Reuters Soccer Blog

Hernandez shines among Premier League newcomers

Perusing through the latest influx of major pre-season signings to join the English Premier League can quickly become a competition to find which transaction does not include the words Manchester and City.

As expected, it is the blue half of Manchester that have splashed the cash on behalf of Italian manager Roberto Mancini, as they bid to break into the top four and come away with a minimum of Champions League soccer this season.

By logic, the team with the most spending power should sit on top of any best pre-season buy list, but since when has soccer been a logical game?

City have spent well, no doubt. Valencia and Spain winger David Silva, Ivory Coast and Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure and Germany and Hamburg SV fullback Jerome Boateng have all moved to Eastlands for a combined total of around 80 million pounds and more are likely to follow, with Aston Villa’s James Milner set to take their spending over the 100 million mark.

Inter Milan’s Mario Balotelli could also join.

Their rivals have been more modestly busy.

Why Henry’s move might not kickstart transfer window

Barcelona’s Thierry Henry is heading to New York Red Bulls in a widely expected move but don’t think the first big post-World Cup transfer means the window will suddenly be awash with deals.

An event before the World Cup is a major reason why Henry has decided to follow David Beckham’s lead and try out MLS. David Villa’s early move to Barca from Valencia meant there was no room for Henry at the Nou Camp and after France’s flop in South Africa there were few other interested parties.

Barcelona were seen as the major drivers for this transfer window given they are also keen on Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas. However, noises coming out of North London suggest the midfielder is set to stay in the Premier League for now.

The fact Fabregas could not get a start in Spain’s victorious World Cup team might make him realise that he would not be an automatic first choice at boyhood club Barca either given international team mates Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets all play there.

Coach Pep Guardiola is staying at least another season but Barca’s money problems mean any really big buys might be out of the question and Arsenal clearly want a lot for Fabregas.

Another bit of transfer gossip affecting Barca is constant rumours linking Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a move back to Milan after one season. The only difference is that AC Milan want him rather than former club Inter.

Chelsea banned from signing players – your views

Premier League club Chelsea have been banned from registering any new players for the next two transfer windows, FIFA said on Thursday.

“Chelsea are banned from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, for the two next entire and consecutive registration periods following the notification of the present decision,” a FIFA statement said.

The decision effectively means the English club cannot register any new players until January 2011. The next transfer window is in January followed by another in 2010.

The punishment was handed out by FIFA following a contractual dispute involving the transfer of Gael Kakuta from French club Racing Lens in 2007.

Following a complaint from Lens, FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber ruled that Kakuta had breached his contract with the French club and that Chelsea had induced him to do so.

John Terry playing a dangerous game

Has John Terry got a bit big for his boots by questioning whether Chelsea’s ambition matches his own?

The defender and club captain said that was the reason for the delay in him nailing his colours to the Chelsea mast in the wake of Manchester City’s reported 200,000 pounds per week offer to take him away from Stamford Bridge.

Nothing to do with money. Nothing to do either with the fact that he has peaked as a player and with injuries niggling away at his joints, the England skipper is likely to find it more and more difficult to excel at the highest levels of the game.

Fans of the club will take some convincing that Terry still has his heart fully at the club despite his words to the contrary.

They might also argue that losing Mr Chelsea for an enormous fee to a club not even in the Champions League would have been a good piece of business and not the disaster some predicted.

Terry is still a world class defender but is certainly replaceable. He is no Cristiano Ronaldo after all. He will be one of the first names on Carlo Ancelotti’s team sheet as the new season kicks off but City are unlikely to have been totally put off the scent.

Will Ibra-Eto’o swap actually happen?

It would be among the biggest swap deals ever in soccer but there is a long way to go before it becomes reality.

Inter Milan and Barcelona may have agreed to the transfers of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto’o (plus a bit of cash for the Italians on top) but the players have yet to agree terms and that looks trickier than might be expected.

Manchester City pulled out of talks with Eto’o after becoming frustrated while media reports say he is asking for astronomical wages.

Ibrahimovic on the other hand is reportedly the most paid player in the world and Barca will have to be careful not to destroy their wage structure if they want to recruit him.

Furthermore, Barca president Joan Laporta met Inter’s Massimo Moratti earlier in the close season and they both agreed a swap deal was not a good idea because they still wanted to keep their strikers.

The situation has changed since then, with Ibrahimovic repeating a desire for a fresh challenge and Eto’o looking more like departing, but in soccer money talks and there could still be more twists.

Benzema to join Real, when will the spending end?

France striker Karim Benzema is joining Real Madrid from Olympique Lyon, the Ligue 1 club said on Wednesday on their website.

The 21-year-old Benzema will become Real’s third major signing under returning president Florentino Perez after Brazil’s Kaka and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

When Perez was first in charge at the Bernabeu he set about signing one Galactico each close season. Now he is trying to buy them all in a month.

Where is he getting the money from during this global economic crisis? Furthermore, what damage is the spending spree doing to other clubs?

Manchester United were reportedly interested in Benzema to try to boost their forward line after Ronaldo’s departure.

We really are in unchartered territory here. Will Real still pursue Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery too?

Now it’s official — Kaka signs for Real Madrid

They took their time getting there but Kaka is now officially a Real Madrid player.

The Spanish club and AC Milan issued statements at 0030 local time with the player due to hold a news conference in Brazil, where he is on international duty.

No figures have been given for one of the biggest transfers ever in soccer but it has been announced the 27-year-old has signed a six-year deal.

Media reckon the deal is around 68 million euros which puts it second in the list behind Zinedine Zidane’s 2001 move from Juventus to Real.

It’s tough to say if he is really worth that much. It’s difficult to say if any human being is worth so much, especially in current economic climes.

I’ve watched Kaka a lot in the last two seasons and he has not been as good as he was in 2007 when he inspired Milan to their seventh European Cup.

Why would Milan sell Kaka now and not in January?

AC Milan’s PR machine has ground to a halt in recent weeks but it may have to leap into action shortly to explain to fans why they have sold Kaka for a good deal less than they could have in January.

Reports say a world record deal, worth between 65 and 80 million euros, has been agreed with Real Madrid but Chelsea have not been counted out yet.

Milan have admitted money is tighter than it has been and it looks like they have decided to cash in on a player who is not quite as good as when he won world player of the year in 2007.

In January, Manchester City left Milan with their tails between their legs after failing to agree a 100 million euro plus transfer for the Brazilian playmaker.

Rossoneri fans were overjoyed when Kaka stayed but the club, who finished third in Serie A, have not gained anything by keeping him for just five extra months.

Instead they have lost maybe 40 million euros and will be selling him to a main European rival rather than City, where it could all have gone pearshaped for him and he might have ended up back at the San Siro on the cheap.

How did United’s Macheda get away, asks Italy

Most Manchester United fans had no idea who Federico Macheda was before the Italian netted a stunning stoppage-time winner against Aston Villa on Sunday.

The 17-year-old’s goal could ultimately be the one that sealed the Premier League title for United.

He has been scoring regularly for United’s youth and reserve teams since joining the club in September 2007 after developing through Lazio’s youth system. Born in Rome, he signed professional forms last August and is regarded as one of the most promising young prospects of Italian soccer.

what irks Italians is that he is plying his trade in England. AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has said it is a scandal that young Italian players can get hoovered up by big European clubs.

Remember Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi first appeared at United before finiding his way to Villarreal.

FIFA and UEFA want to do something to protect under-18 players and keep them at their local clubs. The trouble is that until they sign professional contracts, the ownership of young footballers is complicated.

Galaxy rewarded by playing hard ball over Beckham

So often in the past we have seen transfer deals go through simply because the player asks to leave. Clubs fear the players won’t play to their full potential if their wish is denied so they cave in and take the transfer fee.

But recently, some clubs have started fighting back against player power and have been rewarded.

David Beckham asked to stay at AC Milan permanently but Los Angeles Galaxy were having none of it, especially when the Italians first offered a low sum the Americans said was “ridiculous”.

Galaxy stuck to their guns and have managed to get Beckham back for at least July until November.

A similar story happened last year when fellow England midfielder Gareth Barry wanted to go to Liverpool but Aston Villa would not budge on their asking price. He is still at Villa and could stay for good if they make the Champions League this season.

Are we seeing a new hard ball approach from selling clubs?