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Ricardo Carvalho joins Monaco and Radamel Falcao may follow Monaco have signed Real Madrid defender Ricardo Carvalho and French media reports say Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao will be next for £50m. Former Chelsea centre-back Carvalho, 35, has agreed a one-year deal. And 27-year-old Falcao,  thought to be a target for Chelsea and Manchester City,  also looks set to join Monaco. The French second division champions, backed by Russian Dmitry Rybolovlev, have already  spent £60m on Porto duo Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez .

Sergei Bubka: Pole vault great wants to be IOC president Ukrainian pole vault great Sergei Bubka is joining the race to become the next president of the International Olympic Committee. The 49-year-old former Olympic and world champion notified IOC members he wants to succeed Jacques Rogge, who steps down in September. "I would like to take this opportunity to humbly inform you that I will submit my candidacy for the presidency of the IOC," Bubka said in a letter. He is the sixth contender .

Hughes appointed Stoke City manager Mark Hughes is confirmed as Stoke manager, taking over from fellow Welshman Tony Pulis at the Britannia Stadium.  101

Next   stop,   Falcao:   Monaco's   fertiliser   tycoon   accelerates   growth   of   a   super   club   Dmitry Rybolovlev has spent €70 million on two Porto players in a major statement of intent ahead of the summer window and Goal takes a closer look at the Russian backer PROFILE By Robin Bairner The forthcoming transfer window is set to be remembered as the summer of Monaco. Already they have captured the signings of Porto duo James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho with a remarkable €70 million double swoop while this week, it is expected they will reveal RadamelFalcao as the latest addition to their quickly-growing arsenal. Monaco’s lavish spending will not stop there, though. It is envisaged that at least two more players of such calibre will join before the season begins, with head coach Claudio Ranierihaving admitted publicly he wants a strong idea of his squad by the...

Lewandowski   will   join   Bayern   this   summer,   says   agent   The Poland international's representative has revealed that his client will follow Mario Gotze to the Champions League winners ahead of next season Cezary Kucharski, one of   Robert Lewandowski 's agents, has revealed that the striker will leave   Borussia Dortmund   for   Bayern Munich   in the summer transfer window. The Poland international has long been linked with a move to the Champions League winners and his representative has made it clear that the deal could be completed shortly. "Robert will join Bayern this summer. There is no point in pretending that he will not move to Bayern. Robert wants to leave and that is what will happen," Kucharski told  TVN24 . "It is a matter of time. It could be a done deal within a week or within two to three weeks. We are waiting for a signal from the club. We are working on this deal. "Rober...

French Open: Gael Monfils survives first-set epic against Tomas Berdych Gael Monfils: Needed more than four hours to reach the second round at Roland Garros The Frenchman, who missed his home Grand Slam last year with a knee injury, prevailed 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 after four hours and three minutes. Gael Monfils made a memorable return to the French Open with a marathon first-round win over fifth seed Tomas Berdych. Monfils, ranked 81st in the world, had Court Phillipe Chatrier in raptures as he came good in the decider after squandering a two-set lead, wrapping up a gruelling victory on his fourth match point. His reward for the win, sealed when a Berdych backhand dropped long, is a clash with Latvia's Ernests Gulbis. Stat Attack Monfils reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2008. "There was the adrenaline and the match and the crowd, but I didn't think I would do this well," said Monfils. "It was a match up ...

French Open: Britain's Elena Baltacha is happy to be back playing Heather Watson: Takes on Stefanie Voegele from Switzerland 2/2 Previous Next The former British No 1 returns to action ten months after she thought she had played her final match. Elena Baltacha is delighted to be back in grand slam action and is relishing her opening round encounter against New Zealand's Marina Erakovic at the French Open. Baltacha, who has been through more than her fair share of injury and illness troubles, had contemplated retirement after the Olympics. But the 29-year-old, who is currently ranked 200th, decided that she missed the tennis lifestyle too much. She made her competitive return at an ITF event in Alabama before turning out for Great Britain in their Fed Cup defeat to Argentina in April. Out of love Baltacha said: "I actually retired after the Olympics. I kind of kept it to myself but I knew I'd had enough. I was going through the m...

What   next   for   Borussia   Dortmund? BVB face a critical summer if they are to remain on their current upward trajectory and must act decisively or risk falling away ANALYSIS “We’re in need of a holiday, but we’ll be active in the transfer market to make sure we’re this competitive next season,” Jurgen Klopp said while reflecting on what he called a “sh*t” result in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich. It’s been a long and exhaustive season for BVB and one which ended in the same away it finished – a 2-1 loss to their hated rivals from Bavaria. There have been many lows and many highs – the wins over Real Madrid, the euphoria of their late comeback over Malaga and their arrival on the global stage were matched by finishing 25 points behind Bayern in the Bundesliga, their sickening defeat at Wembley and the departure of Mario Gotze – to Bayern. And, with Robert Lewandowski, their leading goalscorer looking likely to follow their prodi...

Heynckes   the   mastermind   of   Bayern's   brilliance The veteran coach is on the brink of delivering the club an historic treble and must take credit for their resurgence this season It's not a bad time to be a Bayern Munich fan. Fresh from a record-breaking Bundesliga season, the Bavarians sealed their second Champions League title (fifth European Cup) on Saturday and have the chance to complete their treble this week and make up for years of near misses. And credit must be given to their coach, Jupp Heynckes, who has masterminded their campaign brilliantly. Just 12 months ago, Munich were reeling. Bayern had somehow managed to finish second in all three competitions, letting a hefty lead slip in the league, losing 5-2 in the DFB-Pokal final and enduring an agonising defeat on penalties to Chelsea in the showpiece of Europe's top competition. And the backlash they faced was huge. Branded a team of chokers by the media, the Bavarians' hegem...

Neymar   would   have   cost   Real   Madrid   €150m,   says   Perez Perez has revealed what Neymar would have cost his club By Stefan Coerts The Madrid supremo feels the Brazil international was too expensive, while he is full of praise for Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso Real Madrid   president Florentino Perez has revealed that   Neymar   would have cost the club €150 million had they secured the services of the Brazil international. The Santiago Bernabeu side were keen to lure the 21-year-old to the Spanish capital ahead of the 2013-14 campaign, but the player eventually snubbed  los Blancos  in favour of a move to Barcelona. "Neymar would have cost the club €150 million," Perez told  Cadena Ser . "We had the chance to sign him three years ago, but there were lots of conditions now." The Madrid president then went on to voice his opinion that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the wor...

Messi   magic   sees   Barcelona   close   in   on   La   Liga   but   leaves   fans   wondering   what   might   have   been   against   Bayern Next Liverpool & Everton reach fork in the road ahead of defining summer on Merseyside May 6, 2013 9:00:00 AM   4 The Argentine came off the bench to provide the inspiration for Barcelona and show the Catalans just what they had been missing in their Champions League loss last week COMMENT By Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Writer Barcelona's miserable week was about to take a turn for the worse. Brutally beaten by Bayern Munich on Wednesday as Lionel Messi watched on helplessly from the bench, the Catalans found themselves 2-1 down at home to Betis on Sunday in what was another poor performance. Luckily, this time their saviour was primed for a starring cameo role. With just...