Ronaldo Finally Goes

Cristiano Ronaldo's protracted move to Real Madrid has finally been confirmed, with the Spanish club having deposited all £80 million into Manchester United's bank account. It didn't stay there for long though, with Sir Alex Ferguson already having spent £16m on Wigan's Ecuadorian starlet Antonio Valencia, and being tipped to add Karim Benzema in the near future.

United have beaten Chelsea to signing a big-name player, with Chelsea fans starting to get restless even though there is two months left until the end of the transfer window, and manager Carlo Ancelotti hasn't yet met the current players. Yuri Zhirkov is on his way to Stamford Bridge at some point, and will more than likely be followed by Boro's Ross Turnbull and Manchester City's Daniel Sturridge.

At lest it is looking less likely that the quality players will be drifting away from the Blues, with Inter Milan failing to agree terms with Chelsea on how much they should pay for Ricardo Carvalho and Deco. Inter say £6m, Chelsea say double.

City are able to let Sturridge leave because they are contesting for yet more top-class talent - Roque Santa Cruz, Craig Bellamy and Robinho will soon be teaming up with Carlos Tevez and Samuel Eto'o, although Eto'o is posturing for more money to make him join a club that isn't in the Champions League. Yet.

Portsmouth have released 5 players and sold one, with Paramot, Lauren, Little, Thomas and Djimi Traore not having their contracts renewed, and Sean Davis heading to Bolton on a free-transfer after seeing out his contract.

Arsenal's hopes of signing Felipe Melo took a turn for the worse when the Brazilian central midfielder signed a new deal at his current club, Fiorentina, which may mean that Arsenal look to old boy Patrick Vieira or possibly Yaya Toure, brother of Kolo, for some steel at the centre of the pitch.

Liverpool net a Finance Package

Liverpool's financial troubles appear to be over - first Gillett sold up his NFL team, and then the new Chief-Exec managed to renegotiate their £400m debt with RBS to ensure the club can continue to spend lavishly! £17.5m has just been added to the pile of IOUs, with Portsmouth full-back Glen Johnson joining the club.

Man City's Carlos Tevez deal may hit a snag or two along the way before its completion, with the Premier League scrutinising the deal at each and every step to ensure Carlos becomes a player of the club, and is no longer owned by a less-than-transparent third-party. The new strike force of Craig Bellamy, Robinho, Santa Cruz and Tevez isn't exactly terrifying, but it should do well enough to scare the Big Four into making more acquisitions.

An as-yet-unnamed team has supposedly been taken over by some more Arabs from the UAE, in a deal unconnected to the people in charge of City, with a 'Premiership club' already having signed the paperwork to transfer ownership. Portsmouth are rumoured to be the club, but have denied the claims.

Ruud van Nistelrooy has urged his Dutch team-mates at Real to find a way out, and a new club, ahead of the World Cup 2010. He wants everyone to be fighting fit. With the arrivals of big-money signings Ronaldo and Kaka, the Dutch contingent are available at bargain prices.

The TV rights for the Premier League games lost by Setanta have already been snapped up at a knock down price, with US TV giants ESPN landing the rights to the Monday and Saturday night games packages for some £40m less than Setanta paid for them. The SPL has now followed suit by re-claiming the rights back off Setanta, who will struggle without the football to bring in viewers.

City start Spending

Manchester City have got their summer spending into full swing, with the club looking to finalise the £15m transfer of Roque Santa Cruz in the next day or so (he is in for a medical right now) as well as dot the i's and cross the t's on the new £25.5m contract with Carlos Tevez.

Chelsea seem to be missing out on big player after big player, with a late bid for Kaka turned dwon, and Tevez now opting to stay in Manchester. Ricardo Carvalho and deco have already said that they wantto join Mourinho at Inter Milan, and another of Chelsea's key men from last season, Didier Drogba, has reportedly been on the phone to Jose too. Things aren't looking so rosy at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal completed the £10m signing of intelligent Ajax captain Thomas Vermaelen. The talented centre-back should shore up the centre of the pitch for Arsenal, behind Cesc Fabregas, and is another canny purchase by Arsene Wenger.

Manchester United, having lost both Tevez and Ronaldo, are set to splurgetheircash on Karim Benzema and Luis Valencia, with Brazilian wonderkid Douglas Costa thrown in for good measure. Zoran Tosic, the Serbian brought in to play on the wing in January, has revealed that they all knew Ronaldo would be leaving this summer - even before the Champions League Final loss to Barcelona. Tosic hopes to stake his claim for the vacancy in the pre-season.

Liverpool's woes off-the-field, with the Americans Gillett and Hicks, seem to have taken a turn for the better, with Gllett selling his stake in his NHL team.

England steal the back-pages

Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land! The papers have gone mad on the national side's 6-0 demolition of Andorra!

England are now on course to WIN the World Cup (according to the red-tops anyway!) - somehow the boys managed to prove they could go all the way last night, in spite of the fact that the team they faced is semi-professional, based in the mountains (not many pitches!) and is formed of post-men, shop workers and a factory engineer or two. I wonder what the papers will say if England actually beat someone worth beating?!

Arsene Wenger probably won't have been too happy that youngster Theo Walcott played the entire match - not least with him now jetting off to the U-21 Championships. Wenger had tried to persuade Theo to drop out of the youth tournament, but having spent 4months on the sidelines earlier this season the young winger didn't see the point in missing out. He has just two weeks off between the tournament ending and Arsenal's pre-season training starting, so maybe Arsene has a point?!

Roberto Martinez is set to finally be unveiled at Wigan later today, whilst West Brom fans have begun an online petition in the hope it will convince their boss Tony Mowbray (who has got the club relegated twice!) not to jump ship for Celtic. Not sure it'll help...

The exodus of talent from Newcastle and Middlesbrough has yet to happen, which has prompted Tuncay Sanli to make sure everyone knows that he wants to play at the highest level. His intricate passing game perhaps isn't suited to the blood and guts of the Championship, but Boro fans won't appreciate his sentiments.

The confusion remains at Newcastle, who have yet to sort out their owner, manager or any of their players! The foreign legion of Xisco, Gutierrez, Coloccini, Bassong and so many others are all lining themselves up for a move away from the club, but have been forced to wait whilst Mike Ashley gets his finances in order.

No Real Football News!

It’s a bit of a rest day in the press following the big money deal of Kaka, who was signed and sealed yesterday. Whilst Madrid's Florentino has gone on record as saying that they will do anything and everything they can to get Cristiano Ronaldo's signature, there won't be any movement on that transfer until later in the summer.

Barcelona are staying 'calm' amidst Real Madrid's spending - but that’s probably only because they are signing Serie A's best player Zlatan Ibrahimovich in return for Samuel Eto'o and £10m. A good deal for all concerned, but it won't be confirmed until June 30th according to Italy's Gazzetta newspaper.

With the big deals on hold for the time being, its time for the smaller moves to take some of the limelight - apart from there aren't many of them either!? Welsh international Carl Fletcher is set to sign for Plymouth, and the wonderfully named Prince Tagoe (Ghanaian international) will sign for Hoffenheim, but they're not really the stories the press likes to cover!

The managerial merry-go-round continue, with Felipe Scolari now a manager in Uzbekistan, Tony Mowbray set for talks with Celtic, and Martinez confirmed at Wigan.

Setanta Sports' impending collapse will leave many Scottish Premier League and English Championship clubs struggling for cash, which makes signing players on free transfers and loans all the more important.

Kaka finally signs and other news

Kaka has signed for Real Madrid. He passed his medical yesterday, with Real Madrid staff flown over to a Brazilian clinic to complete the procedure ahead of him being announced as the world's most expensive footballer. Having cost £56m, he smashes the last record (set by Zidane at £47m), and must be expected to bring real success to the Madrilenos. His transfer has a knock-on effect, with AC Milan now cash-rich to start buying players again (such as Edin Dzeko, who has taken Germany by storm this season) as well as pushing their rivals to get their signings done.

One side of Manchester will be happy come Thursday, with Carlos Tevez set to make a straight choice between the established power of United and the billion-dollar funded ambition on show at City. United have agreed terms with his agent, Kia Jaroobchian, but Tevez is unhappy that its taken so long for the Reds to clinch the deal, and doesn't feel wanted. In contrast, City are willing to smash their wage-structure (is there one?) to get the Argentine, as well as making him their star player. The deal will be done as soon as his international duties have finished.

Michael Owen is the talk of the tabloids once more n the run-up to an England game, but sadly it’s only for transfer reasons this time. The out-of-contract once-great striker has been linked with both Everton and Aston Villa (Martin O'Neill this morning distanced himself from the rumours), although there is still a chance that Owen will end up in Italy at Roma.

Arsenal are close to agreeing a deal for Ajax's 23 year old captain Thomas Vermaelen, who may or may not be joined in the centre of defence by Brede Hangeland - any deal would have to smash Fulham's £12.8m transfer record.

Mike Ashley isn't having much luck in his quest to sell Newcastle United. Having slashed the price of the club to just £100m to aid his deteriorating retail empire, he has started accepting offers via email. Needless to say, he has been offered £10, a curly wurly, and even a pair of Oasis tickets for the club!

England edge closer to South Africa 2010

England look to be all set for the World Cup already, with their win on Saturday leaving them just 4 points off qualification for next years South Africa Finals. Wayne Rooney was amongst the scorers in a 4-0 win over Kazakhstan, although not all players were receiving plaudits for the performance - Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson were both fairly laissez-faire in the defending and positioning, which earned them a telling off from manager Fabio Capello.

Portugal left it very late to secure their much-needed win over Albania - Cristiano Ronaldo captained the side, and it looked like it was heading for a draw (which would have killed Carlos Queiroz's qualification hopes) until Bruno Alves popped up in the 93rd minute to smash home. Lucky boys.

Ji Sung Park's South Korea became one of the first teams in the hat for the Finals next year with another convincing win.

On the transfer front, the big guns all appear to be for sale. Save for Lionel Messi, Rooney and Steven Gerrard, all the top players - Ibrahimovich, Eto'o, Ronaldo, Kaka, Tevez etc - are up for grabs. There is talk of Ibra and Eto'o swapping clubs, though that was before Manchester City have finalised what promises to be a massive contract offer for the Cameroonian.

Tevez's agent Kia Jaroobchian has previously mentioned a June 10th deadline for his client, who will have finished football for the summer by that point, and will be looking to have his club tied up so he can properly relax without worrying about passing the medical!

The managerial merry-go-round is still underway, with Martinez expected to be confirmed at Wigan later today, Mowbray moving to Celtic, Darren Ferguson heading to West Brom, etc, etc. Look out for Gordon Strachan, who has been tipped to take on the Portsmouth role.

Ronaldo nets pay-out

Cristiano Ronaldo looks set to have a lucrative summer ahead of him amid news that he actually does have a secret contract! Speaking on Spanish radio, one of the Real Madrid directors admitted that the contract does exist, and will see Cristiano take home a massive pay-out whether he moves to Real or not.

One of the contract’s penalty clauses states that Manchester United's Ronaldo will receive around 30 millions euros if Real Madrid do not come in for him in the summer – making him a whole lot richer! On the other hand, if the transfer goes through and he ends up in Madrid, he will pocket a healthy signing-on fee as well as seeing his wages DOUBLED (and he gets to play for his ‘dream club’.)

One club that might be short of cash this transfer window is Liverpool – after they announced a massive £42m operating loss – much of it caused by the £21m in interest payments that the American owners forced onto the club. Rumours that Rafa Benitez would be adding to the Spanish contingent may well prove wide of the mark, with winger David Silva currently in talks with both Barca and Real, and striker David Villa expected to cost a lot of money!

Manchester City are still dreaming of a strike-partnership of Samuel Eto’o and Carlos Tevez, whilst their central midfield may be boosted by Xabi Alonso.

Chelsea have yet to start their spending spree, and are intent instead on securing the futures of their best players. Ashley Cole will be the first to sign on the dotted line, with Frank Lampard and John Terry set to follow suit to ensure that the Stamford Bridge side retain an element of Englishness.

With Bruce installed at Sunderland, and given a £60m kitty to spend, he’ll return to his former club to take Lee Cattermole to the Stadium of Light, before heading to the Spurs bargain bin and picking up Darren Bent. Tom Huddlestone and David Bentley will be out of the door to Aston Villa, whilst Harry Redknapp will also sanction the sale of Didier Zokora to Villareal.

Chelsea give up on Kaka

Another day, another truckload of transfer rumours, which is no surprise really given that there is no actual football to fill the back-pages of the papers with.

The Kaka saga looks like being concluded after AC Milan supremo Galliani admitted that they could not afford to pass up the offer of £70m for one player – and has already talked up a fresh start built around youngster Pato. Ancelotti has supposedly given up on signing the Brazilian for Chelsea, so will use his money on Franck Ribery and Valencia’s David Villa.

With Manchester City making a move for Samuel Eto’o, Ibrahimovich could be brought in by Barcelona to paper over the cracks. Eto’o is needed because Chelsea’s first signing this season is set to be out-of-contract City striker Daniel Sturridge, who is set to take home upto £50,000 a week in spite of having made only a handful of appearances in the Premier League.

Chelsea also want to sign old-boy Glen Johnson, possibly for as much as £17m, topping the £11m they paid West Ham for him when he was just a promising youngster. It seems that they have given up on Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor though, with the Togo international moving through the revolving door at AC’s Milanello.

Relegated Middlesbrough could be playing next season without Tuncay Sanli, with Rafa Benitez interested in ‘the next Yossi Benayoun’. The Reds have also been linked with Kevin Nolan, whose Scouse roots and hard-working approach could make him a useful understudy to Javier Mascherano.

Manchester United have decided that Fraizer Campbell and Danny Simpson are surplus to requirements, with both transfer listed.

Team-mate Michael Carrick appears to have jeopardised his international future by not telling the England set-up that he was unlikely to be able to play in the upcoming international rounds – there is no doubt he is injured, but he should have told Fabio Capello well before the Friday call-up deadline. Carrick looks to be recovering sooner than Owen Hargreaves, who is still unlikely to be ready for the new season in spite of spending the whole of the last campaign in plaster on the sidelines. Hargo has vowed to play again, but his career could yet be cut short.

Kaka, Barry + other news

Kaka looks like he is on his way to Real Madrid! In perhaps one of the greatest returns ever seen in football, Florentino Perez, taking over as President once more, has managed to add Kaka to his list of captured Galacticos - this is the man who also broke the transfer records (and probably rules!) to sign Figo, Zidane, Beckham and Ronaldo! A reported fee of £65m will make the Brazilian trequartista the most valuable player in history, and may well call a halt to any chasing of Cristiano Ronaldo.

There is a chance that both Manchester City and Chelsea could steal in with a last-gasp bid, but neither club has the romance or history that the Madrid club offers. The move should trigger big moves in Serie A, with AC Milan looking to spend the money wisely to create a more youthful team. Robinho (unhappy at City), Nani and Anderson have all been linked to the Milan side.

Manchester United can be safe in the knowledge that Ji Sung Park and Nemanja Vidic are staying - both have come out in the Press to let the fans know - though it looks like Fraizer Campbell may be off to Hull City after a less-than-successful stint at Spurs. Having been knocked down the pecking order by the arrival of Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda, Campbell may be returning to the Tigers, where he enjoyed a great season two seasons ago, leading them to promotion.

Barcelona look set to add to their world conquering team with Cesc Fabregas soon set to trade passes with Iniesta and Xavi in the centre-circle, and Zlatan Ibrahimovich adding some guile and zest to the front-line, in place of Thierry Henry.

Daniel Sturridge is now out of contract at Manchester City, which has prompted them to try and secure the signature of Carlos Tevez before the week is out. Gareth Barry has already joined the club, in search of Champions League football, and a few more useful additions by Hughes should make next season very, very interesting.

Chelsea set for Busy Summer

He's only been in his job for one day, but if you listen to the newspapers, Carlo Ancelotti has managed to judge each and every Chelsea player's form and potential, decided who should go, and then decided who can stay and what is needed. Whilst he probably has some idea what is needed from watching the Blues on TV this season, the long list of ins and outs suggest he is an expert on all matters at Stamford Bridge within just 24 hours - even on Championship Manager it takes longer than that!

Out go Carvalho, Alex, Ferreira, Deco and Kalou, and in comes Pato, Glen Johnson (who used to be at the club), Kaka, Benzema, Pirlo and Xabi Alonso. Looks like the football agents will be having a credit crunch-busting summer.

One person who won't be leaving his football club this season is Manchester United's Barry Moorhouse. He hasn't played any minutes for the Reds (not even in the reserves) but has been deemed irreplaceable. Barry is the man who goes out and fixes any problems that the players may have, in his role as 'Player Liaison Manager'. His role includes changing light-bulbs, fixing rogue Jacuzzis, and so much more. Patrice Evra has no qualms with calling him at any time of day, and Barry is always available for whatever domestic emergency has occurred.

The Carlos Tevez saga continues to develop, with agent Kia Jaroobchian spotted in Milan to discuss terms with Inter's Moratti. United have been linked to a permanent move, and these talks may be to simply force United's hand. Reports suggest that David Gill (United's financial supremo) has been putting together a bid for the Argentinean, which will be submitted to Kia on Wednesday.

Newcastle United is set to be taken over by a group of Omani investors, which should give them the spending power to get out of the Championship at their first attempt. Michael Owen and Alan Shearer have decided that battling in the lower leagues is not for them, however, and will move on - Owen is tipped to lead Everton alongside fellow-crock Louis Saha next season, whilst Shearer may well be back on the MOTD sofa.

Ancelotti gives Chelsea edge on Kaka

Carlo Ancelotti has been confirmed as the manager of Chelsea! It's massive news, and not only will Chelsea get a four-times winner of the Champions League (twice as a player, twice as AC Milan's manager), they will also get a fantastic advantage in the Kaka auction, which is due to take place later this summer.

With Real Madrid's Florentino Perez already having name-checked Kaka as one of his future signings, Kaka looks like he will be on the move this summer. Change is afoot at AC, with manager and team-mates moving on, and Kaka will be sold to fund the freshening up of the squad. The question is whether Kaka will choose Real's unstable millions, or take a punt on a Chelsea side managed by the man who signed him from Brazil, gave him his first chance in European football, and has turned him into one of the best footballers in the world? Chelsea with Kaka and a few other attackers would be formidable.

Ancelotti's compatriot Roberto Mancini may well have touted himself for the Sunderland spot, but it looks like Wigan's Steve Bruce will be taking that hotseat. With £20m to spend, Bruce has a chance to build a team that can challenge for the top half of the table - with Lee Cattermole, Dean Ashton and Darren Bent linked to the Rokerites.

It may well be that Roberto Martinez, who used to play at the JJB stadium, will take over as Latics' next manager, but there are also noises linking the Spaniard to Celtic - arguably a much more attractive role, even if they are currently struggling to compete with Walter Smith's Rangers.

With the managerial merry-go-round just getting started, you would imagine that Sven Goran Eriksson will find a club in the Premier League, with Portsmouth looking the most likely option. That said, he has also been linked with the Real Madrid post, now that Perez is back in charge of the club, and could be the man to lead a new age of Galacticos, which may or may not include Cristiano Ronaldo, Antonio Valencia, and maybe even a certain world-beating Brazilian.

United to Offload Nani, Anderson & Kuszczak

With Manchester United's Champions League hopes smashed and dashed by a convincing Barcelona side, the papers are speculating on changes being made at the club. The Sun and Mirror both say that regular squad players such as Nani, Anderson and Kuszczak will be on their way out of Old Trafford, though the changes will be nothing like as dramatic as when Mark Hughes, Kanchelskis and Paul Ince left some years back.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been linked with Real Madrid once more - this time by Florentino Perez, who hopes that his new Galactico project will entice Ronny across. Ronaldo himself has refused to rule out the rumours - saying that he is tired, thinking about the Portuguese national side, and unsure of his future. Until Ronaldo decides to stay or go, Franck Ribery will continue to be mentioned as his replacement.

With Portsmouth joining Manchester City & Chelsea in the 'richest clubs in the world' category, more top-class players could be playing in the Premier League next season, though the south-coast side, like Abramovich's Chelsea, need to find a worthy head-coach before blowing their millions. Sven has been mentioned, along with Riijkaard, van Basten and Ancelotti.

Steve Bruce could be heading to Sunderland, with Elliot Short willing to give Roy Keane's former team-mate more cash, and the assurances that he won't have to sell his best players - in contrast to his time at Wigan.

Strach to Sunderland and other news

Is Gordon Strachan off to Sunderland?

Fresh from relinquishing control at one of the biggest clubs in the SPL, Gordon Strachan is on the managerial market at exactly the right time to capitalise on the relegation and promotion changes.

Sunderland's Ricky Sbragia has done just enough to keep the Rokerites up in the Premier League, but isn't going to be trusted to spend the £20m budget that will be created when Elliot Short takes full ownership of the club from Drumaville. Strachan has been proven to have a good track record in buying accomplished players, as well as having the tactical nous and man-management skills to lead a successful club. He would be exactly the kind of manager chairman Niall Quinn is looking for too - someone to attract talent to the club because of his name in world football.

With Newcastle United and Middlesbrough both possibly looking for someone to take over after failed campaigns, Strachan could be ending up in the North-East regardless of whether Sunderland offer him the role.

Newcastle fans can be bouyed by the fact the scorer of the goal that sent them down has decided he wants to continue at Newcastle. His wages may become a stumbling block, but at least to the fans Damien Duff is making all the right noises.

Other news from the papers centres around the Champions League Final, with the players of either side pushing their best-paid team-mate as being the very best in the world. Xavi and Iniesta insist that Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo aren't even comparable, with Messi beign in 'a league of his own'. Sir Alex suggested Ronaldo had the better physique, whilst Evra had said that he wouldn't swap Ronaldo for anyone, even though he's supposed to be tapping up French team-mate Franck Ribery to replace him for United next season.

Burnley won the 'Biggest game in football' - the Championship Playoffs - which should see Owen Coyle handed a large chunk of the £50m made from projected TV revenues in order to try and avoid the plight of West Brom, who went up last season only to drop straight back down on Sunday.

The Football News

It's the Friday before Sky Sports vastly over-hyped 'Relegation Sunday', and there is just two days left in the Premier League for one of Hull, Newcastle United or Sunderland. With all three staring into a pit of financial doom should they be the unlucky ones sent down, every man and his dog is calling for fair play on the last day of the season, which basicaly eans that they want to see Hull beaten by Manchester United.

Whilst Sir Alex has supposedly become riled by the Press asking him about his team for Sunday's game, the likes of Alan Shearer and Ricky Sbragia are calling on a top-strength team to face the Tigers, which obviously isn't going to happen with the Champions League Final just days away.

Whilst Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov et al will be fit, ready and rested for Rome on Wednesday, two of Barcelona's key men may be missing out - Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta (who scored the vital last-gasp winning goal at Stamford Bridge to send barca through) are both sruggling for fitness, and are looking increasingly unlikely to make it. Good news for United fans, who can also count on the support of Liverpool's Steven Gerrard to help them win - he knows United's England contingent quite well and wants them to bring home the Cup!

Hull are also in the news today because naughty Arsenal boy Cesc Fabregas has been let off for his spitting incident. Even though Brian Horton said it happened, the FA board say there isn't enough evidence to charge the young Spaniard, and have let him off the hook. He is free to roam whereever he wants to in his leather jacket in the future.

Other News: Frank Lampard won the Chelsea Player of the Year Award, Everton have signed up bargain-buy Phil Jagielka on a long-term contract, and Arsenal have hinted at bringing Fulham's Brede Hangeland to the club.

Football Round Up

Arsene Wenger looks set to cut his ties to Real Madrid - as expected, given that he is a man of honour who has yet to walk out on a contract. His 'babies' project might just come into its own next season, provided that Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie stay, so he will reject all of Madrid's overtures.

Real have managed to secure one signing, that of Wigan Athletic's Antonio Valencia, with a reported fee of £20m setting up Latics boss Steve Bruce for a busy summer of wheeler-dealing. According to the Mirror, Valencia has told his friends that he would rather stay where he has settled in the North-West, but as yet there has been no bid from preferred-destination Manchester United.

Chelsea's dreams of teaming up Carlo Ancelotti and Emmanuel Adebayor may be dented by news that AC Milan's rivals Roma want the former midfield-general to be the head coach in the capital. Adebayor seems inextricably linked to Carlo, with Tuttosport (amongst others) repeatedly linking him to the club where Ancelotti will end up - Adebayor seems to have a loyalty to Carlos, perhaps because they had practically finalised negotiations at the start of last season.

Ancelotti could conceivably end up back at Juventus (who just sacked Claudio Ranieri), where he would link up with Fabio Cannavaro who has confimed he'll be joining the Old Lady on a Bosman-free at the end ofthe season. Shame he didn't end up at home-town Napoli.

Middlesbrough's big plans of getting out of the financial mire took a blow when Stewart Downing picked up an injury that will see him out of action for 6 months. The £18m fee to Spurs was going to keep Boro solvent for another few months following their drop to the Championship, but seems to have been soured now. The full extent of his injury will be discovered later today.

It looks like Carlos Tevez is going to be one of the first players in years to cross the United-Liverpool divide, with a £50m deal having been agreed, with some sources suggesting that Carlos will personally take home as much as 40% of the reported £20m transfer fee!

Finally, the fact that Wayne Rooney went for a Chinese with his wife seems to have made it into most of the red-tops, with photos of them in Manchester's China Town tacked up alongside tenuous Chinese puns that only tabloids can come up with (e.g Pregnant Coleen took her own dumpling back home with her). Surely we can do better than that?


Tags: Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Cesc Fabregas, Wigan, Antonio Valencia, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlo Ancelotti, Fabio Cannavaro, Juventus, Roma, Wayne Rooney, Middlesbrough, Stewart Downing, Carlos Tevez, Liverpool

Football Round Up

Welcome to the first of our round-ups of the football news. We'll try and give you all the football details you'll need to know, and hope you keep coming back for more! So what news of Tuesday 19th 2009?

The bulk of the backpages highlighted the fact that a member of the (far right-wing) BNP party had somehow managed to get into the official launch party of England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup, alongside David beckham and Wayne Rooney. It's an error that won't be made again, but at the end of the day he was one of just four GLA politicians who bothered to turn up, and it wasn't like he stole the show with some racist or whatever comments - as far as we know he was well-behaved!

With Manchester United already having pipped Liverpool and Chelsea to the Premier League title, the focus falls to the relegation battle. Sunderland had it all in their own hands when Kenwynne Jones sent them a goal ahead. But John Utaka, a Phil Bardsley own goal and Armand Traore's late finish meant that Portsmouth sent the Rokerites went thome empty-handed, and with a nervy 'Relegation Sunday' ahead of them.

On the transfer front, Manchester City have started to be linked with each and every footballer in Europe - the latest being former Man United star(ish) Diego Forlan, currently at Atletico.

Madrid seems to be a hotbed of gossip, with Florentino Perez's imminent Presidency ensuring that Galactico after Galactico is linked to the club. Today its Wigan Athletic's Antonio Valencia, supposedly for £22m. Good though the Ecudorian is, we don't think he'll be used as the main thrust of Perez's campaign, at least not whilst Cristiano Ronaldo is still in the mix!

With Arsene Wenger also being linked to Real Madrid, Arsenal look set on having a difficult summer - having to find some midfield battlers in the Darren Fletcher mould as well as a new boss, who needs to be good with kids.

Chelsea are also on the look out for a new manager, with prime target Carlo Ancelotti being begged by Kaka, Maldini et al to stay on at the San Siro. If Carletto does arrive at Stamford Bridge, expect to see the back of Didier Drogba (probably to Jose's Inter) and Nicolas Anelka, with Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor lining up in blue next season instead.

Now tell the players what you think - head to www.contacttheplayers.com

Contact The England Stars

Fans on contacttheplayers.com website can send and recive messages to TWO England internationals!

Seasoned international Joleon Lescott already answers all his fanmail online via contacttheplayers.com, and the number of David Beckham's top-level team-mates in the England side you can write to has just doubled - with Darren Bent being called up to the squad by Fabio Capello.

Lescott didn't feature on Saturday, with Capello opting to test Upson and Glen Johnson instead, but he did make it to the bench. With Carlton Cole injured in the friendly match against Slovakia, England boss Fabio has called up Tottenham youngster Darren Bent to add some attacking pace and flair to the side. Bent can't wait to start answering your questions!

England face Ukraine on Wednesday night hoping to secure all three points in their World Cup Qualifying match, with Bent and Lescott both waiting to hear your support!

Email Joleon Lescott or Darren Bent

Park Ji Sung beats Cristiano Ronaldo

Park Ji Sung has been crowned as the inaugural Fans' Player of the Week on www.contacttheplayers.com!

Park won the most popular award by a fair distance over Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Torres, who were always going to be in the hunt for the title. He had more messages sent to him than any of the other footballers - in spite of the fact that fans aren't even guaranteed responses.

He is a mega-star back home in Korea (where he has returned ahead of the international game against Iraq), but its not really been picked up on by the Western media - until now!

The support that Park has over in the Far East – in Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia especially – is unbelievable! He is by far the most popular player on the website – playing for Manchester United obviously helps, but it is the hard work and effort that Park puts in at every game that has made him a favourite of the fans.

Well done Park!