Diego Ribas is not for sale

Werder Bremen midfielder Diego Ribas is moving further away from a move to Juventus after sporting director Klaus Allofs revealed he is not for sale.

The Bianconeri are well known to be keen on the Brazilian; coach Claudio Ranieri going so far as to reveal the club’s interest. Juve have been looking at the midfielder as a possible replacement for Pavel Nedved, who is due to retire at the end of the season.

Reports suggested the Italian giants were set to hold talks with Diego and his agent, however, the Germans have other ideas.

"Diego has a contract until 2011 and we want to keep him. He is not for sale," Allofs told Bild.

Juve have been hot on Diego's heels for almost two years, but they have yet to secure the 23 year-old playmaker’s signature. Manchester City have also shown an interest, but a move to England for Diego seems unlikely.

Despite the voices coming from his current employers, the Bianconeri will not be giving up on the midfielder. They believe he is the best player to fill the void that will be left Nedved’s retirement.

Abu Dhabi United Group to purchase Chelsea

Roman Abramovich's resolve to keep hold of Chelsea could be tested by a consortium of German investors whose proposal is being fronted by the Arab tycoon who masterminded the takeover of Manchester City.

Peter Kenyon, the Chelsea chief executive, has been eager to emphasise Abramovich’s long-term commitment to the club, but that has not stopped Dr Sulaiman al-Fahim, who led the Abu Dhabi United Group’s purchase of City in September, drawing up a takeover proposal with Falcon Equity, a Swiss-based private-equity partnership. It is understood that it has a number of German investors ready to fund any buyout.

"It's not entirely clear if Chelsea is for sale, but regardless of that, we first need to see if we are in a position to buy it," Al Fahim said.

"Given that Roman Abramovich has invested over £500m into the club, it would not be cheap, and with the current credit crunch, nobody wants to be over-exposed on one deal. But through a number of investors, there is money available to put together a deal."
Holger Heims, the managing partner of Falcon Equity, told Arabianbusiness.com that the group believed everything, including Chelsea Football Club, had its price.

"We have looked before at some European clubs to see if the numbers added up, and now we are doing the same with Chelsea," he said. "I don't believe anything is ever not for sale if you come up with the right price.

"It's not about trying to buy a football team but about a business. You don't make money because 11 guys run around the pitch, you make money because of all the other commercial aspects that go with a football club, particularly real estate and television rights."

Abramovich reaffirmed his commitment to the club over the weekend by claiming that despite suffering heavy losses in the global financial crisis, he did not need to sell the club.

"Chelsea is not for sale. The owner has not and is not looking to sell his interest in the club and he remains as committed as ever," a statement read.

Abramovich bought Chelsea in a deal worth £140m in 2003.

Transfer Players In English League-January 2009

Lionel Ainsworth [Watford - Huddersfield] Undisclosed
Cedric Avinel [Watford - FC Gueugnon] Loan
Damien Batt [unattached - Oxford]
Jimmy Bullard [Fulham - Hull] £5m
Jay Conroy [Havant & Waterlooville - Northwich] Undisclosed
Jennison Myrie-Williams [Bristol City - Hereford] Loan
Anthony Pilkington [Stockport - Huddersfield] Undisclosed
Andy Pugh [Gillingham - Grays] Loan
Damien Reeves [Histon - Northwich] Free
Jordan Rhodes [Ipswich - Brentford] Loan
Adam Smith [Gainsborough - York] Undisclosed
Moses Swaibu [Unattached - Lincoln]
Kamil Zayatte [Young Boys Berne - Hull] £2.5m
Marlon King [Wigan - Middlesbrough] LoanYannick Bolasie [Plymouth - Barnet] Loan
Guy Butters [Havant & Waterlooville - Lewes] Loan
Ashley Carew [Barnet - Eastleigh] Loan
Levi Mackin [Wrexham - York] Loan
Paul Rodgers [Arsenal - Northampton] Loan
Rob Atkinson [Barnsley - Grimsby] Free
Tony Bullock [Ross County - Montrose] Free
Lee Cox [Leicester - Yeovil] Loan
Nigel de Jong [SV Hamburg - Manchester City] Undisclosed
Iain Diack [Brechin - Stenhousemuir] Undisclosed
Paul Mayo [Notts County - Mansfield] Free
Troy Archibald-Henville [Tottenham - Exeter] Loan
Billy Clarke [Ipswich - Northampton] Loan
David Graham [Hamilton - Dunfermline] Free
Jasbir Singh [Shrewsbury - Sutton Coldfield Town] Loan
Dominik Werling [unattached - Huddersfield]
Nicky Adams [Leicester - Rochdale] Loan
Craig Bellamy [West Ham - Manchester City] Undisclosed
Billy Clarke [Ipswich - Northampton] Loan
Kenny Deuchar [Real Salt Lake - Hamilton Accies] Free
Ian Dobbins - [Stranraer - Arbroath] Free
Scott Golbourne [Reading - Oldham] Loan
Anthony Howell [Ilkeston - Mansfield] Undisclosed
Josh Lillis [Scunthorpe - Notts County] Loan
Gareth Owen [Stockport - Port Vale] Free
Scott Rendell [Peterborough - Cambridge Utd] Loan
Curtis Shaw [Ilkeston - Mansfield] Undisclosed
Jay Tabb [Coventry - Reading] Undisclosed
Jamie Ward [Chesterfield - Sheff Utd] £330,000
David Button [Tottenham - Bournemouth] Loan
Lee Elam [unattached - Northwich] Non-contract
David McDonald [unattached - Northwich] Non-contract
Karl Murray [Bromley - Northwich] Loan
Mark Peat [Montrose - East Stirlingshire] Free
Dave Brammer [unattached - Port Vale]
David Button [Tottenham - Bournemouth] Loan
Tom Cleverley [Man Utd - Leicester] Loan
Lee Collins [Wolves - Port Vale] Undisclosed
Alex Fisher [Oxford Utd - Oxford City] Loan
Danny Griffin [unattached - Livingston]
Manucho [Man Utd - Hull] Loan
Ryan Shotton [Stoke - Tranmere] Loan
Javan Vidal [Man City - Aberdeen] Loan
Manny Williams [Woking - Weston-super-Mare] Loan
David Winters [unattached - Livingston]
Tomi Ameobi [Doncaster - Mansfield] Loan
Danny Broadbent [Huddersfield - Rushden & Diamonds] Loan
Simon Brown [Wrexham - York] Loan
Carl Dickinson [Stoke - Leeds] Loan
Marc-Antoine Fortune [Nancy - West Brom] Loan
Kevin Gallen [MK Dons - Luton] Free
Dean Gerken [Colchester - Darlington] Loan
Gael Givet [Marseille - Blackburn] Loan
Lewis Gobern [Wolves - Colchester] Loan
Liam Henderson [Watford - Hartlepool] Loan
Kevin Kilbane [Wigan - Hull] Undisclosed
Liam Miller [Sunderland - QPR] Undisclosed
Richard Naylor [Ipswich - Leeds]
Loan Stuart Noble [Airdrie Utd - Alloa] Loan
Darren Potter [Wolves - Sheff Weds] Loan
Steve Robinson [Chelmsford - Northwich] Free
Luke Rodgers [unattached - Yeovil]
Kyel Reid [West Ham - Wolves] Loan
Emile Sinclair [Nottm Forest - Macclesfield] Loan
Matthew Spring [Luton - Charlton] Undisclosed
Tom Soares [Stoke - Charlton] Loan
Christian Smith [unattached - York]
Phil Trainer [Oxford - AFC Telford] Loan
Steven Tweed [East Fife - Montrose] Free
Sunday-Akanni Wasiu [Colchester - Luton] Loan
Luke Ashworth [Wigan - Leyton Orient] Free
Nicholas Bignall [Reading - Cheltenham] Loan
Danny Carlton [Carlisle - Darlington] Loan
Craig Nelthorpe [unattached - Oxford]
Seol Ki-Hyeon [Fulham - Al-Hilal] Loan
Richie Byrne [unattached - Inverness]
Fraser Forrest [Alloa - Berwick] Loan
Steven Pressley [Unattached - Falkirk] Free
ames Beattie [Sheffield United - Stoke] Undisclosed
Sherjill MacDonald [West Brom - Roeselare] Loan
Jason Puncheon [Plymouth - MK Dons] Loan
Joe Anyinsah [Preston - Carlisle] Undisclosed
Lee Bowyer [West Ham - Birmingham] Loan
Chris Burke [Rangers - Cardiff] Free
Nick Chadwick [Hereford - Shrewsbury] Loan
David Cox [Kilmarnock - Elgin] Loan
Mark Davies [Wolves - Leicester] Loan
Jermain Defoe [Portsmouth - Tottenham] £15m
Kris Doolan [Auchinleck - Partick Thistle] Undisclosed
Michael Gray [Wolves - Sheffield Wednesday] Loan
Martin Gritton [Macclesfield - Chesterfield] Undisclosed
Graham Kavanagh [Sunderland - Carlisle] Free
Pavel Mihadjuks [Ventspils - Inverness] Undisclosed
Jamie Mole [Hearts - Dunfermline] Loan
Roy O'Donovan [Sunderland - Blackpool] Loan
Sebastien Puygrenier [Zenit St Petersburg - Bolton] Loan
Lee Trundle [Bristol City - Leeds] Loan
Mark Tyler [Peterborough - Bury] Loan
Nathaniel Wedderburn [Stoke - Notts County] Loan
Dean Windass [Hull - Oldham] Loan
Lee Baker [West Brom - Kidderminster] Loan
Hameur Bouazza [Fulham-Birmingham] Loan
Louis Briscoe [unattached - Mansfield]
DJ Campbell [Leicester - Blackpool] Loan
Chris Casement [Ipswich - Wycombe] Loan
Lee Cook [Fulham-QPR] Undisclosed
Ritchie De Laet [Stoke - Man Utd] Undisclosed
Stuart Elliot [Doncaster - Grimsby] Loan
Matthew Etherington [West Ham - Stoke] £2m
Scott Garner [Leicester - Mansfield] Undisclosed
Liam Hatch [Peterborough - Darlington] Loan
Graeme Owens [Middlesbrough - Blackpool] Loan
Phil Picken [Chesterfield - Notts County] Loan
Adam Proudlock [Darlington - Grimsby] Free
Dean Sinclair [Charlton - Grimsby] Loan
Jason Taylor [Stockport - Rotherham] Free
Jake Thomson [Southampton - Bournemouth] Loan
Rhoys Wiggins [Crystal Palace - Bournemouth] Loan
Thierry Gatheussi [Hibernian - Inverness] Undisclosed
Filipe Morais [Hibernian - Inverness] Undisclosed
Colin Cameron - [Dundee - Arbroath] Loan
Scott Anson [Kilmarnock - Annan Athletic] Loan
Ryan McCord [Dundee United - Stirling Albion] Loan

Bullard Complete Signing fee of £5m to Hull City

Hull City have confirmed the signing of midfielder Jimmy Bullard for a club-record fee of £5m from Fulham.

The 30-year-old has completed formalities and is expected to be paraded before the fans ahead of the FA Cup tie with Millwall.

Tigers boss Phil Brown said: "The support mechanism that the chairman has provided for me as a new manager in the Premier League is fantastic."

Meanwhile, on-loan defender Kamil Zayatte has signed a three-year deal.

Hull agreed a fee of about £2.5m with Swiss club Young Boys of Berne for 23-year-old Guinea defender Zayatte earlier in the season and he has now accepted personal terms on a permanent deal.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson had been resigned to losing Bullard, but is satisfied with the £5m fee that has been agreed. He said: "It's disappointing to lose Jimmy. We said all along that we'd like to keep all of our players but the possibility of Jimmy leaving has been there all the time.

"He's been seeking the type of contract we couldn't give him. I congratulate Hull and Jimmy on getting the contract he wanted.

"It wasn't just wage demands prompting Jimmy to go, but the length of contract too.

"He's 31 this year and we didn't feel able to provide him with the contract he wanted. The transfer fee that has been negotiated is suitable for a player of his age. I thank Jimmy for the year of work he did under me."

Bullard had been the subject of a £5m bid from Bolton last week, but the move failed to go through.

Brown said: "It's shown everyone of how serious, one, Paul Duffen (Hull City chairman), two, Phil Brown and three Hull City is to the Premier League campaign.

"The only way to sell Hull City to Jimmy Bullard is to show him the ambition of the football club, the ambition of the manager and the chairman and play the type of football he likes to play.

"He has been impressed with the way we have approached the Premier League this year and he heard what he wanted to hear."

The former Wigan midfielder was out of contract at Fulham at the end of the 2009/10 season.

The Tigers have also agreed a new contract with left-back Andy Dawson.

Milan have finally Sign Agger

Milan are on the verge of announcing the signing of Liverpool defender Daniel Agger on a permanent deal.

The 24-year-old stopper has been a long-time target of the Rossoneri and Sportmediaset claims a deal has been reached after Adriano Galliani met with the player's agent, Per Steffensen, in Milan. Agger will sign a four year deal at that Stadio San Siro and the Italian giants will transfer €9 million into the Reds bank account.

There have been constant denials over the move but it seems that Milan have finally landed their man. The Rossoneri have been keen on strengthening at the back for some time. They have finally achieved it this week as Agger's arrival follows that of Felipe Mattioni from Gremio.

The Danish international will be available to play for coach Carlo Ancelotti as soon as all the paperwork is signed, sealed and delivered. Agger's contract with Liverpool was set to run until 2010. However, a clause in the deal allowed the player to find another club and leave from June 2008 onwards.

The stopper will be eligible to play for Milan in the UEFA Cup, which is an added bonus. Milan have wasted no time in signing top-class defenders. Although the moves are positive, it begs the question: when Alessandro Nesta's return from injury will be?

Manchester City Target superstar Kaka from AC Milan

Big-spending English Premier League club Manchester City have reportedly offered £100 million ($218 million) to sign Brazilian superstar Kaka from AC Milan.

According to reports in several British papers and in Italy, City officials spent Tuesday in Milan talking to the Serie A club over a possible signing.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a media tycoon who also owns AC Milan, said that he hoped Kaka, the star player in the side, would remain a Milan player.

"I hope he's irreplaceable, and I hope he will stay with us," Berlusconi said. "I know nothing about this offer."

Mediaset, the website of Berlusconi's media group, confirmed that a delegation led by City chief executive Garry Cook had met Milan officials on Tuesday.

"Manchester City want Kaka at all costs, and they have shown their cards," a report on the website said.

The report claims that City would offer Kaka €15 million ($23 million) a season, after tax, if he moves to the English club.

Cristiano Ronaldo will join Real Madrid in the summer

Manchester United and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, freshly named FIFA World Footballer of the Year, will join Real Madrid in the summer ($A167.5 million) despite his denials, Spanish media insisted on Tuesday.

AS sports daily, which is close to Real, has repeatedly said Ronaldo will soon wind up at the Bernabeu and insisted club president Ramon Calderon had concluded a secret pact with the 23-year-old and his agent Jorge Mendes.

Real tracked Ronaldo all of last summer following his Champions League and English Premiership triumphs and 42 goals before United boss Sir Alex Ferguson stepped in and emphatically vetoed his departure.

But AS say Real would shell out 85 million euros ($A167.5 million) and pay him 1 million euros ($A1.97 million) a month, as well as 8 million ($A15.77 million) commission to Mendes.

Earlier this month Ronaldo stressed anew he was happy to stay put despite having spent the summer appearing to angle for a move to Spain.

In receiving his latest prize on Monday in Zurich he underlined his good relationship with Sir Alex, who has spoken out - sometimes in vitriolic fashion - against Real's dogged pursuit of his man.

"It was a great season for me and for my club and the coach was important for me because I learned a lot from him.

"His experience over so many years is of paramount importance - it's a privilege to have such a great club manager," he stressed.

Ronaldo, who is under contract with United until 2012, on Monday told Spanish television he was learning Spanish.

Already holder of the prestigious Ballon d'Or for the European Footballer of the Year, he beat off 2007 winner Kaka (Brazil), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Fernando Torres (Spain) and Xavi (Spain) to land the FIFA award, which he dubbed "an overwhelming moment in my career".

Tottenham Complete Signing Of Palacios

Wigan Athletic have 'virtually agreed' to sell Wilson Palacios to Tottenham Hotspur for around £13-14 million.

Steve Bruce is on the verge of selling one of his prized assets, telling Sky Sports: "The two clubs have virtually agreed a fee. It is [now about] how that fee should be paid.

"It is up to us as a selling club to demand what we want in terms of how we should be paid and how it should be structured. We will see what happens.

"However, Wilson is still with us and I'm preparing him to play against Manchester City tomorrow."

The Honduran midfielder has played a massive role for the improving Latics this term. However, the club haven't been able to ignore the money offered by Spurs, considering that they signed him for just £1m from Deportivo Olimpia a year ago.

Wigan reportedly rejected a £10m bid for the player earlier this week.