David Moyes second bid for Cesc Febregas

Manchester United manager David Moyes on Monday revealed he has stepped up his pursuit of Cesc Fabregas after making a second bid for the Barcelona midfielder.

United manager Moyes said at a press conference at Yokohama’s Nissan Stadium today that chief executive Ed Woodward is still in touch with the Spanish club about Fabregas after submitting a second bid thought to be in excess of £30million, which would be a new club record.

Moyes is determined to do everything he can to lure Fabregas back to the Premier League as he seeks a marquee signing to mark his arrival at Old Trafford.

And the former Everton boss, appointed as Alex Ferguson's successor at the end of last season, said at a press conference in Yokohama on Monday that a second improved offer, believed to be in the region of £30 million ($46 million, 34 million euros), has now been lodged.

United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward returned to England ahead of schedule last Wednesday to lead the Fabregas negotiations and Moyes said: "As I understand it, Ed had a response (to the first offer). We have made a second offer but Ed is dealing with it rather than me."

Moyes has yet to bring in a major signing, with his only deal so far the capture of Uruguay Under-20 star Guillermo Varela.

But, with reports from Spain suggesting Barca will not make a decision on Fabregas until they appoint a successor to coach Tito Vilanova, Moyes acknowledged there may come a time when he has to turn to other targets.

"I think a point does come," said Moyes. "But when you are interested in good players you want to give it every opportunity to materialise.

"I will hope things will continue to move forward.

"At this moment in time I can only tell you Ed Woodward is working hard to try and make the deals happen. We hope some of them will fall into place shortly."

Moyes has also been linked with moves for Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Tottenham winger Gareth Bale, plus raiding his old club Everton for Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini.

So far though he has been frustrated, with new Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti on Sunday making it clear he doesn't expect Ronaldo to rejoin United.

And Moyes, who is also fighting to persuade Wayne Rooney to snub advances from Chelsea, admitted he can understand why some fans are nervous about the lack of fresh faces as the champions gear up for the first season of the post-Ferguson era.

"I can understand that feeling," he said. "But there have been quite a few changes. Other managers have changed their clubs too and everybody thought this might be the summer when transfers are done later in the month.

"That was always the thought I had when I came into the club.

"You have to remember I only started on July 1, so in truth I have only been in the job three weeks at this present time."

Ronaldinho on the way to join selected group of players

Ronaldinho is only one match away from joining a select group of players who have won the European Champions League and the Libertadores Cup, its South American equivalent, although his world cup dream looks distant.

The two times fifa player of the year and 33 year old magician returned to Brazil in January 2011 after a slump in his European career with two objectives - to win a place in his country's 2014 World Cup team and claim the club titles missing from his trophy cabinet.

On Wednesday, his Atletico Mineiro team will try to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit in the second leg of the Libertadores Cup final at home to Olimpia of Paraguay in Belo Horizonte
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Having inspired Barcelona to the Champions League crown in 2006, Ronaldinho hopes to join Brazilians Dida, Cafu and Roque Junior and Argentines Carlos Tevez, Walter Samuel and Juan Pablo Sorin as champions on the two continents. He said" winning newer trophies is made me a child again, and i am more curious towards winning it."

The match is Ronaldinho's best chance to ensure his return to Brazilian football is not seen as a failure after a string of disappointments.

Flamengo brought the twice FIFA World Player of the Year back hoping the deal would have advantages on the field as well as marketing benefits off it, but the project sunk.

Ronaldinho spent a troubled 17 months at the Rio club, where he suffered a loss of form blamed on his party lifestyle, Also he was not payed his previous 4 months income.

In that time, Flamengo only won the minor Carioca (Rio) state championship and Ronaldinho left in May 2012 with the club owing him back wages.

For Brazil, with whom he won the World Cup in 2002 and also played at the 2006 finals, Ronaldinho appears to have lost his best chance of impressing coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and dropped out of the reckoning for next year's home finals.

Thanks to good club performances, especially in the Libertadores Cup, Ronaldinho earned a recall in April for a friendly against Chile at the Mineirao, the newly-refurbished stadium in Atletico's home city Belo Horizonte.

On top of a lacklustre performance in a 2-2 draw, Ronaldinho was not forgiven by disciplinarian Scolari for turning up late on the first day of training.

"You invite me to lunch at your home. I get to your house and you're not there. I wait and you, the host, are the last to arrive. The national team goes to the dining table and the last one to arrive? The host, that's not right," Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) chief Jose Maria Marin said in a recent interview with Globo Network.

Ronaldinho was left out of Brazil's squad for the Confederations Cup last month and is unlikely to find a place in a team that won the title crushing world champions Spain in the final.
His talent, however, has never been in doubt and he hopes to shine in the Libertadores Cup final.

"Nothing is greater than the will to bring the title to the 'Galo'," Ronaldinho said on Twitter using Atletico's nickname 'Cockerel'.

Chelsea is confident that Wayne Rooney will never wear red again

The price of Wayne Rooney's transfer is almost agreed.

Chelsea believe it is only matter of time before Wayne Rooney will wear blue.

But blues are resigned to not playing Rooney in time for him to return to Old Trafford in a blues shirt on August 26.

The Stamford Bridge club will table a second bid of 24 million euros this week and feel they can get their man for around 30 million euro mark.

Jose Mourinho has made Rooney his prime target, with Chelsea board confident the Scouse ace will not wear red again.

If the Reds are successful in their ongoing quest to land Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona, Chelsea expect United will be able to ‘sell’ his arrival as an ‘upgrade’ to justify the departure of Rooney to SW6.

But United boss David Moyes will not want his first home game as Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor to be overshadowed by Rooney’s return to Manchester.

And while Chelsea feel the champions have no option but to sell before the transfer window shuts on September 2, they are willing to have to wait until the final days to get their man.

Blues boss Mourinho stuck to his strict “no comment” policy on Rooney after last night’s 4-1 win over Malaysia in the Shah Alam Stadium on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

And the special one, relieved that his worst fears over Belgiumsheme Kevin De Bruyne's knee injury were not realised, suggestedd Romelu Lukaku can start the season rather Fernando Torres.

Lukaku,returned to chelsea, as he was taken on loan by West Brom  and scored 17 goals their,and more importantly he terrified the Malaysians by his pace and power.

He also set up De Bruyne's stunner and Mourinho said : "Lukaku had a fantastic manager last session. It's up to the kid, but he's open and intelligent to learn the kind of movement we want.

“Of course he can challenge Torres. The role he played was the right movement. We don’t want the striker just aiming between the central defenders, but making movements, sometimes between midfield or moving wide."

Asked if he saw resemblances with a younger Didier Drogba, Mourinho said: “We have to respect them both. The best way to do that is not compare Lukaku to a legend. Leave Didier where he is, at the top of Chelsea’s history, and leave Lukaku to work hard. The kid is good.”

Another “good kid” is 17-year-old trialist Bertrand Traore, who scored the opener from De Bruyne’s pull-back, with Victor Moses also netting late-on.

The Burkina Faso youngster is still on a student visa but Chelsea fear he will not get a work permit when he turns 18 in September.

“Those are the rules in England, and we have to accept them,” said ­Mourinho. “We’ll try to get the permit for him when he becomes 18. If it’s not possible we have to let him go on loan somewhere. Sooner or later the committee has to give him a permit to play here.”

On De Bruyne, finally promised a chance after spending 18 months on loan at Genk and Werder Bremen, Mourinho said: “When he was on the floor, everyone on the bench thought the worst.”

De Bruyne will be assessed today. The Belgian tweeted: “Knee and ankle feeling OK. Always stay positive. Waiting for tomorrow. Then we will know more."

Atletico Mineiro Loses 1st leg of Copa Libertadores final

Atletico Mineiro loses their first leg of finals by 1-0 on 18th July. Not the start wanted by the Brazilians, they get a foot back in the competition. As now they will look for winning the 2nd leg of finals on 24th July.

As the Brazilian giants are the favorites to lift the trophy for the first time in their history, but they'll go home as undergoes after a poor result in Paraguay.

There was a stoppage early in the match after Atletico Mineiro teammates Pierre and Josue collided, resulting in the former player picking up a nasty cut. Thankfully, he was back on the pitch shortly and was able to finish the match.

Diego Tardelli had a goal disallowed in the 6th minute, and perhaps incorrectly. He was ruled offside on the goal even though he looked to be level with the defense when the ball was played into him and an Olimpia defender misplayed the ball, touching it into his path before the flag went up. The linesman apparently missed the touch and Atletico Mineiro had a seemingly good goal taken off the board.

Olimpia took advantage of their good fortune in the 22nd minute and went ahead 1-0, thanks to Alejandro Silva. Tardelli had a big hand in the goal, defending Silva lazily and letting the Olimpia man blow past him on the right wing. Silva cut inside and blew by a couple more defenders before placing a low shot to the near post from just outside the penalty area. Unfortunately for his club, Silva took off his shirt in celebration and was shown a yellow card. That booking will keep him out of the second leg of the final.

While Atletico Mineiro were the more threatening team for the rest of the first half and in the early part of the second half, they were unable to turn their chances into goals. Olimpia goalkeeper Martin Silva was excellent on the night, making five crucial saves.

In the 64th minute, with Atletico Mineiro needing a bit of a spark, Cuca took off a very ineffective Ronaldinho. Unsurprisingly, Ronaldinho was displeased with the decision and gave his manager a nasty look as he walked off the pitch.

Fredy Bareiro should have doubled his team's lead in the 82nd minute, but failed to direct his shot on target from six yards while facing an open net. He likely would have caught quite a bit of heat for his miss had the game ended 1-0 or worse for Olimpia, but he'd eventually get bailed out by a series of events in the closing minutes of the game.

Atletico Mineiro fullback Richarlyson, a notorious hothead, picked up his second yellow card of the match and was sent off in the 90th minute. With a man advantage, Olimpia pushed hard for a second goal in stoppage time and would eventually get it in dramatic fashion. Rever took down Enzo Prono 20 yards from goal in the 93rd minute, just as the referee was preparing to blow his whistle. Wilson Pittoni stepped up and curled a perfect free kick past Victor and a defender on the near post, doubling his team's lead and giving them an even bigger cushion heading to Minas Gerais.

Barcelona agreed to transfer Villa to Atletico Madrid

Barcelona have reached on an agreement with David Villa move to Atletico Madrid.

The La Liga champions announced on their website that the deal will cost up to 5.1million euros (4.4million) with Barca receiving 50 per cent of any future transfer fee.

The 31-year-old Spain international joined Barca from Valencia in 2010 but has been wildly linked with a move away from the Nou Camp over recent months after struggling to tie down a first-team berth at the Catalan club last season.

Barca announced in a statement on their website: "Barca and the Madrid club have reached an agreement in principle for the transfer of the Asturian player.

"The deal will cost a maximum of 5.1million euros, with 2.1million this season, 2million more if the player is still at Atletico Madrid in the 2014/15 season and another million if he stays until the 2015/16 season.

"As well as that, Barca have reserved 50 per cent of the rights of any future transfer of the player."

Monday's announcement comes after Barca last month completed the signing of Brazil superstar forward Neymar in a 57million euros transfer from Santos, bolstering an attack that also includes Lionel Messi, Pedro Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez.

Villa, who had been linked with a number of Barclays Premier League sides, joined Barca in a 40 million euros deal from Valencia in the summer of 2010, penning a four-year contract at the Nou Camp.

During his three years with the Catalan club, Spain's record goalscorer played 119 official games and scored 48 goals.
However, he spent eight months on the sidelines after suffering a broken leg during the Club World Cup in December 2011, forcing him to miss the second half of the 2011/12 season for Barca and also Spain's successful Euro 2012 campaign.

He made his Barca comeback in a pre-season friendly against Dinamo Bucharest last August and would go on to start 24 matches in all competitions for Tito Vilanova's men in the 2012/13 season with a further 16 appearances off the bench, scoring 16 goals.

Villa will leave Barca having helped the club win eight trophies in three years, including two Primera Division crowns and the 2011 Champions League.

It could be that one of Villa's first competitive games for Atletico will be against Barca, with the Copa del Rey winners meeting the La Liga champions in the Spanish Supercopa in August.
Atletico also confirmed the deal for Villa, who has scored 56 goals in 92 internationals for Spain, in a statement on their official website.

It read: "Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have reached an agreement in principle for the transfer of striker David Villa.

"This agreement will be consolidated once the Asturian player undertakes his medical and signs his contract with our club."