By JUSTIN FERGUSON
With his medical completed on Monday, all signs are pointing to a Tuesday finalization of a record-breaking move for Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG has announced a press conference for Tuesday afternoon, and reports out of France suggest it will be for the club’s unveiling of Napoli forward Edinson Cavani. The pending transfer for the Uruguayan is reportedly worth around €64 million ($83.6 million), which would be the largest in Ligue 1 history.
The 26-year-old has been one of the biggest transfer targets of the summer after an incredible 2012-13 campaign. Cavani scored 38 goals in 43 matches for Napoli last season and found the back of the net three times at the recent Confederations Cup.
While fans in the French capital are gearing up for the attack pairing of Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the president of Cavani’s current club believes the Swedish striker is on his way out of PSG. According to Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, Ibrahimovic “won’t play with Cavani” because “he’s already been promised to other horizons.”
Here are some more stories to kick off your Tuesday:
REAL MADRID NAMED WORLD’S MOST VALUABLE SPORTS TEAM
After defeating them in last season’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16, Real Madrid can now claim another victory over Manchester United.
The Spanish club was named the most valuable sports franchise on the planet in business magazine Forbes‘s latest list, which was released on Monday. After holding down the second spot last year at $1.88 billion, Real moved past Manchester United and into the top spot after being valued at $3.3 billion.
Forbes noted the nine-time Champions of Europe’s new sponsorship deals with Adidas and Emirates airlines as reasons for their move to the top spot. Real also lays claim to the highest revenues in sports, raking in $650 million in the 2011-12 season.
Manchester United ($3.17 billion) and Barcelona ($2.6 billion) round out the trio of soccer clubs at the top of the new list. Arsenal ($1.3 billion) nabbed the final spot in the Top 10, which featured four National Football League and two Major League Baseball franchises.
UEFA UPHOLDS BANS FOR TURKISH POWERS
Last month, UEFA announced groundbreaking European competition bans for Turkish clubs Fenerbahce and Besiktas as a result of match-fixing allegations.
On Monday, the association’s Appeals Body held up the bans for both of the appealing clubs, who were qualified for the upcoming continental competitions. Fenerbahce, who finished second in the Turkish Super Lig last season, had their three-year ban shortened to two years, but they will still be shut out from competing in this season’s Champions League.
Besiktas, on the other hand, will continue to be barred from playing in this season’s Europa League. The club recently finished third in the Super Lig.
The two clubs were punished with Romanian side Steaua Bucharest late last month. Besiktas’s punishment was a result of charges following their 2011 Turkish Cup Final victory, while Fenerbahce had five club officials charged in their match-fixing case.
QUICK KICKS
Sergio Busquets has signed a five-year extension with FC Barcelona. (REPORT)
Mesut Ozil’s father, who is also his agent, revealed that the German midfielder is in talks with Real Madrid on a contract extension through 2019. (REPORT)
Sunderland have completed the signing of Italian midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini from Juventus. (REPORT)
Torino goalkeeper Jean Francois Gillet has been suspended by the Italian federation for 43 months for his involvement in the country’s match-fixing scandal. (REPORT)
Spain U-20 star midfielder Jose Campana is set to make a move from Sevilla to newly promoted English Premier League side Crystal Palace. (REPORT)
After his older brother Thiago completed his transfer to Bayern Munich, Barcelona midfielder Rafinha is on the move as well, finalizing a loan move to Celta Vigo. (REPORT)
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What do you think about these reports? Is Cavani worth that high of a transfer fee? Surprised to see Real move past Man United as the most valuable team in the world? Impressed with UEFA holding up the continental competition bans for match-fixing?
Share your comments below.