Paul Scholes retires and will take on Manchester United coaching role next season

By Jonathan Birchall

31 May 2011 09:05:00

Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has announced his retirement from playing but will remain at the club in a coaching capacity.

Scholes, who came through the United academy as part of the club's famous group of youngsters in the mid-1990s, played more than 650 times for the Old Trafford outfit and is widely acknowledged as one of the finest English footballers of his generation.

A one club man, Scholes picked up 24 winners medals during his time with the Red Devils, including 10 Premier League wins and two Champions League successes after making his debut in September 1994.

However, having struggled to secure first-team football this season, the 36-year old has opted not to sign a new playing contract at the club but will remain alongside Sir Alex Ferguson in a coaching role.

In a statement released on the club's official site, Scholes said: "I am not a man of many words but I can honestly say that playing football is all I have ever wanted to do and to have had such a long and successful career at Manchester United has been a real honour.

"This was not a decision that I have taken lightly but I feel now is the right time for me to stop playing. To have been part of the team that helped the club reach that 19th title is a great privilege.

"I would like to thank the fans for their tremendous support throughout my career, I would also like to thank all the coaches and players that I have worked with over the years, but most of all I would like to thank Sir Alex for being such a great manager, from the day I joined the club his door has always been open and I know this team will go on to win many more trophies under his leadership."

Ferguson has led the tributes to the former England international, stating that Scholes is an inspirational figure.

He said: "What more can I say about Paul Scholes that I haven't said before. We are going to miss a truly unbelievable player. Paul has always been fully committed to this club and I am delighted he will be joining the coaching staff from next season.

"Paul has always been inspirational to players of all ages and we know that will continue in his new role."

The club's chief executive, David Gill, has also paid tribute to the veteran, saying: "It is a very sad day for Manchester United fans around the world. We all know that Paul was one of the players that came through the ranks of the academy system in the 1990s and has established himself as one of the greatest players to ever wear the United shirt.

"It is very important that the club keeps its association with these great players and we are delighted that Paul will join the coaching staff."

FA chairman David Bernstein calls for Fifa to postpone presidential election

By Aaron McLoughlin

31 May 2011 11:05:00

FA chairman David Bernstein has released a statement confirming that the association wants Fifa to postpone the presidential election.

Current president Sepp Blatter is the only person in the running for the position after Mohamed Bin Hammam pulled out following his suspension after bribery allegations.

The FA has already confirmed that they have chosen to abstain from voting in the elections following corruption allegations, and now Bernstein is urging other national associations support them and has called for a "genuinely independent external party" to make recommendations to Fifa.

The statement reads: “On 19 May 2011 The Football Association announced it would be abstaining in the forthcoming election for the Fifa Presidency.

“There were two main reasons for this decision. First, a concern, that a series of allegations relating to Fifa ExCo Members made it difficult to support either candidate.

"Secondly, a concern about the lack of transparency and accountability within the organisation, contributing to the current unsatisfactory situation.

“Events of the last few days have reinforced our views, and we call on Fifa and ask other national associations to support us with two initiatives.

“First, to postpone the election and give credibility to this process, so any alternative reforming candidate could have the opportunity to stand for President.

“Secondly, to appoint a genuinely independent external party to make recommendations regarding improved governance and compliance procedures and structures throughout the Fifa decision making processes for consideration by the full membership.

“This has been a very damaging time for the reputation of Fifa and therefore the whole of football. To improve confidence in the way the game is governed at the very top, we believe these requests would be a positive step forward and the minimum that should take place.”

Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan has also backed Bernstein's plans by declaring that Fifa should postpone the election.

A statement reads:"The Scottish FA can today confirm its position that the Fifa presidential election be postponed in light of recent uncertainty.

"We believe the election should be rescheduled to facilitate a period of consultation to deal with the issues that have arisen in recent weeks. The events of the last two days, in particular, have made any election unworkable.

"The integrity and reputation of the game across the world is paramount and the Scottish FA urges Fifa to reconsider its intentions, and calls on other member associations to consider the long-term implications for the game’s image."

Regan also proposed that Fifa should "appoint a wholly independent ethics committee", improve decision-making processes and transparency, and set a new date for the election.

Let's win even more, roars Leo

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has warned the world that Pep Guardiola's team are hungrier than ever for more silverware.

Barca confirmed their place among history's greatest sides at Wembley on Saturday night.

The revered Catalans earned Guardiola his second Champions League trophy in three seasons and the club's fourth in total with an awesome 3-1 win over Manchester United in London.

It was Guardiola's 10th trophy in his first three years as a top-flight coach and effectively sealed Barca's place as one of the game's finest.

Messi, who characteristically scored Barca's winner with an excellent opportunist strike in the second half, has now won the European Cup three times. But the Argentinian, still just 23, wants so much more.

"This team is incredible," he said. "I think today we can't really fully appreciate what we're doing, what we are achieving.

"We want to keep winning trophies - and we can keep going further and further."

Even the modest Messi had to acknowledge the gulf in class.

"We were superior against Manchester and deserved the win," he said.

"It is another cup for us and I managed to score a goal again. I saw a bit of space there, the goalkeeper came out a bit and luckily it went in.

"Now we're going on holiday - after taking the cup home to our people - then we will start thinking about what we can achieve next season."

Victory saw Guardiola lift the European Cup as a coach 19 years after winning Barca's first as a player at Wembley.

It came, too, against the side Barca edged in Rome two years ago when the Catalans' class prevailed in a 2-0 win over Sir Alex Ferguson's United.

This time, victory was even more comprehensive.

Pedro, the most under-rated of Barca's illustrious line-up, gave his side a deserved lead when he coolly buried from Xavi's incisive pass.

United, who had started brightly, recovered well and went in at the break level following Wayne Rooney's well-worked equaliser.

But Barca's spirit and class told after the break as United struggled to keep answering questions posed by their opponents' dominance of the ball.

Guardiola's side, so often accused of trying to walk the ball in, won it with two uncharacteristic strikes.

First, Messi received a square pass from Andres Iniesta, carried it forward casually and, looking up, bent the ball past Edwin van der Sar with deceptive power.

Barca were not done, however, and wrapped it up with a deserved third when David Villa curled home a beautiful shot to really kick-start the victory celebrations.

Guardiola was then forced to spend time deflecting questions about his future, having been linked with the Chelsea job recently.

While he is known to be keen to avoid going stale at the Nou Camp, the local boy seems content to continue building a phenomenal legacy.

"We're pleased with the win because of how we did it, against Manchester United, one of the greats," he said.

"We have produced something extraordinary, though, and we have four European Cups now, joining Ajax and Bayern Munich."

The win took Barca ahead of United, who boast three, and one behind Liverpool, with five - though they remain five off record-holders Real Madrid.

Guardiola also highlighted the progress made since 2009, when he led Barca to an unprecedented treble in his first season in charge.

"We played much better than two years ago in Rome," he said. "And against a superb team that has also improved."

Barca forward Ibrahim Afellay, who came on as a substitute at Wembley, is desperate for Guardiola to stay.

The Dutchman, who only joined from PSV Eindhoven in January yet finds himself a European champion, said: "He signed a new contract (in February), so we think he is going to stay.

"We hope he stays, because he is the best coach in the world.

"He was part of the reason I joined. If a coach like that tells you he wants you then you come. But with a club like Barcelona, you don't have to think for one second."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger set to offer £8m for Blackburn Rovers defender Chris Samba - report

Arsenal are reportedly preparing an £8million deal forBlackburn Rovers defender Chris Samba to head to supportArsene Wenger’s back five.

The French boss is reportedly looking to find a candidate to solve the Gunners’ woes in central defence.

The Blackburn captain revealed that he almost exited the club in January but he extended his contract for another year in December after it was rumoured he wanted to join Aston Villa or Arsenal.

He told the Daily Mail: "Everybody knows that I am an ambitious player. I think a move to Arsenal was very close in January but that is life."

Samba made 36 appearances for the Rovers in the 2010-11 season and found the back of the net four times.

Manchester City defender Kolo Toure banned for six months after positive drugs test

 Kolo Toure

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Manchester City defender Kolo Toure will miss the start of next season after being banned from all football for failing a drugs test.

The Ivorian has been hit with the suspension by the FA after admitting a doping offence for taking his wife's diet pills. The ban has been back dated to March 2 when he was suspended by his club, meaning he will not be able to kick a ball again anywhere until September 2.

The City defender had to sit out the last two months of the season and missed his team's FA Cup triumph over Stoke as well as seeing his team-mates wrap up third spot in the Premier League and thus Champions League qualification.

In confirming the ban on Thursday evening, the FA revealed that Toure will also be the subject of target testing for a period of two years, but admitted the defender did not take the pills to try and increase performance.

"He did not intend to enhance sporting performance or to mask the use of a performance enhancing substance," the statement read.

"The Player accepted he was at fault and with that concession we agree. He was at fault in the limited and perfunctory efforts he made in relation to the water tablets; the checks he made in relation to those tablets were inadequate and fell some way below what it would be reasonable to expect of a professional footballer in these circumstances."

Toure admitted he was relieved the saga was over but claimed he was disappointed to have missed out on City's end of season successes.

“This has been a difficult period for me, and I am sad to have missed the team’s triumph of securing Champions League football for Manchester City and also the FA Cup victory at Wembley," commented Toure," he told City's official website.

"But I am relieved that I will be able to return to football in September and thank the FA’s commission for their understanding about my case in coming to their decision today.”

Manchester United's Patrice Evra out to avenge 2009 defeat to Barcelona: I couldn't face losing another Champions League final

Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra is aiming to avenge the memories of his side's 2009 Champions League final defeat at the hands of Barcelona with victory in Saturday's Wembley showdown between the two clubs.

The 30-year-old has previously admitted that an element of over-confidence may have led to United's 2-0 loss two years ago, and the Frenchman believes victory this time round would signal a massive achievement for the club.

Speaking to reporters, Evra said: “It doesn’t matter who we play against, whether it is Barcelona or another big team, when you are Man United, you do not have an excuse. You have to win.

“It is important to keep Manchester United on top of the world. In 2009, I was thinking if we win, that it is just normal. This year I would say it is going to be a big achievement if we win.

“I had a big frustration that summer when I was on holiday because we didn’t show enough of the Man United spirit and quality. We had been in the final in Moscow the season before and had won the trophy, and maybe we just believed too much."

Having won only one of the previous three finals he has played in, Evra insists he cannot afford to lose another this weekend.

"I am not allowed to lose another Champions League final," he said.

"If I played in four finals and only won one it would be difficult to keep playing in the Champions League. Maybe I would have to ask the manager not to play me in Europe again!

"I have to win this one."

Despite going on to win the Premier League, League Cup and Club World Cup trophies in the 2009 season, Evra insists that failure to succeed in Europe's elite competition meant any celebrations were subdued.

“I remember when we did the picture with the trophies in 2009,” he said. “We had won those three trophies, but on every picture I wasn’t smiling because we were missing that big trophy with the big ears.”

United have already gone on to win their record 19th Premier League title this season, yet the former Monaco player insists this will not lead to a drop in focus ahead of Saturday's final.

"The Champions League is the biggest trophy," he said. "Everybody in the world wants to win it.

"The Premier League title is very important of course. Winning the title is very difficult and it makes me very proud to know I have won it four times. But the Champions League is something different.

"The night of a Champions League game is magic and I can still remember the feeling when we won.

"But to lose is a very bad feeling. I don't want it to happen again."

Arsenal & Tottenham have both made offers for £26m Porto striker Radamel Falcao - agent

EXCLUSIVE
By Andrea Ghislandi

Arsenal and Tottenham have tabled offers for Porto's £26m-rated forward Radamel Falcao, his agent has claimed.
The Colombian striker has enjoyed his most prolific season in European football, helping the club to the treble, and his agent has confirmed that the 25-year-old's performances have attracted attention from the two north London clubs.

Claudio Mossio of Sivori and Asociados, the company that represents the striker, told Goal.com: "Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are the two clubs that are keen to sign him, and have already tabled an offer for Falcao."

The striker, who has a buy-out clause of €30m (£26m), has also courted attention from clubs from Serie A, but due to a lack of EU passport, a move to Italy is unlikely to materialise at this stage.

Mossio continued: "He is 25-years-old, but he still has plenty of room for improvement. The problem with a transfer to Italy is that he does not have a EU passport. He has a contract for two more years with Porto and has a buy-out clause of €30m.

"The club that matches that clause has a good chance of signing him. Porto want to open contract talks and offer him a new and improved deal to insert a higher minimum fee release clause."

Mossio added that the chances of a move to Italy would increase if the Italian Football Federation were to allow its clubs to sign an extra player from outside the EU, but conceded that a move to Spain or England is more likely.

He said: "The chances of a move to Italy increase if that would happen. However, the Spanish and English clubs are sitting in pole position. Inter already have [Giampaolo] Pazzini as striker, while Juventus have [Alessandro] Matri. He would be a good addition to Roma."

Falcao struck a record 17 goals in the Europa League in 2010-11 as Porto enjoyed a memorable campaign under the tutelage of coach Andre Villas-Boas.

Since joining the club from River Plate in the summer of 2009, the striker has won the Portuguese league title, two Portuguese cups, two Supercups and the Europa League.

Speaking exclusively to Goal.com last year, Falcao's father, Radamel Garcia, confirmed that his son is interested in playing in England and has already started to learn the language.

“All his life he has wanted to play in English football," he said.
 
“A footballer always wants to go to the best team. It depends on the possibilities. He will listen to the best offer and see what suits him best.

"He also finds the Italian and Spanish leagues attractive. It depends on the club. But he hopes it’s in English football."

He added: "He speaks some English. He’s been learning it for five or six years.

"In Portugal he has English classes every afternoon. He’s preparing for the possibility of going to England.
 
“He watches English football on TV a lot. He watches all the matches. He likes Wayne Rooney a lot and liked Thierry Henry when he was there."

Sir Alex Ferguson confirms Manchester United set to sign Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Manchester United are set to sign Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea.

Edwin van der Sar will retire after his side’s Champions League final against Barcelona on Saturday and Ferguson, who was speaking after Gary Neville’s testimonial, revealed the 20-year-old is on his way to replace the Dutchman.

“Well we’ve been working on it for quite a while. We identified him quite a while back as one we should go for. He’s a young goalkeeper, very quick, good composure, presence, he’s an outstanding replacement to Edwin vander Sar,” Ferguson told Sky Sports.

Goal.com revealed last Saturday that United had decided on De Gea to become the new first-choice at Old Trafford for a fee of £17.5 million.

The Spanish goalkeeper has beaten off competition in Schalke’s Manuel Neuer and Ajax’s Maarten Stekelenburg and Ferguson conceded the hunt to find Van der Sar’s replacement was difficult, given the form of the 40-year-old in his final season.

“Of course it does [make things difficult]. But we’re looking at the same types of quality because the one great quality that Edwin always had was his composure and organisational ability and with David De Gea he’s very similar that way.”

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has not talked with Arsenal talks - agent

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema’s agent has denied speculation linking the player to a £21.6 million move toArsenal claiming he went to London purely for “personal business”.

Benzema who moved to the Bernabeu in 2009, has found his opportunities for first-team football limited even despite a rich vein of the form heading into the final part of the season.

The Spanish giants have been reported to have shown an interest in making Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor move to the Bernabeu permanent.

However, they need to raise the funds to finance the deal which would pave the way for the Frenchman to team up with his national compatriot Wenger.

But the suggestion that Benzema’s agent Karim Djaziri, had travelled travel to London to thrash out a deal to bring the striker to the Emirates was quashed by Djaziri though he did suggest that the player had been unhappy with the amount of playing time he had received under Jose Mourinho.

"I went to London for personal business, not to discuss any transfer," Djaziri told reporters.

"Karim Benzema has a contract with Real Madrid so let's wait and see.

"He loves Madrid and wants to play every time as he loves playing football."