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Friday Kickoff: PSG negotiate for Cavani; Ronaldo staying with Real Madrid this season; and more

EdinsonCavaniUruguay1-ItalyConfederationsCup (Getty)

By DAN KARELL

If Edinson Cavani wasn’t interested in a move to Ligue 1 before Thursday, the reported contract numbers swirling in the media are sure to have turned his head.

Paris Saint-Germain are reported to be close to a deal with Napoli, willing to pay the €63 million ($81.1 million) release clause to bring Cavani to the Parc des Princes next season. In order for any move to be completed though, personal terms must be agreed upon, and the latest reports state that PSG are set to offer the Uruguay forward a five-year contract of €10 million per season after taxes.

PSG sporting director Leonardo is in Rome holding talks Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis to complete the transfer. The player’s agent, Mino Raiola, said in a recent interview in Italy that he thought Cavani could play well alongside current PSG forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, also a client.

The 26-year-old Cavani is one of the more highly sought strikers on the market after a strong season in Serie A and the Confederations Cup, scoring three goals in the last two matches. At Napoli last season, Cavani rain riot, scoring 38 goals in 43 matches in all competitions, including a stellar 29 in Serie A and seven in seven matches in the Europa League.

Here are some more stories to get your Friday kicked off:

CRISTIANO RONALDO RE-AFFIRMS FUTURE IN MADRID

At a gala event held on Thursday in Monaco, Cristiano Ronaldo ended any rumors of his impending departure from Real Madrid this summer.

The Portuguese international star re-affirmed his future to playing under Carlo Ancelotti next season, saying that while he didn’t want to talk about his future much on vacation, that he was committed to playing with Los Blancos.

Ronaldo has been the subject of wild rumors all summer over a move out of Madrid due to unhappiness at his current contract, with media in England pegging him with a return to Manchester United. However, the 29-year-old all but ended the speculation for at least this season with his comments.

FIFA SUSPEND CAMEROON, SANCTION TOGO

In a shock move on Thursday, FIFA announced that they had suspended the Cameroonian Football Association until further notice due to governmental interference.

The world’s soccer governing body has mandated that a new president of the Cameroon federation will be chosen by a FIFA organized “normalizing committee” of which there will be a new person in charge by March 31, 2014. In the meantime, until FIFA lifts the suspension, Cameroon are not allowed to take part in any international matches, competitive or friendly, as well as club teams are not allowed to take part in any competitions.

FIFA also announced that Togo, like Ethiopia, forfeit their match played with an ineligible player. Ironically in this case, the match came on June 9 against Cameroon, which gives them a 3-0 victory and three points. The original outcome was a 2-0 win for Togo. The controversy surrounds Jacques Alaixys Romao, who had picked up a yellow card suspension for the match against Cameroon but played despite it.

Togo have also been fined 6000 Swiss Francs ($6,256). In Group I of CAF World Cup qualifying, Cameroon sit in first place with ten points, one point ahead of Libya, though it won’t matter if Cameroon are still suspended come the next match in September.

QUICK KICKS

Borussia Dortmund have completed their second signing of the summer, snagging forward Pierre-Emrick Aubameyang from AS Saint-Etienne for an undisclosed fee. (REPORT)

Nicolas Anelka has made a shock move back to the Premier League, signing a one-year contract with West Bromwich Albion. (REPORT)

Real Sociedad midfielder Asier Illarramendi is nearing a lucrative move to Real Madrid after an outstanding season and Under-21 Championships. (REPORT)

22-year-old midfielder Francis Coquelin, currently on the books at Arsenal, has made a season-long loan move to SC Freiburg in Germany. (REPORT)

La Masia product and former member of Manchester City Gai Assulin has signed a three-year contract with Granada, looking to get his career back on track. (REPORT)

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What do you think of these reports? Do you believe Cavani can play alongside Zlatan? Did you think that Ronaldo would leave this summer? Do you see Cameroon forfeiting their upcoming match against Libya?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. So sad how MLS parity, does not let teams go after anelka, drogba, kaka, forlan, tevez, and much more world soccer talent that stil has gas in the tank. so is now the EPL a retirement league, or turkish or french.

    Reply
    • Every one of those guys and a lot more are at 29 and up! There should be no RULE in place that prohibits MLS teams from making a run at them. Each of the ones you listed would INSTANTLY improve any side.

      Reply
  2. I don’t understand how Cavani and Ibra are going to play together. Or if Ibra would even want to.

    What’s the problem with Ibra? Yeah he’s a jerk but he’s pretty good.

    Reply
  3. If Cavani’s in at PSG then it definitely means Gameiro is out. Ok, Gameiro was on his way out well before Cavani came into the picture. Aresenal would be a great place for Gameiro. Blanc wants to keep 23-25 players rostered and considering at least 3-5 will be young players 3 of whom are from the PSG Academy in addition to Sakho & Chantome, PSG will be deeper and well this PSG supporter likes it.

    Reply
  4. Elections for the Presidency of Cameroon’s Football Federation were originally suspended by the government. It’s a HUGE NO-NO under FIFA rules. NO GOVERNMENT interference Period. Iya Mohammed was re-elected but has been detained by the Cameroon government for Financial Mismanagement at the company in which he works.

    Reply
    • I’m confused, the government arrested the president of Fecafoot for alleged financial crimes in his business, then Fecafoot removed him. There were then internal issues in Fecafoot in terms of the replacement, an official supposedly forced his way into the presidency. But that would be Fecafoot’s own internal issue, and surely you can arrest a sports official in his private capacity for crimes. Where is the government interference in the sporting area?

      Reply
      • The government suspended the federation’s voting until they finished persecuting the guy who was eventually voted in.

        The government thereby interfered. Under FIFA law, the government does not have the right to suspend voting.

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