Football's New Eastern Promise

Carlos Tevez

The football war is on with the news this week that Cristiano Ronaldo has turned down a €300 million transfer offer to play football in the China Super League. It seems the Real Madrid striker could be the next name on a list that has already claimed Carlos Tevez from his boyhood club Boca Juniors in Argentina to sign for Shanghai Shenhua. The Brazilian star Oscar, albeit in the twilight of a glittering career, who is also moving for a €420,000 per week deal. These developments no doubt sending shivers through the Premier League so very accustomed to bringing stars from abroad to England for what have been to date record breaking wages.

Throughout Europe the feeling will be the same as club presidents contemplate the fees that could be earned from selling, not only key assets, but unloading peripheral ones on lengthy and unaffordable deals. In a sport constantly seeking more cash to run expensive operations the new China option clearly will make 2017 a very happy new year for many. Which already impacted on Liverpool a year ago, when they missed out on Brazilian Alex Teixeira. However, Juergen Klopp believes clubs like Liverpool still carry lustre for those whose priority is football over wages. But he may very well being walking alone with that assessment when he explained: “Nobody has to leave Liverpool because of money,” said Klopp. “Maybe there are a few clubs in world football who can play better and if you can go there, these few clubs, yes then do it. But for all the rest this should be the best place to be.”

A touch of wishful thinking no doubt.

Given that the Premier League has just established its global value thanks to the generosity of Sky Sports and BT Sport which to date has allowed many clubs claim overseas players with their loosened cheque books. And indeed, big name managers. No different to what the Italian league did decades ago. Or La Liga in Spain where FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have hired nothing but big names on record breaking fees over the years. And still do with Lionel Messi Sergio Aguero, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Neymar all enrolled in Spanish football for many years. So, the China influence will cause concerns in a game that is driven by agents for the most part, all of whom will now be seeking eastern clubs for more of their assets. The fees quoted this week make the Paul Pogba move to Manchester United paltry.

Although the traditionalists will baulk at the thought of having to watch games on TV at three am to see some of their favourite stars. The stark commercial truth is that it will all be streamlined should the European audience be of value. However, with the population in China western viewership and their sleeping habits will be of little concern. But having been accustomed to seeing the big names every Saturday on a Match of the Day, live or indeed during Champions league clashes these audiences will fade if the bigger names and younger starts chose to move east. In Europe, Real Madrid could see their big names become very attractive also. Albeit Gareth Bale has just extended his deal for another few years with an official buy-out clause at €1bn – as a deterrent. Not a problem if any Chinese club fancied him in their roster.

The names also include managers; with Luiz Felipe Scolari joining Guangzhou Evergrande; former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson now with Shanghai SIPG and Dan Petrescu manages Jiangsu Guoxin Sainty. Just to mention a few.  Unlike the MLS, or indeed its previous iterations, the USA is no longer the automatic graveyard choice for retiring names. Or those seeking a juicy pension as China is attracting a younger age demographic that the US was never able to achieve. The dangers for the Premier League are obvious.

In 2016 Premier League clubs started to share the £5.136 billion from Sky Sports who broke the bank to retain most the UK television rights. A massive increase for the 2016-2019 rights from the outgoing deal of £3.018bn deal and could not have factored the impact of the China money that is already making senior professionals to start looking east. Not only for the twilight years but for their last major deal. Undoubtedly the flights to China are chocker with hungry agents, would be agents and the football cognoscenti chasing these life changing financial rewards. It could not come at a worse time for the Premier league already facing the wider uncertainty of Brexit and freedom of movement in the EU.

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Pettersen Tweets Solheim Apology

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Suzann Pettersen has apologised for her controversial behaviour at the Solheim Cup on Sunday.

Pettersen said that a putt on the 17th green had not been conceded when the USA's Alison Lee picked up her ball, meaning the Americans lost the hole.

She was widely criticised and has now posted on social media to say "sorry for not thinking about the bigger picture in the heat of the battle".

"I've never felt more gutted and truly sad," added the 34-year-old Norwegian.

Pettersen was playing in the fourballs with Charley Hull against Lee and Brittany Lincicome when the incident took place, the European pair going on to win the match.

The Americans thought the putt on the 17th hole had been conceded as Hull walked away after Lee rolled her ball close with the previous effort.

The USA then recovered from 10-6 down to win eight and a half points from 12 singles matches to regain the trophy they last lifted in 2009.

"I was trying my hardest for my team and put the single match and the point that could be earned ahead of sportsmanship and the game of golf itself. I feel like I let my team down.

"I have learned a valuable lesson about what is truly important in this great game."

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Henry Retires to Sky Sports

Thierry Henry has announced his retirement from football and that he will return to London to take up a role in the media.

The 37-year-old former Arsenal striker left the New York Red Bulls at the start of the month after they were knocked out of the MLS play-offs but there was speculation he might choose to play on at another club – with a return to Arsenalmooted.

However, the former France international and World Cup winner has instead called time on a trophy-laden career, which has included spells with Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona and the Red Bulls.

In a statement, Henry said: “After 20 years in the game I have decided to retire from professional football. It has been an incredible journey and I would like to thank all the fans, team mates and individuals involved with Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona, the New York Red Bulls and of course the French National team that have made my time in the game so special.

“It is now time for a different career path and I am pleased to say that I will be returning to London and joining Sky Sports. I will hopefully share some of the insights, observations and experiences I have learnt over the years with you guys. I have had some amazing memories (mostly good) and a wonderful experience. I hope you have enjoyed watching as much as I have enjoyed taking part. See you on the other side …”

When asked if he had thought about another stint in north London, Henry told Sky Sports: “You kind of never leave Arsenal. How many comebacks do you make? At one point it will turn out to be a bad movie. We all love the first Rocky but I’m not too sure about the last one.”

Henry will always be most closely associated with Arsenal, where he is the all-time leading goalscorer with 228 goals in 377 games across two different spells.

Arsène Wenger, who had known him as a young player at Monaco, signed him from Juventus for £11m in 1999 and immediately shifted him from the wing to a central striking position. His blend of pace and power made him one of the most feared forwards in English football, and Henry won the Premier League title twice with Arsenal, as well as the FA Cup three times.

Henry left Arsenal in 2007 and joined Barcelona, where he won the Champions League in 2009. He also added two La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey, Spanish Supercopa, Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup to his honours list in three seasons at the Camp Nou.

His medal collection also includes a Ligue 1 title and the Trophée des Champions – the equivalent of the Community Shield – with Monaco, his first professional club.

He spent the final five years of his playing career with the Red Bulls, returning to Arsenal to make four appearances on loan in early 2012.

With France, Henry scored 51 goals in 123 appearances – only Lilian Thuram has more caps with Les Bleus. He was a member of the 1998 World Cup winning squad, while also being a runner-up in 2006. Henry was a European champion in 2000 and was part of the team that won the Confederations Cup in 2003.

The former player will begin his work with Sky from the start of 2015, covering live international, European and domestic football and joining the current pundits Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jamie Redknapp and Graeme Souness.

Gary Neville said: “We were blessed in this country to see Thierry playing at his peak, potentially one of the greatest players in the world and even if you supported another team you couldn’t help but enjoy watching him play. It’s always a shame when such a career comes to an end, but it’s very much Sky Sports’ gain and I look forward to working with him.”

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Ancelotti Confirms Bale Start

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Gareth Bale will make his Real Madrid debut in Saturday's La Liga match at Villarreal, live on Sky Sports, coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed.

The winger played the final half-hour of Wales's 3-0 World Cup qualification defeat at home by Serbia on Tuesday - his first competitive action since July - and trained with his new team-mates for the first time on Wednesday.

"I think everyone knows his pre-season was not normal but his physical condition is not bad," Ancelotti told a news conference in Madrid on Friday.

"I don't know if he will start but he will play some of the match. He is very excited and very motivated."

Speaking at the launch of Real's third kit on Thursday, the 24-year-old Bale insisted he would be ready to answer Ancelotti's call on Saturday night.

"I feel good," he said. "I have been training in the last week with Wales. I have had two good sessions today and I got half-an-hour with Wales on Tuesday.

"Obviously I am a bit behind everyone else physically, but I am hopeful I can catch up as soon as possible.

"I think you will have to wait until the match to see whether I am picked or not. Hopefully I can get my fitness up straight away and hopefully get a place in the team."

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Ibrahimovic in Sky Row

A post-match row between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a journalist has overshadowed Milan's 2-0 win over Lecce at San Siro on Sunday. Ibrahimovic was involved in an angry exchange with the Sky journalist Vera Spadini, during which television pictures appeared to show him swearing at her.

Milan have tried to defuse the situation, releasing a statement claiming the dispute had been "cleared up" in a phone call between the duo.

"A few minutes ago there was a phone call between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sky journalist Vera Spadini to clear up the misunderstanding between the two at the end of Milan-Lecce," a statement on the club's official website read.

Despite that the Sweden striker's outburst, and the accompanying TV pictures, have been top news in the Italian press this morning. Ibrahimovic had scored his side's second goal of the game to help Milan open a four-point lead over Juventus at the top of the Serie A table.

The enigmatic Sweden striker was then interviewed pitchside during which he turned away from the camera and said: "What the **** are you looking at?" at Spadini. The altercation reportedly continued afterwards with Ibrahimovic allegedly also flicking his headband at Spadini.

Ibrahimovic had been aggrieved at reports in the Italian press in recent days which claimed he had been involved in an altercation with the coach, Massimiliano Allegri, after Milan's Champions League match at Arsenal in midweek.

Milan were beaten 3-0 as they just held on to their 4-0 lead from the first leg to progress, with reports later suggesting Ibrahimovic had been unimpressed with his manager's tactics.

The striker had denied those reports, with Allegri backing him last night, saying: "As for Ibra, thankfully these stories emerge every now and then, otherwise it gets boring. Nothing happened, as it's normal there are discussions between a coach and his players."

United Reject Neville Project

Manchester United have defended their decision to oppose a planning application for a hotel and leisure complex at Old Trafford that has been submitted by Gary Neville.

In the build-up to his testimonial game at the end of last season, Neville confirmed his intention to create a bar for United supporters.

It was envisaged the scheme would be operational by at some point in the 2013-14 season and, at the time, United were fully supportive.

However, as plans have been reshaped, so United began to get cold feet.

And now they have lodged a formal objection on the grounds that the entire development, which includes a 10-storey 139-bedroom hotel and leisure complex, would be too big,

"The club has been developing its vision for the area over the last few months, following on from the very successful pedestrianisation scheme executed in July," said a United spokesman.

"As part of that vision, we considered in detail the changes to the sheer scale of the new project proposed, as distinct to the original plan.

"We had some projections done of what the view of the stadium would be from various angles on the other side of Wharfside Way and have concluded that, on balance, we do not want a building of that size so close to the stadium."

It now raises the bizarre situation of Neville being at odds with the club he represented for 19 years over a site for supporters.

He is also a regular pundit with Sky Sports.

Closing the Football Transfer Window

At 11pm Tuesday tonight, The football transfer window will shut for the final time in the 2011/2012 football season.

The BBC and Sky will cover the transfer deadline day with special programmes and live news updates on their news channels.

They will also produce live Premier league football coverage and highlights as five Premier League games and a full night of Championship games take place.

Sky Sports News will merge its Deadline Day coverage with a Gillette Soccer Special from 7:30pm until 10:15pm. So, as some important fixtures are underway, clubs will also be trying to finalise important signings before the window closes.

The Soccer Special panel will be in their studio while Jim White, Natalie Sawyer and Bryan Swanson will be live in the Sky Sports News newsroom with all the latest twists.

Sky will have reporters at all the key games while other reporters will be chasing all the key transfer deals, checking the rumours, sorting fact from fiction.

Also, Manchester City travel to Goodison park to take on Everton, Live on Sky Sports 2.

On The BBC, viewers will be able to keep across the latest transfer news from midday with regular updates from Football Focus presenter Dan Walker with opinion from Martin Keown and BBC Sport journalists via the Red Button.

The BBC News Channel will have updates throughout the day and at 6:30pm there will be a deadline day transfer update programme from the Match of the Day studio.

At 10:35pm on BBC One – Match of the Day with Gary Lineker and the team, featuring action from the Premier League plus a special transfer deadline update for the last 15 minutes of the programme at about 11:50pm.

Lee Dixon and Martin Keown will be on hand with their expert analysis of the transfer window action. (Viewers in Northern Ireland can see MOTD on BBC One from 11:05pm and in Scotland from 11:35pm).

Other Shortened TV Careers

Andy Gray and Richard Keys

Ron Atkinson

Forced to resign as an ITV commentator in April 2004 after comments about Chelsea defender follwing a Champions League semi-final against Monaco. Atkinson's comments were made off-air while the post-match analysis was being carried out, but were picked up by a microphone and broadcast in several places in the Middle East.

Rodney Marsh

The Sky pundit was dismissed by the organisation for making a joke about the Tsunami disaster. The former Manchester City player said David Beckham had turned down a move to Newcastle United as he was afraid of the "Toon Army in Asia". Marsh said: "I am hugely disappointed in myself for letting [Sky] down."

Dean Jones

Former Australia Test batsman was sacked by Sri Lankan television station Ten Sports for calling South African batsman Hashim Amla "the terrorist" during a game in Colombo. "It was a completely insensitive thing to say and obviously never supposed to be heard over the air," he said.

Ron Franklin

The ESPN commentator was fired after calling touchline reporter Jeannine Edwards "sweet baby" and then saying she was an "asshole" for objecting to his comments.

Malcolm Allison

Allison was dismissed by Middlesbrough's Century Radio in 1994 after calling a linesman a "------- disgrace" live on air. The former Middlesbrough manager had already been suspended for swearing during a previous broadcast.

Alan Pardew

The Newcastle manager has not been invited back to BBC's Match of the Day 2 after saying Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien had "absolutely raped" his opponent, Southampton's Ched Evans, in a tackle during his analysis.

Sky Terminate Gray's Contract

Sky Sports today terminated its contract with Andy Gray.

The decision, which is effective immediately, was made in response to new evidence of unacceptable and offensive behaviour.

The new evidence, relating to an off-air incident that took place in December 2010, came to light after Andy Gray had already been subjected to disciplinary action for his comments of 22nd January 2011.

Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports,said: "Andy Gray's contract has been terminated for unacceptable behaviour.

"After issuing a warning yesterday, we have no hesitation in taking this action after becoming aware of new information today."

Andy Gray Sacked by Sky Sports

Sky Sports presenter Andy Gray has been sacked in the wake of comments made about female assistant referee Sian Massey