■SPAIN
Eto’o receives huge offer
Barcelona have received a “stratospheric” offer for their Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o, but they want him to stay, club chairman Joan Laporta said on Sunday. “He has a stratospheric offer which would make him the world’s best-paid player,” Laporta told Spanish radio in comments published on the club’s Web site. However, Laporta has said all along he wants to keep the forward, while sports daily AS reported last week that there was a dearth of offers for the star, who bagged 30 goals in La Liga last season and also hit the opener in the 2-0 Champions League final win over Manchester United. “I think Eto’o would like to stay and I would like him to,” Laporta said. Eto’o’s current contract only runs for another year and AS indicated wage demands of some 10 million euros (US$14 million) a year were frightening off top clubs, although big-spending English Premier League club Manchester City, French side Lyon and Italy’s Inter are all said to be interested.
■SPAIN
Real make Benzema offer
Real Madrid have offered 32 million euros (US$45 million) for Lyon striker Karim Benzema after switching their attention to the France international from Valencia forward David Villa, sports daily Marca reported on Sunday. Marca said the French have yet to respond to Real’s offer, but last week Bernard Lacombe, adviser to Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas, told Marca that “nothing is impossible and if we receive a good offer, we will not close the door to anyone.” Lyon’s director of communications Olivier Blanc said merely that “the only news is Real Madrid contacted Olympique Lyon a few days ago to discuss Karim Benzema. Benzema and Olympique Lyon confirmed his initial desire is to stay another year with Lyon.” Manchester United are also admirers of Benzema, but Real have decided to swoop now given the reluctance of Valencia’s new chairman Manuel Llorente to sell them Spain striker Villa.
■ITALY
Wolfsburg deny Dzeko move
German champions VfL Wolfsburg are refusing to sell Edin Dzeko to AC Milan, the Bosnian striker said on Sunday. “Wolfsburg won’t let me go. Everyone knows that Milan are the team of my dreams, but I can not do anything,” the 23-year-old told Italy’s Sky television. Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani, looking for a new attacker after selling playmaker Kaka to Real Madrid, is not giving up despite Wolfsburg’s stance. “We will wait until the end of next week,” he told reporters. The Rossoneri chief also reiterated that striker Alexandre Pato will not be leaving the San Siro despite media reports saying former Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti had bid 60 million euros (US$84 million) to take the Brazilian to Chelsea.
■AUSTRALIA
Wolves, Fulham sales flop
A plan to showcase two English Premier League teams in Australia next month is threatening to be a flop because of a lack of early interest from local fans. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham have been booked to play double-headers against Australian A-League clubs Perth and North Queensland. However, with less than two weeks to go before the first match, local officials said they had only sold about 9,000 tickets for the two double-headers. “I am staggered actually — I thought that the games would have been sold out within a week or two,” Perth owner Tony Sage told local radio. “It’s just disappointing to me that we haven’t even gone half way to selling out.”
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
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