NEW YORK: France’s Thierry Henry and David Beckham highlight the Major League Soccer’s all star team that will face Manchester United in a friendly on July 27. New York Red Bulls coach Hans Backe chose the 22 players for the game at Red Bull Arena. Midfielders Shalrie Joseph of New England, Brad Davis of Houston, and Kyle Beckerman of Real Salt Lake have all been there before, while Mexico’s Omar Bravo from Sporting KC, United States defender Heath Pearce of Chivas USA, and Colombian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon of the Philadelphia Union are in the game for the first time. Missing the contest will be Kasey Keller and Dallas FC midfielder Brek Shea who have CONCACAF Champions League games that week. Mexico star Rafa Marquez (Red Bulls) and American defender Omar Gonzalez (Galaxy) are injured. (Agencies)
Brazil’s Neymar to stay at Santos
SAO PAULO: Brazil starlet Neymar has said he intends staying with current club Santos, dampening expectations of a high-profile transfer to Spain or England. “I’m staying at Santos,” Neymar said on arrival here from Argentina, where Brazil were eliminated on Sunday from the Copa America in the quarterfinals by Paraguay. Neymar, fresh from winning the Copa Libertadores with Santos, has been linked for months with both Chelsea and Real Madrid, but his agent Wagner Ribeiro has insisted that there would be no news until August. Chelsea had an initial approach for the 19-year-old turned down last year but Real and also Barcelona are reportedly monitoring the situation. Neymar’s current deal with Santos is worth almost two million dollars a season through to 2015. (Agencies)
Yao Ming set to retire from basketball
SHANGHAI: Yao Ming should make it official on Wednesday, announcing what is widely expected to be his retirement from the NBA and a sport that made him a household name in China. The 7-foot-6 (2.29-meter) center for the Houston Rockets played for eight seasons in the NBA, but has missed 250 regular-season games over the past six years. His career, including frequent appearances for the Chinese national team at Olympics and world championships, has been punctuated by leg and foot injuries. On Wednesday, a large reception hall at a hotel in the Pudong section of Shanghai – Yao’s hometown – has been booked for what will likely be the country’s media event of the year. Hundreds of media have been accredited to attend the restricted event and are expected to arrive hours early to go through security checks. (Agencies)
Singaporean jailed over match-fixing
HELSINKI: A Finnish court has sentenced a Singaporean man to two years in prison and gave nine soccer players suspended sentences after finding them guilty of match fixing. The Lapland district court said Wilson Raj Perumal had contacted players and referees to fix matches. “Perumal’s sentence was toughened by the fact that he had planned his actions and that he has acted as a member of international organised group doing betting scams,” the court said. (Agencies)