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Chelsea to Make Ballack Soccer's Top Earner, Mail Says: Roundup
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 Feb.
28 (Bloomberg) -- Chelsea has won the race to sign Germany captain
Michael Ballack from Bayern Munich and will make him the world's
highest-paid player, the Daily Mail and the Independent reported.
The 29-year-old midfielder is out of contract at the end of the
season and will join the London team after agreeing to a salary
of 121,000 pounds ($211,000) a week, the papers said.
Ballack visited the U.K. capital twice last month and has chosen
Chelsea over Real Madrid, Manchester United and Inter Milan, which
also made offers, according to the Mail.
Ballack helped Bayer Leverkusen reach the 2002 Champions League
final and is ``desperate'' to win the continent's top club competition,
the paper reported. He'll lead his country on home soil at this
year's World Cup.
England captain David Beckham may leave Real Madrid after club
president Florentino Perez quit yesterday, the Sun and the Mail
reported.
Beckham joined the record nine-time European champion in 2003 as
part of Perez's policy of signing star players to boost commercial
and marketing income. The club last year superseded Manchester United
as the world's richest team by revenue.
A new regime at Madrid, which hasn't won a trophy the last two
seasons and lies third in Spain's top division, may offload Beckham
and fellow Englishman Jonathan Woodgate, the Sun said.
Beckham has a contract until the end of next season and had been
due to discuss an extension.
Van Nistelrooy Sale?
Manchester United is prepared to sell striker Ruud van Nistelrooy
for 10 million pounds after coach Alex Ferguson omitted the Dutchman
from the team that beat Wigan in the League Cup final two days ago,
according to the Daily Mirror. A.C. Milan, Inter and Juventus may
be interested, the paper said.
Van Nistelrooy told the Guardian and the Sun he expects to play
in all league matches including the club's next, also against Wigan
on March 6.
The Football Association and Newcastle will compete to hire former
Celtic coach Martin O'Neill after the Magpies yesterday offered
the northern Irishman their vacant manager's position, the Mirror
reported. The F.A., seeking a post-World Cup successor to Sven-Goran
Eriksson, plans to start talks with O'Neill this week, the paper
added.
According to the Daily Telegraph, O'Neill is on a shortlist of
six that also includes Guus Hiddink of PSV Eindhoven and Australia,
Bolton's Sam Allardyce, Charlton coach Alan Curbishley, Stuart Pearce
of Manchester City and Middlesbrough's Steve McClaren.
Eriksson's successor may be offered a two-year contract, the Times
reported.
Cole Setback
Arsenal defender Ashley Cole hobbled off with a sprained ankle
seven minutes into the reserve team's 2-1 defeat to Tottenham yesterday,
the club's Web site said. Cole has yet to return to the first team
since sustaining a thigh injury Jan. 14, his second injury layoff
this season.
Leeds United is still topping up the wages of Robbie Fowler, who
left the club for Manchester City in 2003 and last month joined
Liverpool, the Mail reported, citing club chairman Ken Bates. Leeds
will have to pay Middlesbrough 1.8 million pounds if it returns
to the Premiership as part of the agreement to sign striker Michael
Ricketts, Bates added.
Former Crystal Palace and England midfielder Andy Gray will help
Sierra Leone scout players, the Sun reported. West Ham's Nigel Reo-Coker
and Liam Rosenior of Fulham are among those eligible, he told the
paper.
Manchester United coach Ferguson offered the club's former player
Dwight Yorke the chance to train with the team in preparation for
this year's World Cup, the Australian Associated Press and the Guardian
reported. Trinidad & Tobago striker Yorke's season with Australia's
Sydney FC will end this week.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=aqLWGaMLrQmM&refer=latin_america
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