London: Carlos Tevez’s agent Kia Joorabchian claimed that he had held talks with Brazilian giants Corinthians over a deal to take the Argentine star back to the club. Joorabchian said the transfer will be completed soon despite Manchester City’s insistence that they will not part with Tevez for anything less than 50 million pounds. The Sun reported that the Brazilian giants have made a shock 36 million pound bid for the Manchester City striker. “Negotiations have already begun. Corinthians are in contact with us. Tevez’s dream and mine is to see him back with Corinthians. He said he has a job that does not end there, he wants to return because he has the dream of winning the Copa Libertadores,” Joorabchian was quoted as saying by the daily. “Corinthians have made the offer, now it depends only on Manchester City. Everybody is working to make this happen,” he said. (IANS)
Sneijder ready to sign for ManUtd
London: Inter Milan’s Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder is ready to sign for Manchester United this week in a club record 35 million pound deal. If the Inter Milan midfielder accepts the offer, his pay package would even surpass Wayne Rooney’s 220,000 pounds a week. “Everyone expects Wesley’s move to United to be announced soon, maybe as early as Wednesday,” an Inter player was quoted as saying by The Sun. With Sneijder’s recruitment, Manchester United have taken their summer spendings to more than 85 million pounds, five million pounds more than what they made when they sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid in July 2009. The newspaper quoting an anonymous source said the 27-year-old Dutchman has even spoken to his compatriot Nigel de Jong to find out where are the best places to live in Manchester. (IANS)
‘Affordable tickets for Messi match’
Kolkata: In its effort to make ticket prices ‘affordable’ for the friendly between Argentina and Venezuela, involving star footballer Lionel Messi, the West Bengal government is planning to introduce dedicated family blocks wherein tickets would be available at discounted price. “We are planning to introduce a family block in Yuba Bharati Krirangan from this match. With this a family can buy out tickets at a discounted price,” sports minister Madan Mitra said Tuesday. After a meeting with the All India Football Federation and Indian Football Association, Mitra said they have also requested Doordarshan to telecast the match live so that everybody gets an opportunity to watch the action. (PTI)
Pak players denied visa to Belgium
Karachi: The Pakistani squad has been forced to withdraw from this week’s WSF Men’s World Junior Individual Squash Championship in Belgium after the Belgian embassy in Islamabad refused to grant visas to the players. The 18th World Squash Federation championship will take place at the Flemish Squash Centre in Herentals from July 13-17. Danish Atlas Khan and Nasir Iqbal, both 17-year-olds from Peshawar, were supposed to lead Pakistan’s title campaign in the event as they were originally named as the two 3/4 seeds. Khan is the reigning Asian Junior champion, with three PSA World Tour titles to his credit, while Iqbal, a former Asian U15 champion, already boasts of two Tour titles. “Whilst the realities of visa difficulties from some countries are a regular obstacle, it is very sad for the players concerned,” WSF CEO Andrew Shelley said. (PTI)