■ENGLAND
Malouda signs new deal
Chelsea’s French international midfielder Florent Malouda signed a four-year contract extension with the FA Cup winners on Tuesday. The 29-year-old, who had two years remaining on his current contract, had been linked with a move to Italian Serie A giants AC Milan despite a generally hugely disappointing spell at Chelsea since joining from French champions Lyon in 2007. “I am staying. I have four years left on my contract,” said Malouda, whose performances improved once Guus Hiddink replaced Luis Felipe Scolari at the club earlier this year. “Every time the transfer window opens there are rumors and I hope in this one people will know what happened.” Promising English under-20 international striker Daniel Sturridge is also set to sign for Chelsea from their English Premier League rivals Manchester City it was announced on Tuesday. The 19-year-old’s present contract at City was due to terminate at the end of this month and he has turned down the offer of a new one from the big-spending club. The ultimate transfer fee for him will be decided by a tribunal, with the two clubs unable to agree on a deal. Chelsea have to pay a transfer fee as Sturridge is under 24 and as a result cannot move for nothing under the Bosman ruling.
■ITALY
Zola bags striker Jimenez
Italian champions Inter’s Chilean international striker Luis Jimenez was snapped up on loan by English Premier League side West Ham United on Tuesday. The 25-year-old — known as the Wizard and capped 20 times — is the first signing for the Hammers’ Italian manager Gianfranco Zola this summer. Jimenez — who hasn’t represented Chile for more than a year — joins on a season-long loan with a view to a possible permanent move. “I can’t promise anything, but I am going to do everything possible to do a good job for the club,” Jimenez told West Ham’s Web site. Jimenez made his name in Italy at Serie B side Ternana, where he scored 25 goals in 88 league appearances between 2002 and 2007.
■SPAIN
Messi outshines Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo may be the world’s most expensive player, but Barcelona star Lionel Messi outshines him in terms of media value, at least according to a team of Spanish researchers. The team from the University of Navarra said the Argentine had ousted the Portuguese striker as the player with the highest profile last season. However, Ronaldo remains the most expensive player, with the researchers valuing him at 82 million euros (US$115 million), less than the world record 93 million euros Real Madrid paid Manchester United for him this month. Messi was next at 80 million euros, followed by Liverpool’s Spanish striker Fernando Torres at 67 million euros.
■CHINA
Tianjin players go on strike
Tianjin Teda players went on strike on Tuesday after being asked to sign new long-term contracts with the Chinese Super League club, local media reported. The players are unhappy at being asked to sign deals of five years for younger players and two years for their more experienced teammates. The club hopes long contracts will prevent players going abroad on free transfers, as happened earlier this year when Shandong Luneng’s Zhou Haibin moved to PSV Eindhoven and Feng Xiaoting left Dalian Shide for South Korea’s Daegu FC. None of Tianjin’s Chinese players turned up for training on Tuesday after negotiations broke down.
Tainan TSG Hawks slugger Steven Moya, who is leading the CPBL in home runs, has withdrawn from this weekend’s All-Star Game after the unexpected death of his wife. Moya’s wife began feeling severely unwell aboard a plane that landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday evening. She was rushed to a hospital, but passed away, the Hawks said in a statement yesterday. The franchise is assisting Moya with funeral arrangements and hopes fans who were looking forward to seeing him at the All-Star Game can understand his decision to withdraw. According to Landseed Medical Clinic, whose staff attempted to save Moya’s wife,
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt yesterday backed Nick Champion de Crespigny to be the team’s “roving scavenger” after handing him a shock debut in the opening Test against the British and Irish Lions Test in Brisbane. Hard man Champion de Crespigny, who spent three seasons at French side Castres before moving to the Western Force this year, is to get his chance tomorrow with first-choice blindside flanker Rob Valetini not fully fit. His elevation is an eye-opener, preferred to Tom Hooper, but Schmidt said he had no doubt about his abilities. “I keep an eye on the Top 14 having coached there many years
Saudi Arabia yesterday were drawn to take on Iraq and Indonesia in the fourth phase of Asia’s preliminaries for next year’s FIFA World Cup, with back-to-back Asian Cup winners Qatar to face the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. The winners of each of the three-team groups, which are to be played in October, would join already-qualified Australia, Japan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Iran and Jordan at next year’s expanded 48-nation finals in the US, Canada and Mexico. Saudi Arabia, who are attempting to qualify for a seventh World Cup finals since 1994, are to host Group A and open against Indonesia on
Ukrainian coal miner Andrii’s face lit up when he talked about meeting Oleksandr Usyk. “Wow,” the 36-year-old said in English. Andrii and more than a dozen other war veterans were on hand when Usyk beat Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion. It was a rematch of their 2023 bout that Andrii viewed under vastly different circumstances. “I watched this fight on the front line on my phone,” he said through an interpreter during a stop on Friday at the Ukrainian Embassy in London. “We were watching very quietly, but when he won there was loud
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