I am as Chelsea as they come, have supported this club from as early as I can remember to where I am now (38 years old) and cannot stand Manchester United as much as they probably can't stand Chelsea, but putting all feelings to one side, we have to acknowledge not only what he has achieved in the game, but how he's done it.

Today as expected, Alex signed for PSG and ex Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti after asking to leave the club towards the end of last year.
The Official Chelsea Website posted up confirmation this afternoon with a statement that reads:

"Chelsea Football Club can confirm we have agreed terms for the permanent transfer of Alex to Paris St Germain.

Jose Mourinho's intentions were perfectly telegraphed as he consigned Mesut Oezil and Esteban Granero to anonymity. He started three holding midfielders with Lassana Diarra, Xabi Alonso, and Pepe in a deliberate park the bus tactics. The last mentioned was relocated to midfield from his usual centre back position with Sergio Ramos partnering Ricardo Carvalho.

I don't think they come lower than Pepe. Even animals have a sense of fair play. This man if you can call him that should be banned from the sport for life. Leo Messi goes down after colliding with Callejon and while he's down, Pepe strolls casually over and deliberately plants his studs on Messi's hand.

Abidal, Kanoute and Marcos Senna top the list of La Liga players who will be available on a free Bosman transfer according to Goal.com.Real Madrid's Ricardo Carvalho was on the list, but the club recently activated a clause that automatically renewed his contract for another season:

La Liga Team By Team Bosman Guide

ATHLETIC BILBAO Raul Fernandez 13 Mar 1988 Goalkeeper Koikili Lertxundi 23 Dec 1980 Defender Aitor Ocio 28 Nov 1976 Defender Igor Gabilondo 10 Feb 1979 Midfielder Gaizka Toquero 9 Aug 1984 Striker Ibai Gomez 11 Nov 1989 Striker ATLETICO MADRID Antonio Lopez 13 Sep 1981 Defender Luis Perea 30 Jan 1979 Defender BARCELONA
Eric Abidal 11 Sep 1979 Defender Isaac Cuena 27 Apr 1991 Midfielder BETIS Miki Roque 8 July 1988 Defender Jose Isidoro 1 Aug 1986 Defender Nacho Perez 24 Jun 1980 Defender Iriney Santos 23 Apr 1981 Midfielder Juanma 29 May 1981 Midfielder ESPANYOL Kiko Casilla 2 Oct 1986 Goalkeeper Ernesto Galan 17 Jun 1986 Defender Cristian Gomez 27 Jul 1989 Midfielder Walter Pandiani 27 Apr 1976 Striker Thievy Bifouma 13 May 1992 Striker GETAFE
Jaime Gavilan 12 May 1985 Midfielder Pedro Rios 12 Dec 1981 Midfielder GRANADA Jose Juan Figueras 25 Jan 1979 Goalkeeper Diego Mainz 29 Dec 1982 Defender Inigo Lopez 23 Jul 1982 Defender Dani Benitez 7 Apr 1987 Midfielder Abel Gomez 20 Feb 1982 Midfielder Alex Geijo 11 Mar 1982 Striker LEVANTE Nano 7 Jul 1980 Defender Juanfran 15 Jul 1976 Defender Asier del Horno 19 Jan 1981 Defender Javi Venta 13 Dec 1975 Defender Sergio Ballesteros 4 Sep 1975 Defender Javier Farinos 29 Mar 1978 Midfielder Juanlu 18 May 1980 Midfielder Valdo 23 Apr 1981 Midfielder Rafa Jorda 11 Jan 1984 Striker Carlos Aranda 27 Jul 1980 Striker Ruben Suarez 19 Feb 1979 Striker MALAGA Javier Malagueno 27 Oct 1982 Defender Wellington 28 Aug 1979 Defender Helder Rosario 9 Mar 1980 Defender Enzo Maresca 10 Feb 1980 Midfielder Ruud van Nistelrooy 01 July 1976 Striker MALLORCA Pablo Caceres 22 Apr 1985 Defender Nunes 7 Mar 1977 Defender Marti Crespi 15 Jun 1987 Defender Pau Cendros 1 Apr 1987 Defender Pedro Bigas 15 May 1990 Defender Gonzalo Castro 14 Sep 1984 Midfielder Josep Lluis Marti 28 Apr 1975 Midfielder OSASUNA
Ricardo 30 Dec 1971 Goalkeeper Roversio Rodrigues 17 Jan 1984 Defender Sergio Fernandez 23 May 1977 Defender Patxi Punal 6 Sep 1975 Midfielder Javier Calleja 12 May 1978 Midfielder Raul Garcia 11 Jul 1986 Midfielder RACING SANTANDER
Mario Fernandez 30 Apr 1988 Goalkeeper Jose Picon 13 Mar 1988 Defender Osmar Barba 5 Jun 1988 Defender Bernardo Espinosa 11 Jul 1989 Defender Gonzalo Colsa 2 Apr 1979 Midfielder Pedro Munitis 19 Jun 1975 Midfielder Kennedy 22 Nov 1980 Midfielder Julian Luque 27 Mar 1992 Midfielder Adrian Gonzalez 25 May 1988 Midfielder Jairo 11 Jul 1993 Midfielder Edu Bedia 23 Mar 1989 Midfielder Christian Stuani 12 Oct 1986 Striker Mamadou Kone 25 Dec 1991 Striker RAYO VALLECANO David Cobeno 6 Apr 1982 Goalkeeper Daniel Gimenez 30 Jul 1983 Goalkeeper Tito 11 Jul 1985 Defender Jose Manuel Casado 9 Aug 1986 Defender Alejandro Arribas 1 May 1989 Defender Raul Bravo 14 Apr 1981 Defender Jordi Figueras 16 May 1987 Defender Sueliton Pereira 19 Aug 1986 Defender Rafa Garcia 14 Jan 1986 Midfielder Jose Movilla 8 feb 1975 Midfielder Michel 30 Oct 1975 Midfielder Piti 26 May 1981 Midfielder Nestor Susaeta 11 Dec 1984 Midfielder Javi Fuego 4 Jan 1984 Midfielder Raul Tamudo 19 Oct 1977 Striker Koke 27 Apr 1983 Striker Andrija Delibasic 24 Apr 1981 Striker REAL SOCIEDAD Enaut Zubikarai 26 Feb 1984 Goalkeeper Tono 23 Nov 1986 Goalkeeper Mikel Aranburu 18 Feb 1979 Midfielder SEVILLA
Andres Palop 22 Oct 1973 Goalkeeper Emiliano Armenteros 18 Jan 1986 Midfielder Tom De Mul 4 Mar 1986 Midfielder Frederic Kanoute 2 Sep 1979 Striker SPORTING GIJON Andre Castro 2 Apr 1988 Midfielder Alberto Rivera 16 Feb 1978 Midfielder Ivan Hernandez 27 Feb1980 Midfielder Nacho Novo 26 Mar 1979 Striker VALENCIA Cristiano Pereira 29 Nov 1990 Goalkeeper Bruno Saltor 1 Oct 1980 Defender Hedwiges Maduro 13 Feb 1985 Defender Angel Dealbert 1 Jan 1983 Defender Miguel 4 Jan 1980 Defender David Albelda 1 Sep 1977 Midfielder VILLARREAL Cesar Sanchez 2 Sep 1971 Goalkeeper Diego Marino 9 May 1990 Goalkeeper Angel Lopez 10 Mar 1981 Defender Mario Gaspar 24 Nov 1990 Defender Marcos Senna 17 Jul 1976 Midfielder Gerard Bordas 11 Sep 1981 Midfielder ZARAGOZA Leo Franco 20 May 1977 Goalkeeper Javier Paredes 5 Jul 1982 Defender Antonio Tomas 19 Jan 1985 Midfielder Leonardo Ponzio 29 Jan 1982 Midfielder

News has broken this morning as the now the transfer window is open, that Alex will speak to QPR about a possible move to Loftus Road as early as today.
Some people have questioned with all our injury problems lately, as to why Alex has been frozen out and not called back into the squad but you have to give credit to AVB for sticking to his guns.

This season has been special for many reasons, one of which is the chance to watch Manchester City emulate the great Arsenal "Invincibles" and get through the season undefeated. The second reason has been the insane results, the 8-2 Red Devils win over the Gooners being the highlight. The third reason and focus of this article is how some Premiership players have embraced the "Big Hair".

By Alan Duffy

Turning their attention away from silly little issues like racism, the international footballing authorities have announced their 55-man shortlist for the FIFPRO World XI 2011. (FIFPRO is the Federation Internationale des Associations de Footballers Professionnels, by the way)

Six players from good old Blighty have made the list, with Wayne Rooney and Gareth Bale worthy of their places in the elite list.

In Saturday's Madrid derby it was clear that one of Atletico's tactics was to be very physical. That tactic backfired when five Atletico Madrid players were shown yellow cards while two more were shown straight reds.

Atletico's tactics did not go down well with the Real Madrid players and Cristiano Ronaldo made sure that the Atletico President knew how they felt about these types of tactics.

Portugal are ready to head to Euro 2012 in Poland-Ukraine and now the next task for coach Paulo Bento will be to select a 23 man squad. Bento has made it be known that Ricardo Carvalho and Bosingwa will not be a part of the team but which players do have a chance? We name our Top 50 list of players that could be a part of the Portugal National side come Euro 2012.

I'm not even going to begin a debate as to whether Rooney deserves the harsh sentence Uefa has dished out on the temperamental scouser.

Any-one that has read my posts should be aware that I am a Man United fan, something that is undoubtedly looked down upon on this site.

Regardless of who I support, I can remain objective enough to say that Rooney made an inexcusable, rash and stupid mistake.

Denmark face Portugal on Tuesday evening with a win guaranteeing qualification to Euro 2012. Its a big task for the Dane's though, against a really strong Portugal side boasting some world class players in their ranks the likes of Ricardo Carvalho, Fabio Contentrao, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luiz Nani.

It was only when I heard it on Saturday before the Swansea game that I realised we had only kept one clean sheet in our previous nine Premier League games. Then of course we conceed another against Swansea which now makes it only one in ten which is unheard of at Chelsea!.
So what or who is the problem?

Real Madrid centre-back Ricardo Carvalho faces an international suspension of between one and three months, including Champions League matches, after walking out of the Portuguese national team's training camp on Wednesday.

After learning that he was not in the side to play Cyprus on Friday, Carvalho left the Portugal camp and immediately announced he had retired from international football, saying he had been shown "a lack of respect and felt hurt.

Real Madrid centre-back Ricardo Carvalho faces an international suspension of between one and three months, including Champions League matches, after walking out of the Portuguese national team's training camp on Wednesday.

After learning that he was not in the side to play Cyprus on Friday, Carvalho left the Portugal camp and immediately announced he had retired from international football, saying he had been shown "a lack of respect and felt hurt.

Are there any other Kickettes (besides us) out there who will be partaking in Friday's ritual end-of-week drinking this evening under the disguise of a light dinner?

If so: you rock.

Until Monday everyone!

GOOD WEEK

Dance Solo: USWNT goalkeeper, Hope Sol0, will be appearing in the latest series of 'Dancing With The Stars', it was revealed this week.

Are there any other Kickettes (besides us) out there who will be partaking in Friday's ritual end-of-week drinking this evening under the disguise of a light dinner?

If so: you rock.

Until Monday everyone!

GOOD WEEK

Dance Solo: USWNT goalkeeper, Hope Sol0, will be appearing in the latest series of 'Dancing With The Stars', it was revealed this week.

Real Madrid defender Ricardo Carvalho has walked out on Portugal and announced his retirement from international football after being made feel inadequate at the teams training base in Portugal ahead of their 2012 Euro qualifier against Cyprus tomorrow night. It's believed Carvalho was to be dropped for the clash however before losing his dignity the 75 capped Portuguese international quit with immediate effect.

Real Madrid defender Ricardo Carvalho has walked out on Portugal and announced his retirement from international football after being made feel inadequate at the teams training base in Portugal ahead of their 2012 Euro qualifier against Cyprus tomorrow night. It's believed Carvalho was to be dropped for the clash however before losing his dignity the 75 capped Portuguese international quit with immediate effect.

The squad has been named by Paulo Bento for the upcoming Euro 2012 against Cyprus.

Ricardo Carvalho has called it quits on his international duty. This is extremely hard to swallow. He is one of my favorite defenders to ever grace the field and it is a shame things [read more]

We all saw Arsenal's performance against United on Sunday and nothing more needs to be said about that. Looking in from the outside (as some of my mates are Gooners) I am surprised that they have sold BOTH Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri in the same season as close to the transfer window as they have.

Ricky's excited about Norwich City returning to Stamford Bridge. Frankly, so are we.

Join us for team news and the like plus a good rant, of course from 10 a.m. (3pm GMT).

Can Chelsea Topple Manchester United? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Even though Chelsea failed to put pressure on Manchester United towards the end of last season for the title. Chances are that they will this season. They're the only team that are thought to be able to pose a challenge to Alex Ferguson's men.

Real Madrid's roster for friendlies against the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 16 at the L.A. Coliseum, Chivas Guadalajara on July 20 at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium and the Philadelphia Union on July 23 at Lincoln Financial Field. Buy Real Madrid U.S. Tour Tickets

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Antonio Adan, Tomas Mejias, Jesus Fernandez Collado.

Real Madrid's roster for friendlies against the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 16 at the L.A. Coliseum, Chivas Guadalajara on July 20 at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium and the Philadelphia Union on July 23 at Lincoln Financial Field. Buy Real Madrid U.S. Tour Tickets

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Antonio Adan, Tomas Mejias, Jesus Fernandez Collado.

Real Madrid "re"-announced their World Football Challenge roster today, and it has some noticeable changes.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Xabi Alonso and Mesut Ozil, the headliners of the Madrid side, are all still set to play in Real's USA tour.

When the Philadelphia Union agreed with Real Madrd for a friendly on July 23, the team promised its fans that they would see the stars of Madrid and not just back ups. After releasing the official Madrid roster, it's clear that the Union managed to keep that promise.

The Madrid World Football Challenge roster is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Spain), Antonio Adán (Spain)

Defenders: Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal), Pepe (Portugal), Sergio Ramos (Spain), Marcelo Viera (Brazil), Alvaro Arbeloa (Spain), Raul Albiol (Spain), Ezequiel Garay (Argentina), David Mateos (Spain)

Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Argentina), Kaká (Brazil), Lassana Diarra (France), Xabi Alonso (Spain), Sergio Canales (Spain), Pedro León (Spain), Mesut Özil (Germany), Sami Khedira (Germany), Hamit Altintop (Turkey), Nuri Şahin (Turkey), José Callejón (Spain), Roysten Drenthe (Netherlands)

Attackers: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Karim Benzema (France), Esteban Granero (Spain)

Manager Jose Mourinho will also be making the trip with Madrid.

Real Madrid is bringing the cavalry for its summer tour of the United States.

Madrid has chosen a first-choice squad for its three games in the World Football Challenge, which includes the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Kaka, Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas.

The biggest omissions are Argentines Angel di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain, who will be participating in Copa America.

*Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza was re-signed to a new multi-year contract, the club announced today.

The versatile 24-year-old, who can play either full back or in central defense as he did in college at Maryland defender, is on track for a career high in starts and minutes in his third year with the club.

Benfica defender Fabio Coentrao has revealed he wants to join Real Madrid - quashing reports in the Portuguese press today he has signed a deal with Liverpool.
Tabloid newspaper Correio da Manha had claimed the left-back had agreed a big-money deal with the Merseyside club, however the 23-year-old has expressed his desire to seal a switch to the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid has announced the third and final game of its U.S. tour this summer and it will take the Spanish giants to Philadelphia to play the Union July 23 at Lincoln Financial Field. Kickoff is set for 9pm.

"Lincoln Financial Field has once again attracted one of the world's greatest soccer clubs to Philadelphia," said Joe Banner, president of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Nuri Sahin: A Fantastic Signing in my opinion
So it's official. Nuri Sahin, formerly of Borussia Dortmund is now officially a Real Madrid player.

.

He is now the 3rd Bundesliga player to join Real Madrid in Florentino's 2nd stint at the Madrid presidency following Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil.

Nuri Sahin: A Fantastic Signing in my opinion
So it's official. Nuri Sahin, formerly of Borussia Dortmund is now officially a Real Madrid player.

.

He is now the 3rd Bundesliga player to join Real Madrid in Florentino's 2nd stint at the Madrid presidency following Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil.

Nuri Sahin: A Fantastic Signing in my opinion
So it's official. Nuri Sahin, formerly of Borussia Dortmund is now officially a Real Madrid player.

.

He is now the 3rd Bundesliga player to join Real Madrid in Florentino's 2nd stint at the Madrid presidency following Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil.

November 30th 2008: Ronaldo sent off
Cristiano Ronaldo received one of the most ridiculous red cards I've ever seen, thanks to Howard Webb, during the derby a couple of seasons ago.

Already on a yellow card, a corner was delivered in the direction of Ronaldo who had created the space for a free header.

For the first time since August 31, 2008 both Barcelona and Real Madrid lost league matches on the same day. Barcelona squandered the chance to move within a point of retaining the Liga title when they lost 2-1 at Real Sociedad, and Real Madrid lost for the second time at home this season, this time to Real Zaragoza 3-2.

For the third time in 12 days, rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona take to the pitch to add to their storied history. Only this time it's under the biggest set of circumstances yet.

The Spanish powers meet at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal tie (2:45, FX/FoxSoccer.

Both Barcelona and Real Madrid will have to do some lineup shuffling ahead of today's UEFA Champions League semifinal first leg (2:45 p.m., FX) at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

Barcelona, which received word on Tuesday that Carles Puyol would be available, will be without midfield maestro Andres Iniesta, who has a calf strain.

According to the La Gazzetta dello Sport Jose Mourinho is keen to make John Terry his number one transfer target this summer and wants him to reunite with Ricardo Carvalho for next season at the heart of the Madrid defence!. It's believed that Mourinho wants JT especially for his leadership qualities that seem to be lacking at the moment in his current squad.

Barcelona have received a massive psychological boost ahead of their Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid with the news that inspirational captain and defender Carles Puyol will be fit to make the starting line-up. After losing the final of the Copa del Rey last week to Jose Mourinho's men in white, any emotional boost will have come in handy for Pep Guardiola as he seeks to earn his side a first leg advantage ahead of next week's second leg at home in Barcelona.