Pellegrini holds strategy talks with City chiefs... and he's ready to fly in for unveiling
Incoming Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has held a strategy meeting with sporting director Txiki Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano before he has even been unveiled.
City hope to announce Pellegrini as manager on Wednesday or Thursday after agreeing terms with the former Malaga and Villarreal coach.
But Begiristain, Soriano and academy head Brian Marwood flew to Spain last week to talk to the 59-year-old about signings and trying to overhaul Barclays Premier League champions Manchester United.
City on Tuesday night confirmed the signing of winger Jesus Navas from Sevilla for an initial £14.9million to take their summer spending close to £45m following the capture of Brazil midfielder Fernandinho from Shakhtar Donetsk. They also want a striker.
Navas, 27, said: ‘Manchester City are an exciting project and this is the right moment for me to take this step.’
Pellegrini will talk to unsettled Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry and Joleon Lescott when he starts. City will travel to South Africa, Hong Kong and Helsinki in pre-season.
Man City target not ‘unsellable’
AC Milan are open to selling star youngster Stephen El Shaarawy this summer, which has in turn, alerted Manchester City.
The Metro is reporting that the forward, who is also being watched by Arsenal, could be sold in the transfer window to resolve financial issues at the Milan club.
“He is the player who has the biggest value in the market,” Milan chief Adriano Galliani said.
“The price? It has not yet been fixed, but I cannot say that he is unsellable, because in modern football that is a difficult word to say.”
However, El Shaarawy played down talks of joining the Premier League, saying: “I don’t think I will leave Milan. If City really wants me, it flatters me.
“But I want to stay here at AC Milan. I always felt total confidence from all: the club, coach Massimiliano Allegri and team-mates.”
El Shaarawy is one of the hottest talents in Europe after scoring 18 goals in Serie A this season, and he has also impressed on international duty with Italy.
The 20-year-old could have featured for Italy’s Under-21 side in the European Championship in Israel, but the Milan forward was with the senior squad instead, starting in Italy’s 0-0 draw with the Czech Republic last Friday.
£100,000-a-week average sees City top global wages league
Manchester City's staggering rise over the last five years has been highlighted with the news that they are the highest paying club in any sport in the world.
City's players now average £100,764 per week (or £5.2m per year) according to Sporting Intelligence's Global Sports Salaries Survey for 2013. That figure means the former Premier League champions, who have completed the signing of Seville winger Jesus Navas for £14.9m, have the best-paid players in any team sport.
City sit above Real Madrid (£90,734 per week) and Barcelona (£90,201 per week) as one of three football teams in the top five.
Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers (£93,380 per week) are in second place and the New York Yankees (£89,407 per week) are fifth. The figures are collated from average first-team pay to produce as close as possible comparison between 278 teams in 14 leagues in seven sports across 10 countries where first-team squads can vary in size.
The figures cover a variety of sports including football, basketball, ice hockey, cricket and baseball and come from a variety of countries.
They do not, however, include France's Ligue 1, where Paris St-Germain and Monaco are becoming major players.
Monaco have given a clear indication of the size of their ambition by spending £110m on new players already this summer. The French Ligue 2 champions have bought Joao Moutinho, James Rodriguez and fought off competition for the signature of Radamel Falcao by paying Atletico Madrid £50m for the striker.
The last eight winners of the Champions League are in the top 12 of the pay charts, with Chelsea in eighth place and current Premier League champions Manchester United in 12th.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the list then has Arsenal in 15th place (£70,503 per week), Liverpool in 21st place (£64,551 per week) and then Tottenham Hotspur in 51st place (£50,538 per week).
What may cause consternation is the relatively high placing of Aston Villa (£41,736 per week), Sunderland (£35,938 per week) and Newcastle United (£34,815 per week), who are all in the top 75 payers.
All three teams spent most of last season fighting for Premier League survival at the foot of the table.
Queen's Park Rangers' players, who were relegated, also averaged a salary of £32,569 per week, enough to put them in 91st place.
Norwich City were the lowest payers from the Premier League in the table, sitting at 175th with their players earning an average of £19,434 per week.
The figures for Premier League teams were from the season ended in 2012
That means those average weekly salaries are heading for a significant boost, with the new television deal reckoned to be worth around £1.8bn a season.
Adriano Galliani: 'AC Milan are not interested in Carlos Tevez' ... ZZzzzzz
AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has claimed that the club are no longer interested in Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez.
The Italian recently said that he was a fan of the Argentina forward, sparking rumours that the Serie A side were readying a bid for the player.
However, Galliani has since said that no such offer will be forthcoming and that the club are well stocked in their striking department.
"There are no negotiations for Tevez," Galliani told reporters.
GOLDEN BOLLOX 12 June 1972
Malcolm Allison takes over as manager at City after Joe Mercer's reign as Blues' boss comes to and end. Allison, head coach during Mercer's seven years in the Maine Road, had been keen to branch out on his own and with the board's backing, he is finally given the chance he craved for. Many feel Mercer's treatment is unfair - he will later move to Coventry City - and Allison's tenure is ultimately unsuccessful, lasting only nine months before he too moves on and in doing so brings to an end a glorious era in City's history.
Napoli join Manchester City for £10m France star
Manchester City & Arsenal transfer news: Premier League clubs face fight for PSG star Blaise Matuidi
Manchester City and Arsenal face competition from Rafa Benitez's Napoli for Paris St Germain midfielder Blaise Matuidi, according to talkSHIT.
The France international is out of contract in 12 months time, and City and Arsenal have both been linked with summer moves.
But Napoli have identified the 26-year-old holding midfielder as the ideal signing to strengthen their midfield for a Champions League push next term.
The report claims City are willing to offer PSG around £10m, although Matuidi will be able to leave for nothing in a years time.
The 2011-12 Premier League champions have been busy in the transfer market already despite not having named a replacement for departed boss Roberto Mancini.
Brazil international Fernandinho has joined from Shakhtar Donetsk while Jesus Navas has agreed a switch from Sevilla.
The club insist they've learned from the mistakes of last summer when they failed to land any of their top transfer targets and were left struggling as the deadline approached.
Matuidi, who has been a long-term target for Arsenal, primarily operates as a deep lying midfielder. And he enjoyed an impressive season for PSG as the Paris-based side won the Ligue 1 title last term.
He joined the team from St Etienne in 2011 and has 12 caps for his country.
Cat-astrophic news as Wimblydon, the Manchester City moggy, dies
City officials say Wimblydon caught an estimated 200 mice, ate 7,000 sachets of food and sank more than 100 litres of milk at the club's Carrington training base.
It delivered a dead mouse to Kevin Keegan and survived an encounter with Mario Balotelli but Manchester's most famous moggie has used all of its nine lives.
The club delivered the cat-astrophic news on their Twitter account earlier this afternoon that Wimblydon, the Manchester City cat, is dead.
But if devastated Blues fans are not feline good they need only look back on the joy the ginger tom has brought to the club's Carrington base.
Wimblydon arrived at the training facility around 13 years ago and was thought to have been a stray.
He was initially named 'Puss' by the not-so-imaginative souls in the kit room.
But a short time later he appeared in reception just as the Blues fitness coach Juan Carlos Osario mentioned that City were due to play 'Wimblydon'.
After the laughter at Osario's peculiar pronunciation had died down, the name was handed to the cat.
City officials say Wimblydon caught an estimated 200 mice, ate 7,000 sachets of food and sank more than 100 litres of milk.
His highlights were delivering the mouse to then manager Keegan's office and becoming the first living creature to meet firebrand Balotelli when he arrived for his first day at training.
Despite emerging unscathed from that experience he succumbed to old age.
A Blues statement said: “It is with great sadness that we announce that the Carrington Club Cat Wimblydon passed away this afternoon RIPWimbly.”
MCF.NET THREAD: viewtopic.php?f=119&t=46095
Manchester City Moves Up A Gear With Daihatsu Partnership
Manchester City Football Club has announced a new partnership with Daihatsu.
The deal will see the manufacturer in Japan become the Club’s Official Automotive Partner in Indonesia next season.
The new partnership, announced at a press conference in Jakarta, will see City become Daihatsu’s first ever Football Club Partner in the vehicle makers 106 year history.
Chief Commercial & Operating officer for Manchester City, Tom Glick commented: “Daihatsu’s heritage and legacy within the automotive industry, in particular throughout Asia is unparalleled.
"To be chosen as Daihatsu’s first ever Football Club Partner is not only a huge privilege, but a compliment to City’s growing appeal around the world.
“City and Daihatsu share both a pioneering spirit and commercial ambition, driving both brands forward. We look forward to working with Daihatsu to create innovative campaigns for the millions of Indonesian fans and customers of both of our organizations fusing their passion for great football and cars”.
The Club’s sentiment is also shared by Amelia Tjandra, Marketing Director of PT Astra Daihatsu Motor (ADM), Daihatsu sole agent in Indonesia, who said: “Football is arguably the most popular sport in Indonesia, played on all levels throughout the world’s 4th largest population.
“Manchester City enjoys a huge following in the region and Daihatsu’s market share has grown and grown over the last four years, to the second largest for eco-friendly compact cars in the country.
“Through synergising our resources and customers bases, we have the opportunity to engage with Indonesia like never before.”
Under the deal, Daihatsu will be activating its partnership with City’s crest and players throughout their vast dealership network, spanning 52 cities.
City players will also film a TV advert later in the year and visit Indonesia this Summer to take part in local promotions, as part of City’s tour of Southeast Asia.
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Monaco are ready to make a world record £85m bid for Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and pay the 28-year-old a £17m annual salary. Independent
Manchester United are prepared to pay Robert Lewandowski £90,000 a week to convince him to move to England. The 24-year-old was expected to stay in Germany and move to Bayern Munich, but Borussia Dortmund have vowed not to sell him to their Bundesliga rivals. Sun
Alan Pardew is considering a £6m bid for striker Darren Bent, 29, who has been told he can leave Aston Villa. Daily Telegraph
New Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will tell Brazil international centre-back David Luiz, 26, he must play how he is instructed or he will be sold. Daily Express
New Everton boss Roberto Martinez is hoping to sign Wigan's Antolin Alcaraz by the end of the week. The 30-year-old is a free agent but the Paraguay international had an injury-hit spell at the DW Stadium. Daily Mirror
But another Wigan player, Arouna Kone, has distanced himself from a move to Everton with the 29-year-old insisting he is happy to stay. Metro
Newcastle face competition from Italian and Russian sides to land long-term target Douglas. The 24-year-old centre-back is available on a free transfer after his contract with Dutch side Twente came to an end. The Journal
West Ham are hopeful of concluding a deal for 36-year-old former AC Milan midfielder Massimo Ambrosini. DSSC
Norwich boss Chris Hughton is closing in on PSV Eindhoven's Swedish international forward Ola Toivonen who has scored 59 goals in 125 appearances since moving to the Dutch League. The 26-year-old is also a target for Fulham. Daily Mirror
Hull City's Republic of Ireland defender Paul McShane is on the verge of signing a new three-year deal with the newly promoted Premier League club, a year after the 27-year-old almost quit the game. DSSC
Queens Park Rangers are hoping to persuade Danny Simpson to drop out of the Premier League. The 26-year-old defender will become a free agent when his Newcastle United contract expires at the end of the month. Shields Gazette
Swansea could negotiate another loan move for Netherlands midfielder Jonathan de Guzman, 25, if they cannot agree a fee with Spanish side Villarreal. Wales Online
Sunderland have signed French midfielder El-Hadji Ba, 20, from Le Havre on a three-year deal. L'Equipe
AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani says Stephan El Shaarawy, 20, is not "unsellable". The Egyptian-born striker is interesting Manchester City. Gazzetta Dello Sport
Malaga have signed on-loan Portuguese defender Vitorino Antunes, 26, on a four-year deal for £1m. El Mundo
Villarreal have announced the departure of veteran midfielder Marcos Senna, 36, for the MLS, but it is not yet clear which team he will be joining. RTV.es
Wayne Rooney, 27, is worried that the Manchester United fans will not forgive him after former manager Alex Ferguson said that the striker had made a second transfer request in three years. The England international disputes that claim. Times
Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas is set to be offered £40m to become the new manager of Paris St-Germain. The French champions had lined up Guus Hiddink to replace Real Madrid-bound Carlo Ancelotti, after Jose Mourinho snubbed them to return to Chelsea, but Hiddink has decided to stay at Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala. Daily Mirror
Midfielder Joey Barton has asked to be paid £3.5m to quit relegated Queens Park Rangers. The 30-year-old, who spent last year on loan at French side Marseille, has two years left on a £70,000-a-week deal and is demanding half of that to get him off the payroll. Sun
