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Afternoon Ticker: Tottenham eye Fabiano, Ronaldinho linked with Flamengo and more

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photo by Joe Toth/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Luis Fabiano may be keen on joining one of the top clubs in the world, but he now has another suitor he could join if things don't go as planned.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is interested in bringing in Fabiano, who scored three goals at the World Cup. Redknapp said that no contact has been made with Fabiano's current club, Sevilla, but that he 

Redknapp said one potential issue in signing Fabiano could be his wages, with the Brazilian striker hoping to be on par with Didier Drogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Here are some more stories to help you get through the day:

Ronaldinho linked with Flamengo move

Ronaldinho has verbally agreed to to play for Flamengo and is attempting to get released by AC Milan, according to Brazilian outlets. With a year left on his current deal, Ronaldinho could make a return to the Brazilian League if he is released. Ronaldinho played for Gremio from 1998 to 2001.

Celtic target Juarez hoping to land in England or Spain

Mexico national team midfielder Efrain Juarez may spurn a move to Celtic, as he prefers to play for a club in England or Spain. Although he would not specify, Juarez's agent, Jorge Berlanga, admitted there is interest in Scotland, but that no deal had been reached. 

Juarez, who has previously been linked with West Ham, is not expected to return to UNAM Pumas.

Fabregas briefly wears Barcelona shirt during parade

The Cesc Fabregas-to-Barcelona saga was fueled even further at Spain's celebratory World Cup parade on Tuesday.

Amid smiles and laughter, Barcelona defenders Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique were able to put their club's jersey on Fabregas, who has repeatedly reiterated his desire to join the Spanish club. While Fabregas was reluctant, he did wear the jersey for a portion of the parade.

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What do you think of Fabiano possibly joining Tottenham? Like the idea of Ronaldinho playing for Flamengo, or wish he would have gone to MLS? Should Juarez join Celtic or wait for a Spanish or English club to come calling? Think Arsenal fans are more worried or angry that Fabregas wore a Barcelona jersey?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I don’t think the spurs need fabiano. What do they have up top already? keane comes back from his spl loan, defoe and crouch are staying. I have heard pavleuchinko (sp) might go somewhere, but I still think fabianos time would be squandered, and I still haven’t seen a brazilian do well in the epl. The spurs should pick up a brazilian defender if anything.

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  2. Flamengo in Brazil and the LA Galaxy in the USA are reported to be the front runners for Ronaldinho’s services.

    It would be neat to have the guy on MLS.

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  3. Agreed. To be honest I don’t care who’s on the team as long as they bring back Joga Bonito in 2014. Dunga’s team was pretty lame to watch.

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  4. Hey Ives, any transfer rumors about people coming to the MLS when the window opens on Thursday? More specifically, any Philly Union transfer rumors? Novak said he wants to bring in a few players, but I haven’t been able to find any news of potential targets..

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  5. Well that is a fair point. I’m not saying it could never happen, but with Brazil having several teams worth of great players, I don’t think they will be desperate or in need to have an older player like Zidane to carry the team…

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  6. It’s unlikely, but not completely impossible. 33 is still young enough to be a solid contributer to a national team. I know that the odds are not in his favor, but Zidane was arguably playing the best soccer of his career in 2006 at age 34 so it’s not completely out of the question.

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  7. Franco/Ives, the two of you seem to love posting about Fabregas. That being the case, can you please point me where he has “repeatedly reiterated his desire to join the Spanish club?” I understand that from time to time over the years he has indicated he plans to return eventually, but just about every player that moved from their home country to somewhere else has made such statements, particularly to local journalists. I’ve looked long and hard and found no quotes from either Fabregas or his agent that he wishes to return this summer, and as such I find your post particularly misleading (likely as a result of being biassed from all of the talk that comes from the Barcelona players about his “DNA”). Fair enough if you wish to be pawns in the Barca-Marca industrial complex, but I’d expect better from unbiassed journalists with no skin in the game.

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  8. Maybe eventually inevitable, but given Barca’s current financial difficulties (and Spain’s economy generally), I’m not sure they’re willing to pay what Wenger will demand.

    I wouldn’t be shocked if Cesc stays at Arsenal for another year or two. By then, Xavi will be 32 and likely on the downside of his career (although his type of game isn’t based on explosiveness, so he may have greater longevity than many) and Barca will need to begin thinking about his replacement.

    Regardless, I suspect that Wenger agrees with you, inkedAG, and believes that Cesc to Barca is inevitable; he’s just trying to maximize whatever he can get out of the deal.

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  9. As an Arsenal fan, I understand that Cesc will play for Barca one day. My complaint is the way Barca have gone about his signing. They, and their players, have been completely disrespectful of Arsenal as a club and have only made the eventual transfer more difficult, and potentially more costly for themselves. Barcelona’s front office and players have behaved without any class whatsoever. From Xavi repeatedly taking about Cesc’s Barca DNA as if he were Dr. Watson himself, to Sandra Rosell repeatedly trying to lowball Arsenal when the Wenger has said he has no interest in selling Fabragas at this time. Cesc, for his part, has been very respectful of Arsenal, refusing to publicly beg for a transfer and quickly taking off the Barca jersey when it had been put on him. I’ll be sad to see him go.

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  10. While it’s not impossible (but just about), you really think a 33 year old Ronaldinho will make the World Cup in 2014? Every year it seems Brazil has great players coming up the ranks. I would be incredibly surprised to see him at the World Cup unless he plays some of the best soccer of his life at 33. Given his past and work habits, do you really think he’s going to be that amazing at that age? If he can’t make the team at 29 with AC Milan, it’s really unlikely he’d make it at 33. I’m just trying to be realistic here…

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  11. At age 29 Ronaldinho still has a shot at playing in the 2014 World Cup. For that to happen Brazil is probably the best location for him to play his club football. But as an enthusiast of MLS, I’d love to see him come to the states.

    I don’t understand why Efrain Juarez would pass up an opportunity to play with Celtic. That’s an opportunity to potentially play in the Champions League. He has no shot at playing with a Champions League calibur team in England or Spain.

    I’d love to see Fabiano at Tottenham, but I think he should stay put at Sevilla. It’s a perfect fit for him there.

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  12. Fabiano wants to make drogba money LoL he’s not that good and he’s not young enough to demand that kind of payday . he better get his head out his buttocks.

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  13. Who aren’t Spurs linked to? Apparently, we’re going to sign every player who put in a goal in the World Cup… including Robert Green.
    OH SNAP!

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  14. As a fan of AC Milan, I will be disappointed by Ronaldinho’s departure. I was hoping that he would go to MLS for selfish reasons. I want to be able to watch him play regularly. AC Milan’s games were televised weekly on my cable network — not sure where to watch the Brazilian league games.

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