Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi started playing football at a very early age in his hometown's Newell's Old Boys. From the age of 11, he suffered from a hormone deficiency and as Lionel's parents were unable to pay for the treatment in Argentina, they decided to move to Barcelona, Spain.

Cesc Fabregas

Unlike the aforementioned Messi, Fabregas left hometown club Barcelona at the age of just 16 when joining Arsenal in 2003 and it was a gamble that quickly paid off. After the club had gone unbeaten in 2003-04, Wenger could ignore the talent of Fabregas no longer and his stunning emergence the following season even convinced his manager to sell captain Patrick Vieira, such was his faith in the Spaniard who took the famous number four shirt.

Fernando Torres

Appropriately for a player nicknamed El Nino ('The Kid'), Torres has set tongues wagging from a very early age. After coming through the ranks at Atletico Madrid he became the club's youngest ever player in May 2001 and was later installed as their youngest ever captain at the age of 19. However, despite his admirable loyalty over a period of six years, Torres was finally lured to Anfield in the summer of 2007 for a fee of around £21.5 million, just weeks after 'You'll Never Walk Alone' was seen inscribed on his captain's armband at Atleti.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The year 2006 to 2008 proved to be a rather controversial year for the star. In the 2006 World Cup, Cristiano faced accusations regarding his sportsmanship. In a quarter-final match against England, he was heavily criticized for sending of his club team mate, Wayne Rooney who was playing for the England team.

Carlos Vela

A succession of superb performances at the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2005 convinced Arsenal to pay £125,000 for the Mexican forward, and although he has shown flashes of genius, the onus is very much on Vela to demonstrate he is a valuable first-team member after inheriting Robin van Persie's No. 11 shirt at Emirates Stadium ahead of the 2010-11 season.

Didier Drogba

Undoubtedly one of the best centre forwards in the world, Drogba still manages to polarise opinion with his theatrical and temperamental style of play taking the shine off the powerful striker's incredible talent. Drogba moved from his native Ivory Coast to France in 1988, living with his uncle in order to pursue a career in football

Carlos Tevez

Carlos Tevez is a history maker in South America having been named that continent’s player of the season for three years in succession. He arrived garlanded with medals having won the Copa Scudamerocana, the Intercontinental Cup, the Primera Division and the Copa Libertadores with Boca Juniors and Serie A in Brazil with Corinthians before moving to England, where he won two Premier League titles, the Champions League and the Carling Cup.

Showing posts with label Transfer News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transfer News. Show all posts

Blues linked with Mata bid

8:37 PM Admin

Chelsea are reported to have made a bid in the region of £27 million for Valencia midfielder Juan Mata.

Andre Villas-Boas is known to be keen to add to his midfield, both to increase numbers and to inject creativity after the team struggled to provide record signing Fernando Torres with sufficient service after his move from Liverpool in January.

Luka Modric is still said to be on the club's radar - though Villas-Boas told a press conference on Thursday that the continuation of the pursuit will be the "club's decision" - but widespread reports in England and Spain suggest that, for now, attention has turned to 23-year-old Mata.

Marca reported the news of Chelsea's interest earlier this week, and Valencia-based SuperDeporte claims "talks between the directors at the London club and Valencia have intensified". The Las Provincias newspaper says Chelsea are ready to pay between €25 million and €30 million, and that Valencia would accept, with Sergio Canales' arrival from Real Madrid offering adequate cover.

The Daily Telegraph, more specifically, claims Chelsea have bid £27 million and adds: "The offer is expected to secure the 23 year-old from Valencia, who are likely to accept the bid ahead of interest from Tottenham Hotspur." The Daily Mail, which reported that Chelsea had seen a £22 million bid for Mata rejected earlier this week, also puts the value of the bid at £27 million but claims the offer includes a further £2 million in top-up payments.

Asked to comment on links with Mata, Raul Meireles and Porto duo Joao Moutinho and Alvaro Pereira, Villas-Boas would only say: "We have been studying all kinds of options."

With their young manager at the helm, Chelsea have been eager to inject youth into the playing staff, and on Thursday completed the signing of 18-year-old Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku. Villas-Boas has tipped the youngster for great success at Stamford Bridge.

"He is tremendously powerful, very strong in the challenges," he said. "Despite his size, he has an explosiveness and an ability to react quickly which looks pretty amazing. He just has to break through this competitive level and, for sure, he will get opportunities this year."

Source

Madrid Weigh Up Move For Rooney

3:44 PM Admin

Real Madrid's director general, Jorge Valdano, has confirmed his admiration for Wayne Rooney but suggested there may be no place for him in the current team.

Rooney sparked talk of a Manchester United exit last week when he contradicted Sir Alex Ferguson's claims that he had an ankle injury, and it is said he is now refusing to discuss a contract extension.

Rooney, 24, has just 18 months to run on his current deal and, amid claims he has fallen out with Ferguson, it is reported that United could cash in.

United took the unusual step of dismissing the stories on Sunday - "To suggest Wayne Rooney will be sold in January is nonsense," a club spokesman said - but the reports have intensified across the English press on Monday morning.

Madrid have long been linked with a move for Rooney, with former president Ramon Calderon claiming in March that his successor, Florentino Perez, is "obsessed" with the England international, while Cristiano Ronaldo has said he would be a "sensation" at the Bernabeu.

Jose Mourinho has talked down the prospect of a new signing in January despite strong links with Athletic Bilbao forward Fernando Llorente, but he is known to be keen to add further options in attack with only Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema as traditional strikers.

Valdano told Telemadrid: "I really like Llorente and Rooney, too, but the question is, if Rooney comes, who do we take out of the team? We have a brilliant strikeforce in Ronaldo and Higuain and now we have added Ozil and Di Maria to complement them."

An exchange deal involving former United target Karim Benzema has been suggested in the press as a possible solution, but Valdano indicated that the striker has a future at the Bernabeu: "There are some very young players at the club with a lot to prove - for example Benzema. Maybe we have a solution for the next ten years."

Source: Soccernet