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AC Milan's David Beckham Ends Pepsi Deal

AC Milan midfielder David Beckham has ended his ten-year association with soft drink giant Pepsi.

The 33-year-old announced today that the deal, worth a reputed £2 million a year, will be discontinued at the end of the player's current contract.

Beckham, who will play for Milan until the recommencement of the MLS season in March with LA Galaxy, told the press: "I have nothing but good memories of my association with Pepsi.

"I've played a gladiator, a cowboy, a surfer, and worked alongside Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez as well as some of the biggest names in world football.

"I hope everyone who has seen the work enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it."

-- Peter Staunton

Source:
http://www.goal.com

Ronaldo: I Feel At Home At Manchester

Cristiano Ronaldo has recently bore the brunt of his fair share of criticism. Following a show-stopping 2007-08 and the resulting summer speculation of a world record-breaking move to Real Madrid, the winger's reluctance to declare his intentions one way or another for weeks on end made him an unpopular figure among many a concerned Manchester United fan.

He eventually declared his desire to move to the Spanish champions, only to soon announce his intention to stay at Old Trafford, following a heart-to-heart with manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

There was no chance of the Portuguese possibly replicating last season's superhuman achievements, and indeed, his less-than-incredible start to this campaign, somewhat affected by injury, has in fact drawn criticism. This is just as much due to the player's attitude as it is his performances, with petulant pouts and negative body language leading many to believe he is already regretting his summer U-turn and attempting to pave himself a way to Madrid this summer.

The man himself is prepared to let everybody draw their own conclusions. "There’s always speculation, not just about me, but about the future of players all around the world," he told MUTV. "People were speaking about me this summer but that was normal because of what I did during the season.

"What people are saying now [the recent speculation about an agreement with Real Madrid] is not true. Who says that is a liar because I am happy at the club, I want to stay here. I feel at home here. I feel very happy here."

He went on to reveal that he wasn't even nervous when coming back to play his first game for the club after that unforgettable summer. "I think the people don’t forget quickly what you do for the club," he explained. "When I arrived at the stadium, to play [my first game of this season] against Villarreal, I felt a little bit of pressure. But the fans were very good and this is why I feel the Manchester United supporters are amazing.

"I love the fans because they have been brilliant with me, not just this season but every season. Like I said before, I feel at home in Manchester."

The infamous meeting with Sir Alex that proved to be the turning point in keeping the 23-year-old at the club is something he won't be forgetting in a hurry. He said, "The boss is always important for me, not just last season but every season.

"I am at this club because of him. He saw me in a few games before I played against Manchester United - people think I came here just because I played [well] against United but it’s not true. He’s always helped me and I said to him, 'I want to be part of this club with you. I want to win trophies with you.' He’s very important in my career, Sir Alex Ferguson."

--Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com

Source:
http://www.goal.com

Real Madrid make offer for Inter’s Mancini

By Goal.com

Inter’s Brazilian maestro Mancini joined the club less than six months ago during the summer transfer period from Roma in Serie A. He was Jose Mourinho’s first acquisition in his tenure at the club, and he was expected to fit in nicely in his 4-3-3 system.

However, Mancini has had an extremely tough time this term, as he has struggled to rediscover the form that saw him up there with the best players in the competition only a few years ago.

As a result, it seems as if a move away from the club could be in the cards, with Real Madrid looking the most likely to swoop for the unsettled star.

Los Merengues have been busy searching for a winger over the past few weeks to add to the double winter signing of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra from Ajax and Portsmouth respectively.

Mancini has been rumored to be one of the players the “White House” have been tracking and now, according to Tuttomercatoweb, the Spanish club have made a bid for the winger for a reported sum of around €10 million.

The Nerazzurri purchased the 28-year-old from Roma for a fee of around €15 million, and so it may prove to be a cost-efficient deal for Madrid.

The Brazilian would not be eligible to play in the Champions League and with the Blancos keen on purchasing a player who can help them in both their domestic and continental charge, it remains to be seen if there is any truth to these latest reports.

Source:
http://sports.yahoo.com

China’s top players leave state-run system

BEIJING, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Wimbledon semi-finalist Zheng Jie is relishing her new freedom after being allowed to leave China’s rigid state-run sporting system and keep more of her earnings, local media said on Wednesday.

“Finally I can have my own schedule. I can control my time now,” the world number 25 told the China Daily.

The paper said Zheng can keep as much as 92 percent of her prize money, after formerly having to part with up to 65 percent, and could for the first time miss winter training camp to enjoy a holiday with parents.

Zheng, who in July became China’s first player to make the last four at Wimbledon, left the Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) this month to become a free agent on the international tour along with compatriots Li Na, Peng Shuai and doubles partner Yan Zi.

With most athletes in China still required to join government-sponsored city and provincial teams to be eligible to join the national team and compete in international tournaments, the CTA’s release of its top players marks a watershed for professional Chinese sport.

The move followed several years of conflict between authorities keen to nurture their best talent and players frustrated at strict training regimes and smaller pay packets.

Zheng and her free agent compatriots can still be called up for national duty, according to CTA deputy director Gao Shenyang, and are welcome back in the state fold at any time.

“The players can ask for help any time they want,” the paper quoted Gao as saying. “If they don’t like the new format after trying it for a while, they are free to revert to the old system.”

The players will be giving up a group of 17 coaches, eight doctors, and a team of sports nutritionists, physicians, psychologists and trainers ready to give free consultations at any time, the paper said.

Zheng said she would not be far from the embrace of the state, however: “It is not appropriate to say ‘flying away’, because I never actually left the national team,” she said. (Reporting by Liu Zhen, editing by Alan Baldwin)

Source:
http://sports.yahoo.com

Simpson agrees new Arsenal deal

Arsenal striker Jay Simpson has signed a new long-term deal with the club.

The 20-year-old is yet to feature for the Gunners in the Premier League but scored twice in his three games for them in this season's Carling Cup.

Both goals came in his only first-team start - a 3-0 victory over Wigan - and he has also been an ever-present for the reserves in the current campaign.

Simpson, who spent last season on loan at Millwall, will join West Brom on loan in the January transfer window.

The London-born frontman scored eight goals in 46 games for the Lions last term.

Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk

F1 teams to reduce engine costs

Formula One teams have agreed to cut the cost of customer engines by more than £12m from 2011, according to Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo.

The move comes after motorsport boss Max Mosley asked the teams to come up with ways to cut costs in F1.

Montezemolo said that engines sold by manufacturers to teams would be slashed in cost in the future.

"We unanimously decided that by 2011 an engine will cost £4m, compared to the £16m plus they used to cost," he said.

The move will be a huge help to the smaller teams as they try to survive in F1.

Mosley has been concerned that F1 costs are now so high that privateer teams such as Williams, Red Bull and Force India – who do not make their own engines – are effectively unable to compete.

He has demanded all the teams agree ways of keeping costs down – and said he will come up with his own solutions if they fail to do so.

F1 constructors have recently created an organisation called the Formula One Teams Association (Fota) to represent their interests in conversations with governing body the FIA, of which Mosley is the president, and commercial body Formula One Management, run by Bernie Ecclestone.

Di Montezemolo has been nominated the chairman of Fota.

Montezemolo also revealed that he smashed a television set after watching McLaren's Lewis Hamilton snatch the world title from Felipe Massa at the final Grand Prix of the season at Interlagos.

"I broke the television, I must tell the truth," he said.

"When a television breaks it makes a terrible bang. My daughter in the other room was given an awful fright.

"Luckily we had another television so I was able to watch the podium ceremony, which I enjoyed."

Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk

Alonso would love to join Ferrari one day

Double Formula One champion Fernando Alonso would love to join the Ferrari F1 team one day according to his manager Lius García Abad. But According to Alonso's manager there are currently no negotiations with the Maranello based team.

Italian media claimed on Monday that Alonso would have signed a contract at Ferrari to join the team as of 2011. Alonso's manager though doesn't want to jump into any conclusions. "We don't have to make a secret out of it that Fernando would love to join a team such as Ferrari one day. But we're not even close to the year 2011 so it's still a bit early to talk about such a possibility," Garcia said. "Formula 1 is in a difficult position at the moment due to the economic situation so it is extremely difficult to look at any long term plans in F1."

Source:
http://f1.gpupdate.net