What you missed while wondering if matter was kicking antimatter’s ass…
- In Paraguay, Sol de America midfielder Inca scored off a fantastic 45-yard free kick against Olimpia on Sunday.
- Barcelona have signed David Villa from Valencia for £34 million; in other news, I know what shirt I want for Father’s Day.
- Barcelona sporting director Txiki Begiristain will respect that Arsenal has final say over whether or not Cesc Fabregas is allowed to return to the Nou Camp…but they’ll also still probably force the Gunners to give him back.
- Tottenham are reportedly interested in Galatasaray winger Arda Turan.
- Roman Abramovich is still owed £726 million by Chelsea.
- Sir Alex Ferguson thinks the U.S. national team will make it out of the group stage at the World Cup. No matter how nice he is, I can’t help but think that he’s trying to mess with us somehow.
- Ferguson thinks that Thierry Henry will do well in MLS.
- Ferguson also claims that Manchester United will only sign one player this offseason.
- West Ham have turned down an £8 million offer from Birmingham for Carlton Cole.
- Real Mallorca have entered voluntary administration after being unable to sort out an €85 million debt; earlier this week they barely missed a Champions League spot last season.
- Luis Fabiano is not likely to extend his contract with Sevilla and could be sold this summer.
- FIFA’s experiment with additional linesmen behind the goal will be extended for another two years and will likely be expanded to outside of Europe.
- Luiz Felipe Scolari’s interpreter has been banned from football for five years after clashing with a security guard at an Asian Champions League match.
- Egypt has been banned from playing in Cairo for two World Cup qualifiers after fans in Cairo attacked the Algerian national team bus back in the fall.
- Rafa Benitez is confident he can add quality British talent to Liverpool’s squad in spite of the fact that the Reds aren’t in the Champions League and have no money.
I’m severely worried about the financial state of football and you can look at the Reds/Man U/Chelsea as ground zero…and hell, even Rangers in Scotland:
Chelsea – Billionaire owner, bankrolling the deal, complex and shadowy financial setup…what happens if Roman gets bored? The club are so deep to him that if he called in the loans, would anyone be able to step in and soak it all up? Administration at least and insolvency at worst.
Man U – The Glazers have a cash cow, but not quite blingy enough to pay out for what they spent to get it. Will they end up in the same boat as the scenario above? Doubtful. They are “the face” of English football and seem most attractive to everyone.
Reds – How long before the best of the squad leaves for greener pastures? All sorts of talk of Gerrard to City, Torres to everywhere but Merseyside, and so on. How long before Rafa gets fed up and walks or the ownership sacks him in the face of unrealistic expectations?
Portsmouth’s situation, the talk of Hull and their wage bill, not to mention the issues in the lower leagues and so many clubs dropping divisions or winding up….
I’m not sure if a salary cap is the answer. It probably is, but would it ever pass? If not that, financial rules that make sense would be helpful. The idea to ban those from the Champions League with their financial house out of whack just might be the best way to go.
On another tangent: Thierry Henry in MLS should be interesting, but given that its that team…