday no problem. “Today, I would be a lot less efficient at doing things. Nowadays, I only play once a week, it’s very good that way.”
Giggs has spent 18 magical years at Old Trafford, lifting two European Cups. He said: “Today, victories and titles make me happier than when I was younger, because I know that they could be the last ones.
“The Champions League win last season made me a lot happier than in 1999, for instance. “I am lot more confident than I was before. My relation to stress has changed over the years.
“When I was first in the first team, at 17 or 18, I felt no pressure at all. Nothing. It lasted for three to four years. “Then things changed, injuries happened, I had poor games, and suddenly I started feeling the pressure. It weighed on my game. “But since I turned 30, I don’t think about anything any more, there’s no pressure.”
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