REAL MADRID - CRISTIANO RONALDO HAVE AGREEMENT TO EXTEND CONTRACT

After months of speculations, hard negotiations & waiting, Spanish Football Club Real Madrid CF has come to an agreement with Cristiano Ronaldo to renew & extend his contract at the Club. Today at 13.45 (Sp Time) the agreement - "acuerdo"- will be made official in front of the media with both President Florentino Perez & Cristiano Ronaldo present.

These are the initial & simple details:

• Contract extended to 2018
• Salary lifted to 17M€ per season ( net ). Other sources say 20M€.
  This area is sensitive & perhaps we will never really know 100% 
• Real Madrid allows CR7 to regain para of his "image rights", currently 50% Club 50% Ronaldo, that is increase his %.

Real Madrid has made it clear to the player that he is the cornerstone that they wish to build the near history of the Club for the next 5 years. 

Now CR7 can fully concentrate on what he does best, play Football & score goals.

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MANCHESTER CITY EYES BARÇA PLAYERS

There seems to be certain unease at FC BARCELONA. Although its a controlled & managed uneasiness, the fact that two ex Barça Directives are now employed at MANCHESTER CITY raises eyebrows & speculations. Ex-FC Barcelona Vice President Ferran Soriano & Ex-Barça Football Director Txiki Bergiristain are now Top Directives at the English Club.

The multi-millionaire Machester City owner Mansur bin Nahyan Al Nayhan, has his source in petrol-dollars & the almighty ambition to take City to World Football heights. The elimination of this seasons Champions League has signed that the squad still needs to find that "extra something" & lift in level & improve in Football class. FC Barcelona is the place to fish around & some of their players are ripe for an offer that they may not be able to refuse, either because of age, not enough playing time, new ambitious or purely because of money. 

The "hit list" includes such names as Xavi, Pedro, Valdes, Busquets & Cesc Fabregas. However the two names of the list that are a priority are BUSQUETS & FABREGAS according to Barcelona based paper "Mundo Deportivo".

The reach of City doesn´t stop at Barça, according to German paper "Bild", Real Madrid German player OZIL was offered a deal while in Manchester with his team for last Tuesday night Champions League match. Some speculate that Mourinho left the German on the match because he wasn´t too impressed with the maneuver.

Stay tuned!

By the way, the relationship at Club level between Real Madrid & Manchester City is optimal. What a better way to attempt to destabilize internally your local rival than to niggle around in the minds of the Barça players. Leave that one on the table...
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SPANISH FOOTBALL & SPORTS BLOG ON TWITTER: JOIN!

Hi readers. Now you can follow Spanish Football & Sports anywhere
& at anytime you wish with flashes of updates, scores, reminders, events,etc.
By joining & using TWITTER you can become a "follower" & be part of
the Global SFS Community. See widget on the right side of SFS:

Click here & go to the Spanish Football & Sports Twitter page.

JOIN!

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REAL MADRID NEWS 2008: SCHUSTER COMMENTS & NEW CHAMPIONS SHIRT

REAL MADRID coach Schuster ( below) talked publically yesterday about
Robinho. He was upset & felt betrayed by the Brazilian who he feels
had a great future at Real. The image makes no mention as the size of his
..., but it does give place to the quote of the day ( translated into English)
in reference to Robinho & his wish to leave Real:

"...you have to understand, his dream was to
go to a mediocre (average) team"

Lastly, REAL MADRID will for the first time in its 106 year history
put a Spanish flag on its shirt (see below) for the Champions League, a
shirt the will debut tomorrow in its Group game against Bate Borisov.

It´s an obvious "marketing experiment" as Real attempts to win ground
& position itself as the true International representive of Spain on the
World Football stage. Plus the shirts went on sale yesterday at a price
of 72€, & hundreds rushed out to get their hands on it. Nice cash flow!

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WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFIER: SPAIN 4 - ARMENIA 0 (SEE VIDEO)

SPAIN continues it´s winning way with an important victory tonight
over ARMENIA 4-0 in its World Cup 2010 Group qualifier. Armenia
were brave & put in a good match to frustrate Spain all night with a
well organized defence that allowed the ocassional counter-attack.
But in the end, Spain´s class stood out & they managed to win in the
end in a relatively comfortable fashion.

Spain scored two goals in the 1º half via CAPDEVILA in the 6th min
& DAVID VILLA in the 15th min. However, from that point on
Armenia stood firm & blocked out all the Spanish attempts. With
frustration setting in the Spanish side , Coach Del Bosque began to

make changes in the 2ºhalf that brought in fresh feet & ideas into

the team. It paid off when DAVID VILLA scored his 2º & Spain´s

3º goal in the 79th min followed by another in the 83rd min by
SENNA (below) to seal things up.

Big highlight tonight was the DEBUT of 18 year old BOJAN
KRKIC ( below) in the 2ºhalf to commence his long carreer as

a Spanish & future star International. Congratulations!



















Good win for Spain, it gets the important 3ºpoints & that should

settle nerves for the future. Here is a video clip of the match &
the goals:

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REAL MADRID NEWS: SNEIJDER TAKES ROBINHO´S NUMBER 10

It´s not transcendental news, but it may interest if your a
REAL MADRID fan. The Number 10 shirt left behind by
Brazilian ROBINHO, who has gone to Manchester City, will

be taken by Dutch International WESLEY SNEIJDER. The
Number 23 shirt currently held up till now by Sneijder will go

to fellow Dutchmen VAN DER HAART.

Other Shirt Numbers allocations are - Nº18 for DE LA RED
& Nº24 for JAVI GARCIA. The Number 19 left vacant by
the departure of Julio Baptista to AC Roma will not be given

to anyone at this moment.

*Thanks to "Mundo Deportivo" for the Club header.

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SFS BACK FROM INDIA & SEES PLENTY OF NEWS

Hi SFS readers, just got back from India after 10 crazy days of humidity,
hassling street sellers, rip-offs, elephant rides, ricksaws, sights , chaos
& sounds that put the mind in another dimension. However, my return
back to Spain sees that SFS has missed out on action & there´s been
plenty of news generated in its absence:
1. Real Madrid beat Valencia to comeback in the 2º leg & grab the Spanish
Super Cup.
2. FC Barcelona lost yesterday to Wisla by a goal but managed to
qualify for the Champions League.
&
3. The Spanish transfer market is Red hot with plenty of rumours.

VILLAREAL Spanish International SANTIAGO CARZOLA (above)

has rejected a REAL MADRID offer & renewed with his current club

for another 6 years. Big surprised as it was a done deal, but Villareal

counter-attacked in the last minute with a better offer.

Seems the "bad luck" continues with REAL MADRID as it has been

announced that VALENCIA CF has rejected a 40M€ offer for its

player DAVID VILLA & has bettered his contract until 2014 & a 3M€

/season wage. According to "Marca", Villa will announce in a press

conference this afternoon his intention to stay at Valencia. Can we
believe this? Apparently its true according to local media, however

SFS feels it´s an incorrect professional decision by Villa, but it´s his
deal & decision.

Staying at REAL MADRID, ROBINHO is still generating news it seems.
Real Coach Schuster wants the Brazilian to stay, but directives don´t
mind selling him if Chelsea lifts its offer to around the 48M€ mark. This
story will go right down to the deadline date of the 30th of August.

Good to see Atletico de Madrid Argentine International SERGIO
AGUERO get his dreamed GOLD MEDAL at the Beijing Olympics.
He comes back at the most crucial time to help ATLETICO DE
MADRID attempt to comeback from the 1-0 1º leg away defeat at
SCHALKE 04 for Champions League qualification.

Tonight Atletico plays its most important game of the year...& the
new season has not got underway. In front of their home crowd they
will attempt to win the 2ºleg with Aguero & Maniche , a surprise
inclusion, to get back into Champions after an 11 year absence. It will
be nail bitting stuff & we are all hoping they can pull this off as a loss
will be a "disaster" so early in the season. Surf into late tonight for
details.

So there you go, been away 10 days & I´ve missed so much stuff. SFS
is glad to be back & serve its readers. Tweet

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER NEWS 2008: REAL MADRID & FC BARCELONA

The Olympics are monopolizing the World news, which is natural
& understandable, however locally Football news continues as the
Spanish League ( as other leagues) gear up to start the new 2008/
2009 season.

The word around town is that AC ROMA has struck a deal with
REAL MADRID for its Brazilian midfielder JULIO BAPTISTA.
However, Real Madrid Coach Schuster has called up Baptista to

travel with the team for tomorrows friendly against German side
Frankfurt.

It´s a clear sign that Schuster finds the Brazilian useful & counts on

him, while also indicating that the "done deal" is not at all shut

between AC Roma & Real Madrid. It maybe a case that Baptista is

not at all too keen to leave Madrid, stay tuned!

Different news at FC BARCELONA where SAMUEL ETO´O
was asked to leave & now the Club may announce that they

count on him totally. Coach Guardiola will announce that Eto´o

will stay - according to Dialy "AS" - after seeing the motivation,
attitude & goals that is wished from any player of this class.

Added to this, Barça Captains Pujoy & Xavi have expressed
privately & publically that they wish the Camaroon striker to

stay at the Club. They consider that FC Barcelona does´nt have

to look elsewhere for a class forward when they have one in their

own backyard. So there you go folks, Eto´o has won his place

with actions & not with his month!

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SPANISH FOOTBALL NEWS 2008: ROBINHO & LUIS FABIANO RENEW CONTRACTS

Spanish daily "Marca" advance that REAL MADRID Brazilian
forward ROBINHO will renew his contract with the Club another
5 years which will double his salary to 3M€/season. This is a reaction
from Madrid to the calls of English Club Chelsea FC & their offers
to sign the player.

However, there is a catch as said here at SFS, Robinho´s future is
tied directly with Cristiano Ronaldo. If Real Madrid manage to sign
the Portugues star, Robinho will be sold to Chelsea to finance the
operation. If it is impossible to get Ronaldo to Madrid, the Spanish
Club would have secured the Brazilian with this renovation.






















Brazilian International forward & SEVILLA FC player LUIS
FABIANO has renewed his contract with his Club until 2011.

The 27 year old scored 23 goals last season & has become a vital
part of the Sevilla team. This should also halt rumours of his
departure to another Club.

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ATLETICO DE MADRID TRANSFER NEWS 2008: THE NEW SQUAD BUILT WITH 5 NEW FACES

ATLETICO DE MADRID has virtually sealed the makeup of its
new team for 2008/2009 today after presenting its 5ºth
signning to the media. Chech International defender Tomas
Ujfalusi possed to media with his new uniform, after leaving
Italian team Fiorentina. Before him Dutch International defender
Heitinga, midfielder Assuncao, French International goalkeeper
Coupet & French forward Sinama have all been presented to the
media as new members of Atletico on previous days.

Atletico has strenghtened all its lines in order to make a competive
team for this years "Liga" & more importantly, its Champions
League participation.

Here is a video with all 5º signnings.The team is shapping up well!

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER NEWS 2008: VILLA, HLEB, LUIS GARCIA & VAN DER VAART

SFS has posted this news before, LIVERPOOL FC has VALENCIA
CF & Spanish International forward DAVID VILLA on their agenda.
Liverpool FC coach Rafa Benitez has admitted publically that Villa is
an objective & would be ideal to form up with Torres in the forward
line.

The idea is good, but it will be difficult to get Villa out of Valencia. Apart
from his 40M€ price tag, his Club has announced that they count on the
player for next season

















According to Sports daily "Sport", FC BARCELONA has sealed a
deal with ARSENAL for the transfer of midfielder ALEXANDER
HLEB. The cost is 15M€ + incentives that take it to a total of
18M€.





















ESPANYOL forward LUIS GARCIA ( below) has slipped from
the grasp of Benfica & has been signned by English Premier
League Club TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR. According to local source,
"Marca", the deal was shut yesterday in a Madrid restuarant &
the price settled was 12M€


















The below is todays cover of"Marca" that says "REAL MADRID
has an agreement with VAN DER VAART...& & will begin talks
with HAMBURG in the next days"

Surprising, as yesterday (see below post) the same player was
being talked about with ATLETICO DE MADRID.

Stay tuned as this has some "meat" behind it!

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER NEWS BRIEFS 2008

Portugues International DECO will be a new player of English
Premier League Club CHELSEA FC for the next 3 years. The
31 year old was delighted after FC BARCELONA accepted the
10M€ transfer deal.

Deco will join Scolari - ex Portugues National team coach - who
has no doubt played an important part in conviencing the player
to go over to London.
























Staying in the English Premier League, TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS
has made a 12M€ offer to Spanish Club ESPANYOL for its dynamic
forward LUIS GRACIA - pictured below. The Spanish Club price the
player much higher & will no doubt begin a long process of hard
negotiations. It is also not known if the player himself wishes to go to
London. Stay tuned!
























With REAL ZARAGOZA playing in 2ºdivision next season, it must
begin its "spring sale" of top players as they could not afford to pay
the star salaries.

One of its top players, Argentine International forward DIEGO
MILITO is talking with Italian Club JUVENTUS & are advancing
in their talks.

The only small obstacule at this point is Real Zaragoza´s price tag:
18-20M€, a bit steep for the Italians they say.

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SPAIN EURO CUP 2008 CHAMPIONS - FOOTBALL WINS OVER PRAGMATISM (SEE VIDEOS)

SPAIN is still shining in happiness as the below 11 players gave the
nation the 2008 European Championship title, along with subs. Cazorla,
Xavi Alonso & Dani Guiza - plus the rest of the squad - after defeating
GERMANY 0-1 in the final.

















What can SFS say that has not been already been said? The only
things that comes to SFS mind is that the best team won - which
does not always happen - & that the "ideal" of Football won over
strategy & pragmatism.

EURO 2008 has given Spain & World Football the birth of a new

generation of young & Internationally experienced players that

will give plenty of happiness in the upcoming future. This squad will
be the nucleus of the future Spanish National squads that will now
face the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, 6 begin the difficult road

to the South African World Cup 2010.










It was the goal from Liverpool Fc forward FERNANDO TORRES

in the 33rd min that put Spain in front & was enough to give Spain
the final & the Championship. Here is the video of the goal incase you
missed it:

FERNANDO TORRES was voted MAN OF THE MATCH & DAVID
VILLA won the Goal scorer of Euro 2008 with his 4 goals

Here is the VIDEO of more highlights & Spain picking up its medals
& the Cup ( Lets hope YouTube does´nt remove the clip after Uefa
solicitation, if so SFS will find another):

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SPAIN : FINAL EURO 2008 - ITS CESC FABREGAS MOMENT

The injury of Spanish forward & current leading Goal scorer at
EURO 2008 David Villa, has ruled him out of next Sundays Final
against Germany, barring a "miracle" or a strategic plan from
the Spainish coach.

The chosen player to fill that vital gap is rumoured to be Arsenal
player CESC FABREGAS who took on the role in the semifinal to
put in a brilliant performance & make look that Villa´s injury
did not make any difference. In fact he was fundamental in Spain´s
2º goal & part of the chain in the others.
























The young midfield star has been habitually 1ºsubstitute in the
Spanish Squad due to the overflowing talent of midfielders
currently blessing Spain ( Senna, Iniesta, Silva, Xavi, Xavi Alonso,
Carzola...) & on Sunday he is more than likely to be in the starting
line up. If so, it´s his moment, it´s his opportunity to add the cherry
on the cake of Spain´s Euro 2008 performance & consolidate
himself in the elite of World Football.

Enourmous pressure, but this 21 year old is already a mature player
& his tremendous talent will shine in this difficult situation. It´s an
opportunity that most players would give both legs to be in, it´s
simply going to be his crunch time. Tweet

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER BRIEFS 2008: GUIZA & HENRIQUE

The Spanish League Top Goal Scorer (27 goals) & European
Silver Boot, DANI GUIZA, has a pre-agreement with Turkish
team FENERBACHE. The Turks are willing to side-step the Spaniards
actual Club MALLORCA & directly pay his contract release clause of
15M€, but the money has not been seen & this opens up possibilties.

His EURO 2008 performance has attracted the interest of
MANCHESTER CITY, TOTTENHAM & AC ROMA & the players
representaive is already in discussions as the Turks fail to materialize
their promise & the money.
























FC BARCELONA has shut a transfer deal with Brazilian Club
PALMEIRES for its 21 year old International HENRIQUE
(pictured below). The defender cost 10M€ & has signned for
the next 5 years.

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER NEWS 2008: ADEBAYOR, KONKO & COUPET

More movements, rumours & signnings in the transfer market
& in the Spanish League for next season. Here are just three that
splash the local Spanish papers.
























According to "Marca", ARSENAL & FC BARCELONA have come
to an agreement to transfer forward ADEBAYOR (above) to
Barça for 27M€. This is the only paper to say that its a done deal,
while the others just say that it is a virtual deal.














Yesterday - post below- SFS mentioned the possibility of GENOA
defender KONKO going to SEVILLA FC. Today Spanish daily
"Marca" confirms the transfer of the 24 year old & announce that
the deal is a 5 season contract.

French International goalkeeper COUPET ( above) was in Madrid
yesterday meeting with ATLETICO DE MADRID officials, which has
sparked speculations of a possible transfer.

Atletico has "lost" goalkeeper Abatti ( on loan from AC Milan) & Leo
Franco is hearing the "sirens" from Argentine Champions River Plate.
Stay tuned!

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER RUMOURS 2008:REAL MADRID, FC BARCELONA & SEVILLA FC

Here are some transfer talk & rumours of interest picked up today
from the local Sporting press.

According to daily "As" REAL MADRID will transfer ROBINHO if
CRISTIANO RONLADO finally manages to make the jump to Madrid.
The Spanish Club has placed a 40M€ price tag on the Brazilian which
will help finance the Cristiano "operation".

Chelsea under Scolari is interested & so is Manchester United, with the
latter in a better position for the above reasons.
























FC BARCELONA in their quest for a Nº9 forward will step up
its offensive to secure a player asap. Local dailys "Sport" &
"Mundo Deportivo" report that Barça has made a 29M€ offer
to ARSENAL for its forward ADEBAYOR (pictured below).
The English Club is not keen in selling, but may find the offer
tempting.














SEVILLA FC have moved fast to cover the loss of defender
Dani Alves, with the almost certain signning of GENOA 24
year old defender ABDOULAY KONKO. The terms are said
to be around 2M€/season for 3 years.

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER SPECULATIONS 2008: ATLETICO & FC BARCELONA

Just a few quick briefs from the transfer rumour scene in Spanish
Football, starting with ATLETICO DE MADRID.

The Madrid Club wishes to incorporate a 3ºrd forward to accompany
Forlan - Aguero & have their eye on RECREATIVO 24 year old
Frenchmen SINAMA PONGOLLE (below) after another option
Ricardo Oliveira from Zaragoza loses strengh with his 15M€ price
tag.

According to "AS", Atletico wishes to speed up negotiations this week
with player & Recreativo.















Other news from England & it´s daily "The Sun" claim that English
club NEWCASTLE has made an offer of 10M€ for ATLETICO DE
MADRID player JOSE ANTONIO REYES. Although the Spanish
Club have said they count with Reyes, they also mention that the offer
is interesting. Stay tuned!















FC BARCELONA continue building & renewing its squad for
next season & now turn its eyes on young 21 year old SPORTING
DE LISBOA & Portugues International midfielder JOAO
MOUTINHO (below). His market value is said to be 25M€ &
maybe a bit steep for Barça, apart from the fact that Arsenal, Man
Utd & Liverpool FC are also interested.

The player has commented that he will not make announcements
until after the Euro 2008 competition.

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SPANISH FOOTBALL NEWS & ODD PIECES: GUARDIOLA, BARÇA, AGUERO, REAL MADRID...

According to all the Sp. press ( from "Marca" to "El Pais") FC
BARCELONA has made its decision on who will be the teams
new coach next season. The man for the job is ex- Spanish
International & ex-Barcelona midfielder & Captain JOSEP
GUARDIOLA (as seen below)

This confirms the end of the Frank Rijkaard era of 5 years, which gave
the club 2 Spanish Leagues & 1 European Cup, excellent results for any
coach in any other club. However, FC Barcelona ( like most Spanish
Clubs) the only success are titles & in a continuos stream.

Some are questioning this decision commenting that Guardiola has
no experience ( coaches Barça´s B side), but so was the case of
Rijkaard when he arrived. Lets wish him good luck.


















Who is the person next to the Atletico de Madrid star
SERGIO AGUERO?


















Argentine leyend DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA made a
surprise visit to the Atletico de Madrid training session yesterday
to see Sergio Aguero in action. The reason? The player is dating
the daughter of Maradona & like any possible father-in-law he is
keeping an eye on the boy.












Now that REAL MADRID are officially Spanish League Champions for
2007-08, the SFS readers have sent emails requesting an image of the
team. Well folks, hope this is what your looking for, the team photo for
this season. Tweet

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DEPORTIVO A CORUÑA NEWS 2008: AOUTE & MANUA FIGHT ( PHYSICALLY) FOR THE GOALKEEPING SPOT

It´s always said that competition is good & keeps the boys in shape. This
philosophy went beyond an intellectual level today when both of
DEPORTIVO´s goalkeepers, the Israeli DUDA AOUTE ( picture above)
& Uruguayian GUSTAVO MANUA ( pictured below) carried their
particular "battle" into the dressing rooms after training today. The result
was a fist fight between both that saw Aoute come out with a 6º stitch
injury. In coloquial terms, Aoute got the shit punched out of him by
Manua (see the bottom picture).

This all happens after Aoute publically critised his substitution at the goal
mouth after some basic "mistakes" that the Israeli could not understand,
& did not take at all into account the good & hard work up till now of his
teammate Manua.

Its obvious that this is a very real sign of the problems that Deportivo A
Coruña are having this year , who are currently at the bottom of the ladder
& in danger of heading for relegation if they do not pull their act together.
This incident also puts more pressure on coach Lotina who is on the wire
in being possibly sacked. Stay tuned!

LATEST NEWS: 12 January - Coach Lotina announce that niether will
again play this season!

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