Arsenal are ready to offer £5 million for Hoffenheim midfielder Maicosuel.
The News of the World says the midfielder has been earning rave reviews in the Bundesliga at TSG Hoffenheim.
Boss Arsene Wenger, keen to add to his ranks in January, has sent scouts to watch Maicosuel in action. Click to continue reading...

The English FA might have an expensive invoice sent to its mailbox soon.
Soccer star Frank Lampard injured his leg the other day while on international duty and the team signing his paycheck, Chelsea, wants compensation. The thigh strain he suffered in practice is possibly due in part to the lack of leg room on the English national team's cheap flight over to Qatar. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool, the English soccer club which signed a record shirt sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered earlier this year, has agreed another lucrative partnership.
The club will be backed by 188Bet, the online betting company which already has partnerships in place with Aston Villa, Chelsea, Bolton and Wigan. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool have been linked with a £16.5 million move for Valencia winger Juan Mata in January, as ongoing concerns over the finances of the Spanish club may result in them being forced to sell the player.
Although the club's two main stars – the two Davids, Silva and Villa – have remained at Valencia, despite serious interest from many of Europe's biggest clubs, their sporting director Fernando Gomez hinted that lesser players may be sold to ease the financial burden. Click to continue reading...

When Liverpool signed David N'Gog from PSG in 2008, most people were probably thinking he was going to be 'another for the future' that would never really make the step up from the reserves; but it seems this time Rafa has a real gem on his books for the bargain price of £1.5 million. We've seen [.. Click to continue reading...

When Liverpool signed David N'Gog from PSG in 2008, most people were probably thinking he was going to be 'another for the future' that would never really make the step up from the reserves; but it seems this time Rafa has a real gem on his books for the bargain price of £1.5 million. We've seen [.. Click to continue reading...

The rumor mill in Europe is working overtime on the rumor that Barcelona star Thierry Henry is coming to MLS next summer to play for the New York Red Bulls.

Today the Spanish newspaper AS reported that Henry, who is 32, would like to end his career in the U.S.

Henry is still part of the France national team that is expected to qualify for next summer's World Cup in South Africa, which would delay Henry coming to MLS until late in July.

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The Sun reported that Harry's interested in signing Club Brugge defender Vadis Odjidja. The red-top's article wasn't too enlightening either. Apparently, we're lining up a £5 million bid for him.
The Sun got it wrong in saying that he's a defender. Odjidja is a defensive midfielder. Whenever I've seen him play, he's deployed just in front of the back four and he's fairly adequate at getting stuck into the oppositions face and break up play. Click to continue reading...

The state of Kansas has come to the Wizards with an offer for the STAR Bonds for the development out at the Legends facility. It's not the $155 million that the Wizards and OnGoal had asked for last week. It's $10.5 million less than that, the state has offered the Wizards and OnGoal $144.5 million in STAR Bonds. Click to continue reading...

Costa Rica is one of the few nations in the world without an army. That's right, since they abolished their military in 1949, they have had no organized armed forces. They are world renowned for their peaceful nature. In fact, the UN's University for Peace is in Costa Rica. Good for Costa Rica.

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Rafa Benitez has offered current Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey a lifeline as the big man tries to cement his spot in Fabio Capello's upcoming World Cup squad.

Heskey has been out of favor at Villa Park this season, starting only one of Villa's Premier League fixtures this season and is yet to find the back of the net in his five appearances.

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Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez could be ready to step in and save Emile Heskey's World Cup dreams by offering him a move back to Anfield in January, but only on the cheap.
Heskey has admitted he will consider his future when the transfer window reopens, if he continues to warm the bench at Aston Villa, and he has also attracted the interest of Fulham after starting just one Premier League game this season. Click to continue reading...

That mop of hair Riquelme is smoldering belongs to none other than the Messiah. Obviously times have changed and one year on, no one would have anticipated his fall out with The Dona. And and if the rumours are true, Riquelme will be joining the Timão gatos at Corinthians next season.

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It was a welcome announcement that MLS will not schedule matches during the group phase, semifinals and finals of the 2010 World Cup. That means the league will not play from Friday, June 11 through Friday, June 25. The WC round of 16 will be played from Saturday June 26 through Tuesday June 29.

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The Mirror on Sunday are reporting that Mike Ashley is finally ready to relinquish control of Newcastle United. This comes after the club having to pay Kevin Keegan £2 million this week. Along with the report of the takeover news, the Mirror also reports that should Mike Ashley be unable to sell Newcastle before the New Year, he will award Chris Hughton a £5 million transfer war chest.

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Redknapp looking to seal deal for troubled midfielder.

The 25-year-old has fallen out of favour at Villa Park and is reportedly keen on a move back to London.

Tottenham are also thought to be interested in the former England U21 international.

Villa manager Martin O'Neill paid West Ham £8.

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The Liverpool FC have confirmed rumors that they are looking for more investors who could own part of the team. Current owners George Gillett Jr. and Tom Hicks have said that they are looking to find someone who could help finance their new stadium and front their current $424.

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How will Swansea react to the loss of their talisman Ferrie Bodde who has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering his second cruciate ligament injury in the space of twelve months?
Their inspirational player had only just come back into action after being out for ten months with exactly the same injury. Click to continue reading...

Welcome to another instalment of Thank Gooner it's Friday... where FTK gives his assessment of news and views that have impacted on Planet Gooner. This week appears less provocative than usual, but I'm sure that my ability to create controversy where none exists will change that. The week started with a 4 nil thrashing of Wigan with the prospect of extending our goal difference even more tomorrow with our trip to Fulham.

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KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Bernama) --
The Malaysian League may be privatised in 2011 if the problems that plagued contending teams continue to persist next year.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-general Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad cited the problems as financial woes (staff and players' salaries), dropped in the quality of the game and dwindling audience. Click to continue reading...

Is it just us, or does the club seem to offer Leo Messi a new and improved contract every year? His salary and buy-out clause continue to climb, keeping him satisfied and far from the groping fingers of other clubs (ahem, Man City); and now his extension is going up too.
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Leo just penned a new deal that keeps him on the club for a whole seven years more, until 2016 to be precise. Click to continue reading...

Let's start by saying that Roberto Baronio isn't exactly a household name in Italian calcio. The casual fan may not even know who Roberto Baronio is or what position he plays (Baronio is a classic regista that plays in front of the defense and dictates the play. His passing skills are excellent, especially his long passing, and he is good at set pieces).

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Liverpool today announced a new shirt-sponsorship deal with Standard Charter, a multi-national banking group.The deal worth £20 million a year for four years will dwarf the £7.5 million a year that long-standing sponsors Carlsberg had been paying the club.Liverpool's Managing Director Christian Purslow said: ''This is a huge step forward for the club financially and that can only be helpful to create the conditions in which we can restart the stadium project. Click to continue reading...

A big story that broke late Friday was this one in The Times which stated the actual figure paid for Carlos Tevez was £47 million rather than the more widely reported (at the time of the transfer) £25 million:

Manchester City are paying an astonishing £47 million fee to Carlos Tévez's private "owners" in a move that obliterates the British transfer record.

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There is always a last-minute move before the European transfer window slams shut at the end of August but the latest deal to be made involving a South Korean star came so late that it will actually take place at the start of 2010.
Ki Sung-yong has signed for Scotland titans Glasgow Celtic but will join the team next January. Click to continue reading...

After what seemed like a really slow process when dealing with the city of Kansas City about the 3 Trails Development, things seem to be moving a lot faster with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and the development out at the Legends. Earlier today, after the story came out, the Unified Government called a special meeting to review the stadium complex. Click to continue reading...

One Ashley out, one Ashley in Cheryl Cole has said she would consider a takeover bid for Newcastle United - if she had enough money. The Girls Aloud star's £10 million fortune is unlikely to meet owner Mike Ashley's valuation of the Magpies. And even allowing for hubby Ashley chipping in some of his £3. Click to continue reading...

On the closing of the transfer window Marko Pantelic found a place in Amsterdam, where he will wear Ajax jersey in the next year. After it seemed that Serbian international will be forced to spend the next term in his former club Crvena Zvezda, Ajax management knocked on his door and they obviously made the right move by signing this excellent striker.

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Good deal all round?

AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspur are negotiating a deal that would see Marek Jankulovski and Gareth Bale swap clubs.

The Rossoneri are willing to give the Spurs the Czech international plus an additional €5 million for the services of the Welsh starlet during the winter transfer window that opens in January.

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Bulgarian shot stopper Nikolay Mihaylov almost joined Eredivisie giants PSV on deadline day. The Liverpool goalie, currently on loan at Twente, claims that the Eindhoven side made a last minute approach for him, but that the Tukkers refused to let go of him.
"Liverpool and PSV had already reached an agreement, but Twente coach Steve McClaren refused to let me leave," was Mihaylov quoted as saying by Bulgarian medium 24chasa. Click to continue reading...

English Premier League champions Manchester United received a huge windfall from last season's Premier League's broadcast rights, which saw the league pay out more than UK£1 billion for the first time.
United and Liverpool topped the list of earnings, with the Premier League champions collecting £51. Click to continue reading...

If you are Paul Hart - by far the bookies' favorite to become the first sacked manager in the Premier League this season - you would need a miracle to save Portsmouth from relegation at this point. Four games into the new season, Pompey are yet to scrap up a single point, which is a clear indicator of how the team roster was in desperate need of major bolstering on the final day of transfers.

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This information comes directly from Marc Webber of the Vancouver Province.
September 1, 2009
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VANCOUVER — Before Monday, the United Soccer Leagues' Team Owners' Association was a relatively-unknown entity.

That changed when the group fired a salvo expressing "extreme disappointment" in Nike's decision to sell the USL to NuRock Soccer Holdings last week, and made public its desire to pursue "all league options for the 2010 season and beyond.

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I wanted to take a moment to give sincere thanks to the Offside and its readers. Over the past several months as I have been writing this blog, I have received several notifications that I have won large sums of money. This would not have been possible without all of you.

As you may know, I created an email address to use specifically for Offside communication.

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There have been various reports in the press this morning over a few of Arsenal's transfer dealings, as i shall tell you about below:

Marouane Chamakh

The Daily Mirror reports that Arsene will make a final move for the Moroccan international after his £5 million bid was rejected earlier this summer, they report the bid will be around £8.

Click to continue reading...