Richard Lewington

Several news sources are reporting that Tottenham have agreed a deal with PSV Eindhoven to sign goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, subject to personal terms, a medical and a work permit. Gomes is 27 and has played internationally for Brazil. He helped PSV to the Dutch title last season, his fourth title since joining from Brazilian club […]

Marseille president Pape Diouf announced today (via the club's official website) that 21-year-old winger Hatem Ben Arfa is set to officially join from Lyon on Wednesday following the completion of a medical. Terms have not been announced but are thought to be in in the region of 15 to 20 million euros. Lyon also admit […]

This is something I've been meaning to write about for a while. Beyond the UEFA sanctioned Champions League, there are other 'Champions League' competitions in the various FIFA regions. Africa and Asia have a Champions League and South America has its Copa Libertadores. The CONCACAF region (comprised of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean) […]

As was discussed here earlier, former England manager Steve McClaren was announced as the new manager of Dutch side FC Twente on Friday. McClaren, who had been out of work since November when he was sacked after England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, has agreed a two-year deal at the Eredivisie club. McClaren takes […]

After a number of twists and turns, the FC Porto saga came to a close. At least for this season ! UEFA, European football's governing body, issued the following statement: "As communicated on Friday 13 June, the disciplinary case regarding FC Porto and their entry to the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League season has been referred […]

Alain Perrin, who guided Lyon to their first domestic league and Cup double last season, will be replaced by Lille coach Claude Puel according to reports circulating in the French news media. Nothing official has been posted on the official Olympique Lyonnais website. Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas refused to comment. "No decision has been taken", […]

UEFA have annulled an earlier decision to exclude Porto from next season's Champions League. Porto were initially expelled from Champions League play over alleged bribery of referees in the 2003-04 season. UEFA's appeals body decided to send the issue back for consideration to their Control and Disciplinary Body, effectively annulling the June 4 decision to […]

With all the Euro 2008 coverage over at our sister site EPL Talk, I've decided to focus on club football though I am still actively watching the tournament games. I decided to watch the matches as a fan and leave the punditry to others for that particular competition. There is an ocean of information and […]

Just days after Porto FC were stripped of their place in the Champions League, CSKA Sofia have suffered the same fate though for different reasons. CSKA won their 31st Bulgarian league title this season and earned a place in the Champions League's third qualifying round but could not meet the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) Licensing […]

Deals are heating up on the eve of the Euro 2008 tournament so let's dive straight in and get caught up. This morning's big news is that Mexican striker Giovani dos Santos has left Barcelona to sign for English club Tottenham Hotspur after the two clubs agreed an initial £4.7m fee which could rise to […]

Major League Soccer and Spanish club Villarreal have agreed to a fee for the transfer of New York Red Bulls striker Jozy Altidore. The final price, not reported in the official MLS announcement, will reportedly be a record for a US-developed player — $10 million USD. Villarreal finished 8 points behind La Liga champions Real […]

As the old saying goes, money talks and Cristiano Ronaldo is listening. The 23-year-old Portugese superstar finally ended his silence in an exclusive interview with respected Brazilian website Terra he is reported as stating: "I would like to play for Real Madrid but only if it is true they are ready to pay what Manchester […]

As the old saying goes, money talks and Cristiano Ronaldo is listening. The 23-year-old Portugese superstar finally ended his silence in an exclusive interview with respected Brazilian website Terra he is reported as stating: "I would like to play for Real Madrid but only if it is true they are ready to pay what Manchester […]

UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body has stripped Portuguese champions Porto FC of their place in next season's Champions League over alleged bribery of referees during the 2003/04 season. UEFA cited Article 1.04 (d) of the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League regulations (available via this PDF) in their decision. The article states that to be eligible to […]

I've been meaning to do an in-depth piece on FIFA president Sepp Blatter's proposal to introduce quotas on the number of foreign players that teams can field. Yesterday, FIFA held a vote and Blatter's proposal cleared its first major hurdle. The FIFA Congress delegates voted 155-5 in favour of the proposal which would limit the […]