La Liga - Barcelona talk down Cesc price

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell believes Cesc Fabregas’s value has dipped over the past 12 months and says the club will “not go overboard” in any attempt to sign the Arsenal captain.

Fabregas is again believed to be a target for Barca this summer and although on Wednesday he insisted he was happy at Arsenal, he also stated he was unsure what his future holds.
Barca made a concerted effort to sign their former youth team prospect 12 months ago but Rosell is unwilling to make the same financial commitments if he does try and purchase the midfielder again.
"If last summer we offered 40 million (£36 million) for Cesc, and since then there has been wear and tear, now he's worth less," Rosell said.
"In the case that we were interested, our offer would be reasonable. We would not go overboard."
With negotiations continuing with Udinese for Alexis Sanchez and Villarreal’s Giuseppe Rossi remaining a target, Rosell says Guardiola has been given a firm transfer budget for the summer.
However, that could be enhanced by funds set aside for the following year.
"We'll see what happens in the transfer market. Initially, we have 45 million euros but we might use part of next year's money too," he said. "[Pep] Guardiola has his preferences, but he doesn't talk about names, he talks about positions that should be strengthened."

Eurosport

Boss in before July - Gourlay

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay expects to appoint the club's new manager within a fortnight, with Guus Hiddink favourite for the job.

Hiddink: Leads Chelsea contenders

Turkey boss Hiddink is widely expected to return to the role he occupied at Stamford Bridge on a short-term basis in 2009 and talks are understood to be ongoing.
It has been reported that Chelsea still need to agree compensation with the Turkish Football Association, but Gourlay insist the search for a manager is going "very, very well".
Gourlay, who was in Bangkok on Thursday to promote the club's pre-season Asian tour would not comment directly about Hiddink.
However, he said: "The process of getting a new coach is going very, very well.
"I'd expect a new coach to hopefully be in place within the next week, maybe two weeks, but maybe even earlier."
Gourlay has also defended the Chelsea's rapid turnover of managers in recent years, with Carlo Ancelotti the fourth man in as many years to leave.
"Continuity is very important but so is performance and results," said Gourlay.
"Our model may not be the model others agree with but at the end of the day, we've taken the decisions we felt we needed to take to develop Chelsea football club... and we've won 10 major trophies in the last six years."

Will Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez Be Joining Real Madrid Soon?

by Michael Schwartz

Six million Euros. That's all it cost for Manchester United to sign a hardly-known Mexican striker from Chivas Guadalajara around a year ago. Nobody knew what to expect from Javier Hernandez, but as soon as he scored goals in the World Cup against France and Argentina, excitement started to build. However, not even Alex Ferguson and his scouting staff could have expected the immediate impact the Mexican sensation would have in the Premier League.
In his first year with United, Chicharito shocked the football world with his play as he became one of the EPL's leading goal-scorers. In a year where Wayne Rooney was as unpredictable as ever and Berbatov cooled off in the second half of the season, Hernandez remarkably became the symbol of consistency that allowed United to successfully win their 19th title.
As a result of his play, it should come as no surprise that there would be outside interest in him. It's also completely predictable that Real Madrid would be linked with the United striker after reports were made of Jose Mourinho being heavily interested in him to the point of dealing Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema for Hernandez. Just the thought of Madrid going after another United player makes United fans look back to the Ronaldo saga, who eventually left to join them. Speculation around Hernandez continued to grow after stories were made of his agent admitting that he would consider an offer from the Spanish giants.

Instead of fretting about his future, I'm confident in feeling that Hernandez won't leave Manchester. Hernandez isn't the same as Ronaldo in that he dreamed of playing for Los Blancos. The fact that Hernandez is of Latin-American descent from North America where the Spanish giants are worshiped in some parts also explains why the media would jump on the idea of him joining Real Madrid.
Call it a gut feeling, but Chicharito looks like he shows a great amount of loyalty which is growing less common nowadays with young footballers. According to The Sun, he stated, "From now on I'll owe a great debt to Sir Alex for bringing me to Europe. I want to win many titles to give back to the team that opened the doors for me."
Now, one would counter saying Ronaldo often played mind-games where he stated that he wouldn't leave United only to eventually succumb to the temptation of playing for his childhood team. Hernandez doesn't seem to be known for idolizing a certain team and looks as though he's just appreciative of United in believing in him. In return, United have made what many call the signing of the century. Besides his marketing value, Hernandez has become an integral member of the Red Devils as his pace and finishing are simply world class for both club and country (an astounding 19 goals in 25 appearances for Mexico).
Will the rumors of Chicharito going to Real Madrid or other top clubs end once and for all? Of course not. Stories of teams interested in his services will continue to persist as they do with most of the top players in the world.
However, Alex Ferguson will do all he can to keep hold of his prized striker as he's determined to have him lead United for years to come. Chicharito will probably only get even better over time as he looks like he could one day be the best striker in the world. The links with other giants of the game won't stop as he continues to astound. No one can predict the future and in today's transfer market, anything can happen. However, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez is a Red Devil and in my mind, he'll continue to be one for a long time to come.

La Liga - Barca chief lays into Real, Mourinho

A war of words between Barcelona and Real Madrid intensified when Barca president Sandro Rosell accused their bitter rivals of anti-sporting behaviour and slammed Real coach Jose Mourinho.

Bad blood boiled up between the Spanish giants around four clashes in three competitions in 18 days in April and May and Rosell used his end-of-season news conference to read out a strongly-worded statement condemning Real.
"We believe that this season Real Madrid has gone beyond all the limits of the necessary sporting rivalry, making accusations against our club that have no foundation," Rosell said.
"The rivalry will continue next season but we will not allow the limits of sporting behaviour to be exceeded again.
"Football deserves clean competition and FC Barcelona will do everything to preserve that.
"If necessary, we will take legal action and take the case to the relevant sporting tribunals."
European champions Barca eliminated Real from the Champions League and beat the Madrid club into second place in La Liga for a third straight season, while Real claimed a dramatic King's Cup final win over Barca to claim their only silverware.
The four matches were marred by play-acting, brawling and post-game allegations of cheating and racist abuse.
After the Champions League semi-final first leg, Mourinho claimed Barca enjoyed favourable treatment from referees and Real filed a complaint with UEFA -- which was rejected -- accusing Barca players of diving and alleging midfielder Sergio Busquets had called defender Marcelo a monkey.
Barca filed their own complaint with UEFA over Mourinho's comments and the Portuguese was suspended for five matches and fined 50,000 euros ($70,700).
He faces an appeals hearing on July 29 and has said he will use all means at his disposal to fight the sanction.
"The news conference that the Real Madrid coach gave after the Champions League semi-final first leg at the Bernabeu shamed anyone who considers themselves an athlete," Rosell said.
Barca were also outraged by a report on Spanish radio station Cadena Cope, which cited an unidentified Real official as its source, that suggested Barca's players and medical staff were engaged in illegal doping.
"I can assure you that if someone, in the name of FC Barcelona, had made an accusation of this kind we would have acted with firmness, denying it immediately and taking those responsible to court," Rosell said.
"We would have appreciated a similar response from Real Madrid but unfortunately this was not the case."
Rosell said it was now up to Real president Florentino Perez to mend relations between the clubs.
"A few days ago the president of Real Madrid said he would not stop until the club had won a tenth European Cup," he said.
"We hope that they attempt this on the pitch, in a sporting manner and rediscovering a way of behaving that I believe many Madrid fans want.
"The president of Real Madrid has a chance to reconstitute our relations, on and off the pitch.
"Football, which usually gives you back what you put in, will be the great beneficiary."

Reuters

Manchester United set to enter bidding war for Tottenham's Luka Modric

Luka Modric said he would consider an offer from Manchester United if Spurs allowed him to do so. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images

Luka Modric would be open to joining Manchester United if Sir Alex Ferguson starts a bidding war with Chelsea by following the west London club in making an official offer for the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder.
After Chelsea had an initial £22m offer rejected, United are considering their options before deciding when to enter the market for a player openly admired by Ferguson, who claims he is the best footballer in England. Manchester City, the Premier League's richest club, also retain an interest and if their billionaire owner, Sheikh Mansour, enters the auction to land Modric then Spurs can expect his price to rise beyond £35m.
While Tottenham maintain that Modric is not for sale Nikky Vuksan, Modric's representative, said the Croatian would consider an offer from United if the north London club allowed him to do so. "Exactly. If that was the Spurs position then we would be happy to sit with the club and discuss for the future," Vuksan said, before being careful to emphasise Modric is not agitating for a move.
"He's happy at Spurs. Any offer that comes [in] for him, it's up to the decision of Tottenham Hotspur if they want to reject it or accept it. We have a great partnership with Tottenham and there's not been [any] activity on our behalf that we would do on our own.
"Everything is in coordination with Spurs, and it's all up to the chairman, Daniel Levy, to decide. [Luka's] under contract, he's happy there [and] he's willing to try to win the Premiership with Spurs and play Champions League [the] next season."
Yet despite that, Vuksan conceded that Modric wants to play in the Champions League each season, a prospect not on offer for him from Tottenham in the next campaign. "Of course. He loves the Champions League experience, it was a great honour for Sir Alex to say something like this and he uses it only as a motivation to continue on such a level," he said.
Asked how Modric reacted when he was told of the bid from Chelsea, Vuksan said: "I'm sorry it's inappropriate for me to say what he thinks about it. Obviously he respects the decision of the club [to turn the offer down]."
Pressed if Modric would prefer a move to Chelsea, United, City, or even Arsenal, Vuksan added: "This is a constant question and I'm sorry I really can't comment."
Regarding what comprises a realistic valuation for Modric, Vuksan said it would not be unexpected if an offer of up to £40m was eventually made for him. "Of course, I don't think it would be [to] anybody's surprise. If you ask me, Modric is one of the best and one of the probably most expensive players in the world," he said of a player who is only 25 and so is yet to reach his peak. "He's going to keep improving and get better and better."
United, meanwhile, have turned their interest in Raphaël Varane into a formal bid, offering Lens £9.2m for a teenager who fits into their policy of recruiting potential stars of the future.
Lens have provisionally accepted United's offer, though the matter is complicated. Varane has begun his Baccalaureate exams and may delay his decision until they are finished, while his excitement about moving to Old Trafford is tempered by reservations that he will be joining a club which has an established central defensive partnership in Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, plus Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans in reserve.
Varane is keen to arrange a loan in his first season, possibly meaning he will stay in France, and if that is not possible with United he must decide whether he would be better off signing for a team where he would get more games.

AGUERO NOT SET FOR JUVENTUS - AGENT

Sergio Aguero's agent has denied reports that the Atletico Madrid striker has agreed to join Juventus.
It had been suggested that Juve were closing in on the signing of the Argentina international, for a fee in the region of £22million.

 

Aguero - not set to join Juventus.

But the claims have been quelled, with Aguero's representative, Hernan Reguera, insisting no talks have been held with the Serie A club.
"Sergio has two agents and we have both been in Argentina, we have not met anyone," Reguera told Spanish newspaper AS.
"We have not been in Italy or anywhere, we are in Argentina working on his future. He is quiet, he has delegated this to us and is now focused on the Copa America.
"It is clear that Kun is eager to play Champions League football next season. However, it will not be a decisive factor in the decision on his future. We are currently considering his options and many factors play a role in his decision."
Aguero has been linked with several of Europe's top sides, including Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid.

By James Dall

Hammers nail down Nolan deal

Kevin Nolan has completed his surprise move to relegated West Ham from Newcastle for an undisclosed fee, believed to be up to £4million.

Nolan: Hammers new boy

The 28-year-old midfielder has agreed a five-year deal at Upton Park.
New Hammers boss Sam Allardyce will make Nolan the club's captain in the hope he can repeat his heroics of two seasons ago, when his 17 goals helped the Magpies bounce straight back into the Premier League after their relegation.
The deal is a real coup for Allardyce, who has landed a player he knows well from their successful spell together at Bolton and who hit 12 top-flight goals last term.
As well as taking over as skipper from the out-of-contract Matt Upson, Nolan's arrival will also soften the blow of Scott Parker's inevitable move back to the Premier League with Tottenham his likely destination.
However, Nolan's departure from St James' Park, after he failed to agree an extension to his contract, has not gone down well on Tyneside with fellow midfielder Joey Barton admitting the news made him feel "sick".