Champions League
News

Cristiano Ronaldo says he almost poised to join Arsenal before he accepted an offer to sign for Manchester United in 2003. United's offer of L12.24 million was three times that of Arsenal's and Sporting Lisbon had no choice but to accept. Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes also said there was huge interest in his client when he considered leaving his native Portugal. "When he was moving from Sporting Lisbon the whole world wanted him, Real Madrid, Juve, Barcelona... but only United and Arsenal were willing to take him right away, the other clubs thought he should stay for another season at Sporting," said Mendes. "Then United won the war by paying more".

In January Real Madrid will sign Ajax Dutch international forward Klaas Jan Huntelaar after the two clubs announced an agreement over reported 27m EUR transfer. Huntelaar has signed a four-and-a-half year deal with the nine-time European champions after a burst of 76 league goals in 92 games for Ajax. Madrid hope he can transfer that impressive strike-rate to the Liga and prove a ready-made replacement for knee-injury victim Ruud van Nistelrooy. "My integration here will be quite easy as there are already many Dutch players with the club," the former SC Heerenveen forward said. "It's true that the Spanish league is a small step up in level to that of the Eredivisie, but that's the challenge that has to be faced and I think I'm ready."

Bayern Munich's France international midfielder Franck Ribery says he wants to stay with Bayern until his contract ends in 2011. "I am having a lot of fun here and want to have a successful season. We will then see what happens. One thing is for sure though - I will be seeing out my contract here." Ribery told Bild.

Manchester United Portugese winger Cristiano Ronaldo has won the 2008 Ballon d'Or award. "It is one of the most beautiful days of my life. To gain this trophy is something I dreamed of as a child," Ronaldo told France Football. "Great emotion fills me but I cannot really describe it. I want to thank those who voted for me, those who know me and those who live with me. I was not worried, because I was aware of what I did in the course of the season. But to the people who mentioned my name, I say thank you. Thank you also to my team-mates. This trophy is one that I want to win again because it is so good. Therefore, I will wake and I will say to myself, 'I want to be even better'."
Ronaldo scored 42 goals last season to propel United to glory in both the Premier League and Champions League.
The 23-year-old is already FIFPro World Player of the Year and took the top prizes from the Professional Footballers Association and the Football Writers last season as well as winning the ESM Golden Shoe awarded to the leading goalscorer in Europe.
Ronaldo becomes the first United player to be awarded the Ballon d'Or since George Best in 1968 and the fourth in total following earlier wins by Bobby Charlton and Denis Law.
Previous winners (2000 - 2007):
2000 - Luis Figo (Portugal)
2001 - Michael Owen (England)
2002 - Ronaldo (Brazil)
2003 - Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic)
2004 - Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine)
2005 - Ronaldinho (Brazil)
2006 - Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
2007 - Kaka (Brazil)

Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba will not leave Stamford Bridge in January, says Chelsea's chief executive Peter Kenyon. Drogba reportedly met Inter representatives recently, sparking rumours he could join former Blues boss Jose Mourinho at the Italian champion. However, Kenyon insists Drogba will be staying at the club.

Portugal centre back Pepe will be out for up to four weeks, full back Torres for three weeks and Dutch midfielder Sneijder for two weeks, the Spanish champions Real Madrid confirmed on their website. Wesley Sneijder, Pepe and Miguel Torres have joined Real Madrid's growing injury list after scans on Monday confirmed a series of muscle problems.

AC Milan 26-year-old Brazilian playmaker has revealed that it would be "great" to play in the Premier League "one day". The reigning World and European Player of the Year has been linked with a move to England, with Chelsea reported to interested in acquiring his services. "One day maybe, I don't know when, but it would be great to play in England," Kaka told Sky Sports News.

Arsenal manager Arsene wenger has appointed Cesc Fabregas as the new captain of his team. The Spaniard midfielder replaces Gallas who was stripped of the capitancy following criticism he made of his team-mates last week. Fabregas will lead the team for the first time in their UEFA Champions League contest with Dynamo Kyiv. "I believe the captain is the voice of the club. Fabregas is just one of the leaders of the team. A successful team is a shared leadership - he will be one of many leaders" Wenger said.

Manchester United striker will be out of action for between seven and ten days after a hamstring injury sustained on international duty with Bulgaria on Wednesday. He will miss Tuesday's Champions League game at Villarreal.

LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan will join Bayern Munich in the next transfer window and follows the likes of team-mate David Beckham, who will join up with AC Milan in January to maintain his fitness during the MLS close-season.

The report of Theo Walcott's surgery has been confirmed by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. "He will be out for three months. I am disappointed because he is an important player," said the French coach on Sky Sports News.

Striker Didi and right-back Tony will be sidelined for months with similar knee injury. CFR Cluj hope to have the 27-year-old Tony back in training in early 2009, but none of them will take part in the last two group UEFA Champions League matches against AS Roma and Chelsea.

Real Madrid are looking for reinforcements after losing Ruud van Nistelrooy for the rest of the season. Andriy Shevchenko has also been linked with a move to Bernabeu but AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has dismissed speculation. "Technically the transfer wouldn't be impossible because a player can move twice in one season. However, Shevchenko will not be leaving. He is untouchable and he will keep playing for us," he told Datasport.it.

Olympique Lyon's midfielder Mathieu Bodmer will be out of action for ten weeks, while Argentinian forward César Delgado will only be sidelined for two weeks. Delgado should be fit for last group match against Bayern München.

FC Barcelona, Juventus and Sporting Clube de Portugal are already there, but the goal for several clubs on Matchday 5 is to reach the UEFA Champions League first knockout round with a game to spare.

"How could I not want to go to Madrid? The only thing that I have said is that I want to leave Zenit in the New Year. But I have not come out and said I prefer any particular team. Now the most important thing is not if Madrid want me, but whether Zenit will let me leave" the 27-year-old Russian international told AS.

Real Madrid have confirmed that Ruud van Nistelrooy will miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery. It is believed that Real Madrid will be looking at bringing in striking reinforcements in January.

Following embarrassing exit from the King's Cup, board members of Real Madrid have reportedly given coach, Bernd Schuster an ultimatum to drag the team out of crisis immediately, or risk facing the sack. The Spanish press are claiming the defeat is the most shameful in Real's history, and a poll on Marca's website shows that over 75 per cent of fans believe it is the biggest embarrassment the team has ever faced.

Cristiano Ronaldo's agents have confirmed that the Portugese striker is set to have talks over a new contract deal at Manchester United.

Liverpool have 350m GBP (which includes 185m borrowed by the club's owners to buy Liverpool) to repay in January to Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia with an option to extend it a further six months. The two banks came close to going bankrupt in the banking crisis, whould want to keep lending Liverpool the money rather than call the loan is. So the Premier League side could struggle in the current economic climate.

French forward Thierry Henry has dismissed news linking him with a return to England. The player has been linked with a move to Manchester City and Chelsea in January, but he rubbished the stories and revealed that he wants to stay at Barcelona and win the league and cup double.

Real Madrid failed to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United this summer but now the Spaniard club got a player who is said to be his successor. The Rio Ave's 16-year-old striker Alpio Duarte Brandao is close to joining Real Madrid, the club set to pay 550,000 EUR for his services. The young soccer jewel (who was born in Brasilia in 1992, heights 178 cm, weights 68 kg) might join Real quite soon.

Before the end of his career Liverpool striker Fernando Torres would like to return to his hometown club Atletico Madrid. The 24-year-old Spanish international moved to Liverpool from Atletico in July 2007. "I don't know if I will retire there, but I would like to go back" said the player.

Despite their place at the top of the Serie A table (and first in their Champions League Group B), Internazionale coach Jose Mourinho has warned his players must improve if they want to keep these outstanding positions. Mourinho said that he was not satisfied with his team's play in attack and did not want to rely on late goals. "In the last minute you can win or lose a game and in our last three encounters, we have won twice and drawn once. But it could be that in the future it will be our rivals who score in the last minute." said the Portugese manager.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon told Sky Sports News they have considered moving to a new location, but now they would increase Stamford Bridge's capacity. Reports over the weekend linked the club with a move away from Stamford Bridge. Kenyon dismissed scandals about leaving their home.

Filippo Inzaghi put pen to paper and extended his contract with AC Milan. The 35-year-old Italian striker signed for AC Milan from Juventus in 2001 and scored both goals in Champions League Final against Liverpool in 2001. The new deal expires in June 2010.

Fiorentina's Adrian Mutu suffered an adductory injury during Wednesday's match against Bayern München. The 29-year-old Romanian striker will be sidelined for a couple of weeks and won't play next UEFA Champions League fixture against Olympique Lyon on 25 November. It would be a big loss for the Italian side as Mutu scored on the latest match as well.

Speculation that he was thinking of quitting after a miserable week for his side was dismissed by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger himself: "No, I love it here. In my decisions always what is first is the interest of the club, not what the media will think. I cannot influence what people say but I can influence the future of the club."

Andrei Arshavin doesn't want to play at Zenit St Petersburg next year. The Russian playmaker looked set for a move to Barcelona or Tottenham during summer but both moves collapsed over his team's asking price, thought to be more than L20 million.

Juventus made their first win at Santiago Bernabeu since 1962. The Italian side beat Real Madrid with two amazing goals from Alessandro Del Piero to give Juventus 10 points from four Champions League group matches. The 33-year-old Del Piero received a standing ovation from the Spanish crowd when he was substituted. "I am proud of the applause I received at the Bernabeu, an incredible stadium and an extremely important one. You live for these kinds of emotions," said Del Piero. Real coach Bernd Schuster also paid tribute to the veteran Italian striker: "I enjoyed the ovation given to Alessandro Del Piero because he is a great player, he has proved his class and the Bernabeu recognised this fact."

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has talked about his concern after the performance of his side. (3-1 loss in Rome.) "We gave too many opportunities to Roma. We made too many mistakes, made wrong passes and had bad positions. When you give away three goals you do worry," Scolari said.

After deciding to leave Lyon Karim Benzema would like to join Barcelona or Real Madrid next summer. The progress of the French forward is monitored by top European clubs like Manchester United, but the 20-year-old player wants to play in Spain next season. "I like Spain. Next year I will play for Barca or Madrid. I am only 20 and am working hard to improve all the time," he told France's Stade 2 programme.

Zenit St Petersburg manager Dick Advocaat has confirmet that he agrees new deal with the Russian club for another year. The Dutchman took charge of Zenit in June 2006 after stepping down as South Korea manager when the Asian team were eliminated at the group stage of the World Cup in Germany.

 Is there a crisis in Real Madrid?

After Coach Bernd Schuster missed a voluntary training exercise this past weekend and only 5 players showed up as well, many believe this and many other issues are a reflection of crisis in "The Whites" club.

After being defeated by a third division club (Real Irún) which caused them the elimination out of the Kings Cup and falling 1-0 against Real Valladolid on November 15th, Coach Schuster gave his team a forced 2 day break to relax and plan for the clubs next steps.

The word "crisis" echoes all over the Bernabeu Clubs front lines; there is no secret among the fans and sports media regarding the situation with player's performance, but why? Has the club lost interest in the Spanish League? Is the physical preparation to average for the squad? Perhaps these and many other issues have taken the elite club down the hill for a moment.

What are the main problems that have affected the club this year? And have them paying the bills almost finishing this 2008? Well, to start with the club is famous for signing the best players in the planet, no matter the costs or political issues involve.

The fact that Cristiano Ronaldo decided to remain in the Manchester United instead of signing the multi-million dollar contract with The Whites; left many wondering that perhaps the economical aspect was not the cause for the transaction to failed, but more of social phenomena. The Real Madrid waited for to long for Cristiano Ronaldo to change his mind and by the time he rejected the offer, possible contracts with David Villa or Santi Cazorla were already lost.

Now, the issues with Robinho escalated way more than the club expected, and at the end he left. Since the club was not prepared when Robinho, the only player they could signed during that moment was Rafael Van der Vaart, who is a great striker, but Robinhos position in the field was hard to replace.

The clubs main objective this 2008 season was based on high performance and less injuries; now in days the club is cursed with casualties, but the one who has and will affect the club the rest of the season is the possible 9 month period without striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who seriously injured his knee recently.

Coach Bernd Schuster has also been distant and reserved with the media, especially after some comments on his replacement by the end of the season and others regarding his lack of faith with players of Real's "First Team" , whom Schuster has not paid much attention, if none at all since he began coaching the A team.

The team is only two points away to take the lead on the board and they are performing well on the Champions league, so claiming that there is no crisis at all seems out of the question, since an elite club like Real Madrid speaks with performance and not controversy.

Cindy Ferguson is a true fan and sports writer of UEFA reviews and Sports Betting. Feel free to reprint this article in its whole on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content