jose - soccer

Barry was close to moving to Liverpool a year ago but the clubs could not agree a fee and the deal eventually fell through amid acrimonious exchanges between the player and manager Martin O'Neill. In total contrast, Tuesday's deal was done in a matter of hours following Villa's lunchtime announcement that their captain was in talks with City. "Gareth is widely acknowledged as one of the top midfielders in the Premier League and that is a recommendation in itself," City manager Mark Hughes told the website. "When players of his quality become available then you have to be in the market for them. "With Gareth we get the experience of someone who has played week-in, week-out in the hardest league in the world. He plays at a level that has an impact on the game and we are thrilled that he is joining us. "I like players that have the sort of flexibility that enables you to change your tactics if you need during a game, and Gareth has that. He also has a range of passing that I'm keen to introduce to the team, and he has got great delivery at sets plays as well. He will bring a lot to City."

Barry said: "It didn't take much persuasion from Mark Hughes, they are heading in the direction I want to go. "There is great potential here, and I'm sure there will be a few more additions to the squad this summer."

Predominantly a left-sided midfielder, Barry has also impressed in a more central role and is a favourite of England coach Fabio Capello. He is currently with Capello's squad preparing for Saturday's World Cup qualifying match in Kazakhstan and next week's home game against Andorra when he will expect to add to his tally of 29 caps.

His signing could be the first of many at City in the close-season as manager Mark Hughes looks to use the millions of the club's Arab owners to build a squad to improve upon the team's 10th-place finish.

Hughes, who last year paid a British record 32 million pounds to Real Madrid for Brazil striker Robinho, added: "I was looking to get a number of deals done as soon as possible and we have had a great start with Gareth joining us. "I hope we can conclude some more so that when we come back for pre-season training we have everybody fit and well and set for a successful campaign."

Cannavaro's contract with Madrid end next month, and he has now signed a one-year deal with Juve, the club he left in 2006 in the wake of the 'calciopoli' scandal. His move angered many fans and when his possible return to the club was first mooted it received mixed reactions from Juve fans, some of whom have not forgiven him for deserting them in 2006.

Even so, the player is looking forward to making his return to Turin and winning over his detractors. "I'm delighted to have returned to Turin and to have the opportunity to wear the black and white jersey again," said Italy's World Cup-winning captain. "I'm sorry that in some fans anger prevails over the appreciation for the glorious seasons we lived through together. "I'm convinced that I can win over even the biggest sceptics through hard work, professionalism and the passion with which I will tackle this new adventure."

Cannavaro won the title in both his previous seasons at Juventus but the club was stripped of those for their role in the calciopoli match-fixing scandal. The centre-back was born in Naples and played for hometown club Napoli for three seasons before joining Parma in 1995, with whom he won the UEFA Cup and two Italian Cups over a seven-year period. He left to join Inter Milan in 2002 but after only two seasons moved on to Juve.

Upon joining Real Madrid in 2006 he helped the club win back-to-back La Liga titles. He has been a winner both domestically and internationally as well as on a personal level and that is what convinced Juve sports director Alessio Secco to bring him back. "Fabio is a World Cup winner, a Ballon d'Or winner and a great man in the changing rooms," he said. "During the summer of 2006 the club had to sell him to deal with an economic crisis. This year we have waited out the end of Cannavaro's (Real) contract in order to bring him back to Turin and we're sure that he will make Juventus more competitive."The Serie A club said Tuesday the 35-year-old defender, who left for Real Madrid in 2006, signed a one-year contract to rejoin the Turin side on July 1.

Cannavaro, the 2006 world player of the year, angered Juve fans when he left for Madrid after the Italian club was demoted in a match-fixing scandal. "I am happy to be back in Turin and to have the opportunity to again wear the black-and-white jersey," Cannavaro said on the club's Web site. "I'm sorry that among some of the fans there still prevails rancor about appreciating the glorious seasons that we lived together," he said.

Cannavaro pledged to win over "even the most skeptical among them through my work, professionalism and passion with which I'll face this new adventure." Juve said that in 2006 it was "forced to let him go to deal with urgent financial needs." The club said it was sure that Cannavaro's presence "will make Juventus more competitive."

Cannavaro's return was announced a day after Juve fired coach Claudio Ranieri. The club has gone winless in its last seven games and is only one point clear of Fiorentina in the race for third place, with two games remaining. Ciro Ferrara, a former Juve defender, was put in charge for the rest of the season.

AIG, the American insurance firm, has confirmed it will not renew its sponsorship deal with Manchester United, however the club remain confident of securing an improved deal elsewhere when their current contract ends in May 2010.

The company, which has suffered massive losses during the global economic downturn, says it remained in discussions over its current deal with the world and European champions, which is due to expire in May 2010.

Despite the news United say they have already opened discussions with a number of global companies, who they feel, could offer United an improvement on their current deal. Sahara, the Indian financial services corporation, has already confirmed United have made contact to gauge its interest in sponsoring the club, while Saudi Telecom have also been sounded out about replacing the AIG deal.

The Old Trafford club also have strong links in both Malaysia and South Korea, so even at a time of financial prudence around the world, United are still optimistic of bettering their current contract, worth £19million including various financial packages

"In line with industry practice, Manchester United is exploring the possibility of a shirt sponsor for the new 2010/11 season," a United spokesman said. "The club is in dialogue with a select number of top companies worldwide and has so far received sufficient interest to be confident it can improve on its current £19m annual partnership with AIG."

AIG came close to collapsing in the final few months of last year as it fell victim to the worst housing market since the Great Depression. The situation became so bad that the US government was forced to extend it a $150billion (£109.3 billion) loan, which it is unlikely to get back, which almost certainly saved AIG from oblivion.

AIG reached its perilous state after having to pay out tens of billions of dollars on insurance policies written on mortgages that homeowners cannot possibly repay. It will also make tens of billions of additional losses on complex investments tied to properties that are plummeting in value

(source: timesonline.co.uk)

The soccer team will find it hard to get an equally lucrative sponsorship deal from 2010.It looks like the American government is not interested in bankrolling top soccer brand Manchester United anymore. After taking control of struggling insurance company American International Group last year--as the financial crisis threatened to engulf some of the world's biggest companies--Uncle Sam does not want to renew the insurer's $78.0 million sponsorship deal with the British team.

This will be a problem for Manchester United, which relies on sponsorship for around one-third of its revenues. If it can't get a new sponsor to pay out a similar or higher amount in 2010, when the contract with AIG (nyse: AIG - news - people ) runs out, club owner Malcolm Glazer will find it even harder to repay the debts he saddled the team with when he bought it in 2005.

"They have to find a deal of equal standing, that is the critical issue," said Sean Hamil, an academic at the University of London's Birkbeck Sports Business Center. He told Forbes that this was unlikely to happen, given the troubles facing the corporate world, and that this would have an effect on Manchester United's ability to keep paying for star players.

As for who could replace AIG, speculation is rife it could be insurer Prudential (nyse: PUK - news - people ) or Indian conglomerate Sahara India. Either way, there are already signs that Glazer is tightening his belt, according to Duncan Drasdo, of the Manchester United Supporters' Trust. He told Forbes that Glazer was rumored to be putting his American football team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, team up for sale. He also said that Manchester United was taking ticket money from members' bank accounts earlier than planned.

AIG is not the only example of how the economic crisis is seeping into the sports world. German automaker Bayerische Motoren Werke (other-otc: BAMXF - news - people ) lost Swiss bank Credit Suisse (nyse: CS - news - people ) as its Formula One sponsor on Tuesday, while Japan's Honda quit the auto sport in December.

Even in soccer, two high-profile Premier League sponsors are banks: Barclays (nyse: BCS - news - people ) and Northern Rock. A spokesman for Barclays told Forbes the bank had not yet begun talks on renewing its Premier League sponsorship contract, and that it would not comment on the financial details. A Northern Rock representative was unavailable for comment.

Manchester United was ranked the most valuable soccer team in the world by Forbes last year, with a team value of $1.8 billion.

(source: forbes.com)

Defender Wayne Bridge has become the first signing of what seems sure to be a busy transfer window for Manchester City after completing his expected transfer from Chelsea for a fee in the region of £10 million ($14.5 million). The England left-back completed his medical on Saturday morning and agreed personal terms on a four-and-a-half-year contract, before being introduced to supporters prior to City's FA Cup tie at home to Nottingham Forest. He watched on as his new team were humbled 3-0 by the second-flight side in a big upset.

The 28-year-old Bridge, who largely played second-fiddle to England colleague Ashley Cole during his spell at Stamford Bridge, is expected to make his debut against Portsmouth at Fratton Park next Saturday. "I played alongside Wayne at Southampton and saw him come through the ranks," City manager Mark Hughes told the club's Web site mcfc.co.uk. "He was an outstanding young player and he's progressed year on year in his career. He is an England international and has just played for one of the top four sides in the country. "He is of the right quality and is the type of player we need to attract. We need good players that understand this league and we will look to carry on in that way and add more if we can."

It is expected Hughes will return to old club Blackburn for Roque Santa Cruz early next week as City's Abu Dhabi-based owners begin to flex their vast financial muscle. Manchester City intensified their bid to sign Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn Rovers last night as Mark Hughes looked to reassert his authority over a demoralised squad. Hughes, the City manager, has been forced to contend with a series of problems in recent weeks, having identified Tal Ben-Haim and Elano among those responsible for a growing sense of disquiet in the dressing-room. But having sent a forceful message yesterday to any disgruntled players, it emerged that City have finally established formal contact with Blackburn as they try to secure the signing of Santa Cruz in a deal worth in the region of £15 million. Reports of an £8 million bid to sign Shay Given, the unsettled Newcastle United goalkeeper, were not confirmed by City officials.

John Williams, the Blackburn chairman, was quoted as saying yesterday lunchtime that he had yet to receive a formal offer from City for Santa Cruz, but contact has since been made between the clubs at boardroom level, with Hughes hoping that a deal for the Paraguay forward can be concluded sooner rather than later.

Hughes has spoken to Paul Aldridge, the City chief operating officer, to express frustration over the time taken to complete the proposed signings of Santa Cruz, Kolo Touré, the Arsenal defender, and Scott Parker and Craig Bellamy, the West Ham United duo. City have been frustrated by West Ham’s intransigence and have indicated that they will be forced to look elsewhere if the London club, having sought to sell Calum Davenport to Bolton Wanderers and Matthew Etherington to Stoke City, do not play ball.

The City manager has other targets, having identified Joleon Lescott, of Everton, as an alternative to Touré, and, with the signing of Wayne Bridge from Chelsea completed, Hughes maintains that his squad will be far stronger by the end of the month. He hopes to offload players such as Ben-Haim and Elano, but, in the meantime, has urged the malcontents in his squad to speak directly to him. “All the players know if they have any complaints, they can knock on my door,” Hughes said. “That is how it has always been. You are going to get these kind of stories when things are not going as well as you would like.”

(source: edition.cnn.com, timesonline.co.uk)

Italian giants AC Milan have confirmed David Beckham will join the club on loan from LA Galaxy on 7th January. The Rossoneri made little secret of their interest in signing the former Real Madrid and Manchester United player following the conclusion of the MLS season.

With Beckham on a lucrative contract with The Galaxy, the Los Angeles club have decided to offset some of that outlay by allowing Beckham to join AC Milan during the close-season.
The news of Beckham's stint in Italy is also a boost for Fabio Capello as it means the former captain of the side maintains his match sharpness ahead of England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on 1st April.AC Milan's Umberto Gandini has confirmed Beckham will only remain with the club until he is required to return to re-join The Galaxy to train ahead of the new MLS season. "The deal is for as long as David wishes but I think he's committed to MLS and LA Galaxy will bring him back after a couple of months I think," he told Sky Sports News.

Milan vice president Adriano Galliani has confirmed that LA Galaxy and England star David Beckham will join the club in January until the end of the season in a deal that could then become permanent...

Beckham will join the Italian side in January while the MLS season takes a break, and he will stay at Milanello until the end of the European season, possibly then making this a permanent move. "Beckham wants to train and play with Milan," Galliani told Il Corriere Della Sera. We want him. He will arrive in January and we will sign him for the rest of the season. It's not just a shop window deal, it's a great deal. He will be available for Ancellotti for Serie A and the UEFA Cup. Football today is not just about tactics and technical abilities. It's about full stadiums and sponsors. No-one can beat the 65,000 fans we had on Sunday. The stadiums will only fill up with superstars like Beckham who has asked Milan for hospitality, not another club. With him, Kaka and Ronaldinho, it will be a dream team."

The English midfielder is still under contract with LA Galaxy but it seems as if Galliani has concrete ideas already in place as he tries to land Beckham on a permanent deal.

(source: www.current.com)