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Tuesday Kickoff: Moyes to meet with Rooney this week; FIFA postpones announcement; and more

RooneyMoyes (Telegraph)

By JUSTIN FERGUSON

Now that he is in charge at Old Trafford, David Moyes is making it a first-week priority to sort out some transfer drama involving one of his former Everton stars.

Moyes will meet face-to-face with Wayne Rooney and his agent sometime this week to discuss the striker’s future with the defending Premier League champions.

Rooney made his professional debut with Everton at the start of the 2002-03 campaign, which was also Moyes’s first full season as the club’s manager. After a pair of successful seasons at Goodison Park, Rooney moved to Manchester United following a £27 million ($41 million) transfer.

Moyes’s predecessor, Sir Alex Ferguson, said the 27-year-old England international had made a transfer request just days after his former manager was announced to be next in line at United. Moyes sued Rooney for libel after the striker released his autobiography in 2008, but the case was settled before it went to court.

Rooney, who was linked to Paris Saint-Germain before his transfer request in May, has attracted considerable attention from Premier League rivals Arsenal and Chelsea so far this summer.

Here are some more stories to get your Tuesday started:

FIFA POSTPONES WORLD CUP TICKET PRICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Fans who are ready to shell out the cash for tickets to next year’s World Cup in Brazil will have to hold off for a few more days.

FIFA announced a postponement for the unveiling of ticket prices for the 2014 tournament during a Monday press conference in Rio. The announcement, which was originally scheduled for Monday, will now be on July 19.

While many point to the ongoing national protests in Brazil as the reason for the postponement, FIFA claims logistical reasons forced the date change.

“We want to look at all the issues we have faced at the Confederations Cup,” FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said. “We want to avoid having 10,000 tickets that are not collected two days prior to the game.”

Valcke said that there will not be a “big difference” in prices from the 2010 World Cup, where tickets ranged from £14 ($21) to £630 ($957).

UCL GETS UNDERWAY WITH FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND

It may still be a few weeks before the preseason schedule begins for the world’s top clubs, but the biggest international club tournament will get underway on Tuesday.

The first of three qualifying rounds in the UEFA Champions League kicks off today as the four smallest member associations send their title holders to the competition. Armenian Premier League champions Shirak will take on San Marino’s Tre Penne, and Andorran side FC Lusitanos host the EB/Streymur, winners of the Faroese Premier League.

After a two-legged matchup, which concludes next Tuesday, the two winners will join 32 other league champions for the second qualifying round. Winners from that round will join the third and final qualifying round, which will include clubs from bigger leagues like Ligue 1 and the Eredivisie.

There have been only four teams to make the group stage after playing in all three qualifying rounds: FC Petržalka of Slovakia, Anorthosis Famagusta of Cyprus, BATE Borisov of Belarus and Premier League club Liverpool. The Reds were a special fifth qualifier from England in the 2005-06 installment, having won the Champions League the year before but not qualifying for the tournament with a top four finish in the Premier League—that rule that was later rewritten to allow defending champions to take the spot of the fourth-placed team from their domestic league.

PAULINHO CONFIRMS TOTTENHAM MOVE

Less than 24 hours after he lifted the Confederations Cup trophy with his teammates at the Maracana, Brazilian midfielder Paulinho confirmed he would be leaving his home country for the Premier League.

In an emotional press conference at Corinthians, the 24-year-old said that he will be joining Tottenham Hotspur soon on a £17 million ($26 million) transfer.

“The other interest we got was from Inter but the only offer came from Tottenham,” Paulinho said. “The proposal came, we sat down, analysed it and decided. It was a big decision to go to a big club. There comes a certain point when you need new challenges.”

The midfielder vowed to one day return to Corinthians, where he made 167 appearances and netted 34 goals. Since his arrival in 2010, Paulinho was a member of Corinthians squads that won the Brasiliero, Copa Libertadores and the FIFA Club World Cup.

QUICK KICKS

New Barcelona teammates Neymar and Jordi Alba will both have surgery to remove their tonsils before joining their club back in Spain. (REPORT)

Arsenal have announced the signing of former Auxerre striker Yaya Sanogo, who has scored twice for France so far at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. (REPORT)

New Everton manager Roberto Martinez will bring in forward Arouna Kone and defender Antolin Alcaraz from Wigan as his first new signings. (REPORT)

Queens Park Rangers agree to sell Christopher Samba back to Anzhi Makhachkala in Russia, after the defender moved from Anzhi to London to England in January. (REPORT)

Benfica announced that they will keep their broadcasting rights in-house this year, charging fans €120 to watch home games on BenficaTV. (REPORT)

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What do you think of these reports? See Rooney staying at Manchester United? Buy FIFA’s reasoning for postponing the ticket price announcement? Excited for the return of the Champions League?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

    • People pay for Sunday Ticket to catch their home team’s games out of area, (this is the driving market, people who want to see every Browns game) people pay for the MLB package, the NHL package, the BigTen network, etc, all to watch their favorite team. The Yankees have their own network that people across the region pay for whether theyvwant to or not. Heck, i probably pay a buck a month for the freaking golf channel. Why wouldn’t they pay to watch benfica? And why should benfica share that revenue with other clubs, if no one is forcing the issue? I bet people would pay $200/year to watch in region nfl games, not as many as watch now, obviously, but to watch the Skins, Cowboys, Packers, Niners, etc? Sure.

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  1. Good job on the history lesson anout teams going through all the qualifying stages, thank you, i had forgot that Before Liverpool whined their way in that one year previous champions weren’t allowed any automatic births the next year.

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  2. The image of Alba & Neymar sitting next to eachother on twin hospital beds in gowns and eating ice cream after they have their tonsils removed is hilarious to me.

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  3. Just want to note that there was a news article in the Evening Standard saying that Tottenham are willing to let Clint go “should Spurs receive an acceptable offer.”

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    • Is AVB coming back? I wouldn’t trust his coaching instincts further than he could be thrown. That was an excellent Spurs team he managed to a mere 5th place.

      But I have mixed feelings, as a US fan he needs to play more, as a Fulham fan it’s kind of like this is what happens sometimes, eh?

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      • I think the spurs team AVB took over was arguably worse than the one Redknapp finished with (loss of Modric and VdV, worse years for Ade and Defoe, injuries to Sandro for most of the year), so I’m not sure a 5th place finish is reason to dismiss AVB.

      • a) I’m pretty sure AVB is staying

        b) As a US fan, I like that Dempsey is not playing 55 games a year for 80+ minutes. He is not young.

        c) yeah, it happens.

  4. I did not know about the lawsuit between Moyes and Rooney. Previous articles I have seen (not on SBI) have simply said after Rooney left the relationship was not good, with no explanation. Knowing now about the lawsuit (thank you, Justin) and the payment Rooney had to pay, not a chance in heck that Rooney is going to stick around to work under Moyes. Speaking as non-Barcelona fan, that is where Rooney should go. They need more bite to their attack and Messi, Neymar, Iniesta and Rooney would be awesome. Arsenal would also be a good fit.

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    • Seriously?

      NOOOOO.

      Calling it right now–awful career move.

      Who is Jozy going to displace?? Fletcher? I don’t think so. Ji Dong-Won? Can’t see that.

      And the entire fanbase will at all times be calling for England U21’s second leading goal scorer–Connor Wickham to get starts at every mistake.

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    • Yea very bad move, but N. Americans have a love affair with the PL, and I’m sure they’re

      throwing crazy money at him.

      Also funny how many leagues around the world incorporated(copied) the PREMIER LEAGUE title to their top flight. Glad MLS didn’t go with n.american premier league!

      Good Luck Jozy…….but not the best move by any means if the reports are correct.

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    • well, there IS a 2nd EPL club that is in the deepest talks that remains unnamed. sunderland made an offer, stewart told mlssoccer.com they have not responded. but that there is a 2nd EPL club.

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  5. Shrek is still only 27. Amazing. He still has so much to offer any club that signs him. As a Chelsea fan, I would not complain if the Blues grabbed him although playing time would be tough at this point and he is not an optimal fit for the offense. I can see him going to France but that would be a bit of a downer as we wouldn’t see him play as often. Italy would be perfect for him at this stage of his career as that energy he can bring would be shocking to some and thus effective.

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    • I cannot see Rooney making a move to Jose Mourinho.

      Is it true Mourinho wants to get rid of David Luiz? Talk that Bayern has offered 40m for him.

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      • I can see Rooney moving to Mourinho, but it’s just unlikely given the player mix I think. But I wouldn’t be unhappy with it at all.

        I think the David Luiz thing is just a rumor. Sideshow Bob has the clubhouse at this phase, he is captain material at Chelsea. If Jose dishes him out, it will be a serious change to the direction of the team and all the Chelsea watchers agree that they don’t need a change of direction, they need tactical soundness from the coaching staff, a good game day coach regarding roster rotation and subtitutions. The talent on the squad will take care of the rest.

        We’ll see.

      • David Luiz just keeps getting better and better and would make no sense to let him go, but, like you say, we keep seeing these rumors. I would hate to see him go to FC Bayern, would take Bayern another big step toward invincibility and that I do not want to see.

    • I’ve made this argument about Adu before, only 27 is different when you started at 16. Owen started breaking down before 27. Rooney is not known for taking care of himself, to the contrary, he’s the sort you have to ship off to a fitness center midseason to try and get in shape.

      I think his style fits England and that he would benefit from dropping down a quality notch to find a starting niche. I’d rather have RvP and Chicharito and the results this season reflected it. I think he’s burning career sitting behind these guys, and I think the Moyes drama is less than ideal because it renders emotional what should be a simple, what’s best for Wayne decision. It doesn’t benefit him to stay with Moyes if Moyes doesn’t change what Fergie was doing. I’d move somewhere top 10, reboot. Short contract, if he succeeds he can move right back to a Big Club.

      Unless he finds the perfect team, I don’t think just trotting off to Italy fixes anything, if the team is good he’ll still be fighting for form, fitness, and playing time.

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      • That’s a reasonable take on the situation although I rate him a bit more highly than you(and depending on team style, I rate him more highly than Chicharito) I think any change of atmosphere would be good for him and he could slot right into almost any top side, either as a partime starter or consistent sub at 60 minutes.

        I think his health is good enough, and his fitness, as you said, has always been an issue so nothing changes here. After a season with limited duty, his frame got a bit of rest so I look for good things no matter where he goes.

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