■ENGLAND
Man City make Kaka bid
Manchester City have offered AC Milan £100 million (US$150 million) in cash in a bid to land former Ballon d’Or winner Kaka, newspaper reports said yesterday. A four-man delegation led by chief executive Garry Cook met top officials at Milan’s headquarters on Tuesday, where they offered to make the Brazilian player the highest paid in the world on £15 million a year after tax, the Daily Mail and the Sun reported. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Milan’s owner, has resisted previous attempts to lure Kaka away. But the player has said he is unhappy with his role in the AC Milan team and would love to play in the Premier League.
■ENGLAND
Becks ancestor ‘scavenger’
David Beckham’s great-great grandfather was a “scavenger,” or rubbish collector, according to British census data which went online on Tuesday, giving an eye-opening view of life a century ago. The Beckham family’s census form, completed in neat handwriting, lists the soccer icon’s great-great grandfather John as a “scavenger” who lived in Walworth, southeast London. Within 10 hours of going live on Tuesday, the census Web site had received 5.4 million page views, and had been used to carry out over 260,000 searches on Britain’s then 27 million-strong population, said a spokeswoman. Elaine Collins, the commercial director of the www.1911census.co.uk Web site, said it provides a unique glimpse into life in the early 20th century. “As well as helping people trace their ancestors, these records shed more light on our ancestors’ day-to-day lifestyles, providing a snapshot of a day in their lives,” she said.
■IRAN
Club ready to pay fine
An Iranian club is ready to pay the 3,000 euros (US$4,000) cash fine imposed on Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute, the daily Iran Sports reported on Tuesday. The disciplinary committee of the Spanish soccer federation on Friday fined Kanoute for displaying a shirt in support of Palestine in the Gaza conflict with Israel. Kanoute — a French-born Muslim who plays for the Mali national team — showed the shirt after scoring for Sevilla in last week’s 2-1 King’s Cup defeat of Deportivo La Coruna. Saeid Azari, manager of Iran first division club Zob Ahan Isfahan, said the club was ready to pay the fine on behalf of the player. Azari told Iran Sports that Kanoute has been asked on his personal Web site where the money should be transferred to, and that Iran captain Javad Nekounam, who also plays in Spain for Osasuna, has been contacted to inform Kanoute accordingly.
■ENGLAND
Luton reach zero points
Fourth-tier strugglers Luton Town finally got to zero points after 24 matches this season following a 2-2 draw with Chester on Tuesday. Before the season started Luton — who back in 1988 were celebrating a memorable League Cup victory at Wembley over Arsenal — were deducted a huge 30 points for breaching financial rules. These are primarily designed to encourage clubs to stay in the black by ensuring they cannot just write off their debts by going into administration without any risk to their league position. English soccer chiefs argue that if such rules were not in place there would be a reduced incentive for teams to be put on a sound financial basis and that well-run sides would be at an unfair disadvantage.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about ￡2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported ￡400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported ￡400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported ￡900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically
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