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.

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.

Terry said he hoped to have a good season and then sit down and talk to the club about a new deal….any loss of form, however, and club owner Roman Abramovich might just decide that Mr Chelsea is expendable after all.

PHOTO: Chelsea’s John Terry keeps his eyes on the ball as he falls on the pitch during the second half of their 2009 World Football Challenge soccer match against AC Milan in Baltimore, Maryland, July 24, 2009. Chelsea won 2-1. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang

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.

Sweden’s Ibrahimovic, away in the U.S. with Inter which could complicate matters, seems more keen than the Cameroon international. Ibra would definitely be more fed up if he agreed terms with Barca but the swap collapsed because Inter would not meet Eto’o’s demands.

Then Inter’s Jose Mourinho, eager to know who his main striker will be as soon as possible, would have to use his famed motivation skills to make Ibra commit fully again to the Serie A champions.

PHOTO: Inter Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic (L) passes the ball around Club America’s Juan Carlos Silva during the second half of their World Football Challenge at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California July 19, 2009. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

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?

Last time the Galactico plan did not actually bring trophies. A few defenders might help this time.

PHOTO: Olympique Lyon’s Karim Benzema reacts after their loss to Girondins Bordeaux in the French Ligue 1 soccer match at the Chaban Delmas stadium in Bordeaux, southwestern France, April 19, 2009. REUTERS/Olivier Pon

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.

Niggling injuries haven’t helped but a move may reignite his passion.

Will Florentino Perez now up his efforts to sign Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery? Can he really pull it off or will he have to wait and bring in one Galactico each year like before?

Where this leaves Milan is unclear. The money will come in handy but top players are not coming to Serie A anymore. Kaka’s departure may give Ronaldinho more space to rediscover his form but if that doesn’t work, new rookie coach Leonardo has an enormous hole to fill.

PHOTO: Brazil’s Kaka celebrates a goal against Uruguay during their World Cup 2010 qualifying win in Montevideo, June 6, 2009. REUTERS/Pablo La Rosa

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.

Carlo Ancelotti’s departure for Chelsea was messy. The Milan coach was constantly forced to deny something which everyone knew was going to happen.

It would have been much better for everyone if an announcement had been made a few months ago and Ancelotti would have enjoyed his final weeks at the San Siro rather than having to dodge questions until the end of the season.

Milan have not dealt with the Kaka saga well either.

A statement on Tuesday said chief executive Adriano Galliani was solely in Madrid to celebrate Florentino Perez’s election. He had earlier told reporters he was at the seaside in Italy when he really was in Spain.

Soon after Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi let the cat out of the bag by saying they would struggle to keep Kaka because he had been offered so much money.

Having lost Ancelotti, the retiring Paolo Maldini and now possibly Kaka, it’s been a very tough week for Milan, who have only brought in novice coach Leonardo and joked at his unveiling that it was because he was cheap.

If reports that Chelsea are close to Andrea Pirlo are true, the San Siro could have quite a few empty seats next season.

PHOTO: Kaka’s last Milan apearance? The Brazilian is challenged by Fiorentina’s Manuel Pasqual (R) during their Serie A match in Florence, May 31, 2009. REUTERS/Marco Bucco

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.

It might be good for the clubs to hold on to good young players but what about the teenagers themselves?

Having scored on his debut for the European champions at Old Trafford, it’s doubtful Macheda wants to be anywhere else.

PHOTO: Manchester United’s Federico Macheda (L) shoots past Aston Villa’s Luke Young (R) to score during their English Premier League soccer match in Manchester, northern England April 5 2009. REUTERS/Phil Noble

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?   

PHOTO: AC Milan’s David Beckham controls the ball against Al-Sadd during the Jafal Rashed testimonial soccer match at the Jassim Bin Hamad stadium in Doha March 4, 2009. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad

Since Roman Abramovich arrived with his millions from Russia, Chelsea have been used to shopping in the transfer market’s version of Harrods for glitzy new players.

Monday’s deadline day snaffling of Ricardo Quaresma, a player recently voted the worst performer in Serie A, suggests Chelsea are suddenly hunting in the thrift stores with the rest of the struggling population, self-consciously sifting through the bargain bucket.

Chelsea fans have become accustomed to arrivals such as Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Ballack in recent years, players at the top of most clubs’ shopping lists.

How things have changed. Quaresma, unwanted by Chelsea’s former boss Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan, has signed on loan until the end of the season but hardly looks equipped to revive the club’s fading title hopes. (more…)

The end of the transfer window is fast approaching and so far it has been fairly quiet (if we exclude the Manchester City-Kaka saga as it didn’t go through).

The deadline this year is February 2 given January finishes on a weekend so there is a little extra time for some late deals.

What transfers do you expect to see and which wacky moves would amuse you in an ideal world?

After Jermain Defoe and Pascal Chimbonda came back, will Tottenham Hotspur continue buying up their old players and target Liverpool’s hit-and-miss forward Robbie Keane? If they really want to roll back the clock, what about Sergei Rebrov?

Real Madrid made two hasty signings in Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra, but could they pull a rabbit out of the hat late on. Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo have committed themselves to Milan and United, haven’t they?

Didier Drogba to Inter Milan is a favourite for the tabloids while where will Andrei Arshavin end up? Arsenal, Hoffenheim, Zenit?

Barcelona probably don’t need reinforcements but I’ve felt for years they needed a really top class goalkeeper, with the greatest respect to Victor Valdes. Juve’s Gianluigi Buffon has said he would leave if a fantasy football bid was made.

Have some fun and tell us your top transfer picks.