Thiago Set To Join Cruzeiro

Thiago Ribeiro, 22, has already arrived in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and will undergo a medical examination on Friday before officially becoming a new Cruzeiro player.

The highly-rated striker played a key role as Sao Paulo won the Club World Cup in 2005 and the Brazilian Championship the following year. He was on the verge of moving to a club in Italy or Spain, but finally accepted to sign a lucrative deal with a Qatari club.

After one year and a half in Qatar with Al-Rayyan Sports Club, Thiago decided to return to his homeland, and welcomed a move to Belo Horizonte giants Cruzeiro, a club who have been in good form in the championship so far this season.

Much is expected of him on his return to Brazilian football. Cruzeiro hope to continue to mount a strong title challenge as they look to win only their second Brazilian Championship.

Scolari: I Know Nothing About Robinho

After appearing to be a done deal, the Blues could now miss out after Real Madrid stated that the player woulnd not be sold unles they were unable to find a replacement.

With only four days to go before the transfer window closes, Chelsea must now wait and see if the Spanish giants can attract a new recruit and give permission for Robinho to leave.

Scolari is not focussing on whether Robinho signs or not and is only focussed on preparing his new team for the visit of London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

“I don’t know about Robinho because it is not my job to enter into talks about players. I said something to Peter a month ago and they tried to bring Robinho here but my job is on the pitch,” the Blues’ boss said.

“If they can bring him here it will be down to board meetings and I have to think about Tottenham not about whether players have come or have not come.

“I don’t know anything because I have not spoken to Peter for the last two days.”

Scolari believes that he is not the only trainer that would like to sign Robinho, but admitted that he is not willing to talk about other club’s players.

“He is a very good player but it is not only me that wants him, all the coaches in the world do too,” he continued.

“But at the moment what is happening on the pitch is the only important thing for me. For my players to play well against Tottenham is what matters.”

Roman Gives Ramón Robinho Ultimatum

It looks as though the Robinho soap opera might just have one last breath of controversy before it is put to bed for good.

Despite yesterday’s report from Robinho’s agent, Wagner Ribeiro that a deal has been reached by all parties concerned, it seems that Real Madrid are holding out for a slightly higher transfer fee.

Ribeiro claimed that the Blues had made a €33 million offer to the Whites for the Brazilian, but the Spanish outfit are yet to officially accept the bid.

Now, Marca has reported that Abramovich may be willing to go as high as €37 million, but not one single Euro more.

The Russian billionaire, speaking through a representative, has also spat out this ultimatum to Madrid: “Either they take the offer, or there is no deal.”

Even at that amount, it will be the biggest summer transfer of the year and if Madrid do not let him go now, his valuation is expected to drop significantly come next season, especially if he sees little playing time at the Bernabéu.

Scolari To Swoop For Fabiano

The Sun claims the Blues, who have lost Claudio Pizarro and Andriy Shevchenko this summer, are prepared to meet Sevilla’s £18million asking price for Fabiano.

The Brazilian international had been strongly tipped to leave the Sanchez Pijzuan at the end of last season due to his fractious relationship with the coaching staff.

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United were all touted as potential destinations, but speculation has died down over the last month or so and it seemed Fabiano would remain in Andalusia for another season.

However, he could be tempted by a move to Stamford Bridge, where he would link up with a number of his compatriots – including Juliano Belletti, Alex and Deco, besides Scolari.

And the Brazilian contingent in west London is set to swell further in the next few days, as Robinho is on the verge of completing a £28million move from Real Madrid.

Fabiano would cover for the injured Didier Drogba during the first month of the season, but the situation thereafter could become interesting given Nicolas Anelka’s fine form in the lone-striker slot.

Report: Chelsea Make €100m Kaka Bid

The English giants are long-term admirers of the European and World Footballer of the Year, and have been constantly linked with him all summer.

Last month it was reported in the media that Chelsea had made a €100m bid for the Brazilian and, although this wasn’t confirmed, Milan transfer guru Adriano Galliani did reveal that the club had rejected a “conspicuous” offer from Chelsea. Since then, there have been numerous figures bandied about by the press, with the Italian media even stating that Chelsea were prepared to fork out a whopping €150m for the midfielder.

The most recent chapter in this saga came on Monday when the Daily Star claimed that Chelsea only allowed Andriy Shevchenko to return to Milan when the Italians handed them a transfer option on Kaka.

The Daily Mail have now taken this to the next level, and claim that Chelsea have launched a €100m raid on Kaka, and will try desperately to complete the deal before the transfer window closes on Monday night.

Their chances of succeeding are said to be good because Kaka is disillusioned with life at San Siro. One of his main grievances is Milan’s transfer policy this summer, and he is said to be particularly unhappy with the arrival of Ronaldinho.

The former Barcelona man is known for his pleasure-seeking lifestyle, and the devoutly Christian Kaka does not approve of the morality of his new team-mate.

Hamburg set for Brazilian swoop

Hamburg have confirmed they are on the verge of signing Brazil international Alex Silva.

The Bundesliga club have sold Rafael van der Vaart and Vincent Kompany this summer and Martin Jol has funds available to spend on new players.

He has identified Silva as somebody who could add stability to his defensive line and hopes to sign him from Sao Paulo.Hamburg’s supervisory board agreed to the proposed 7million euros move on Sunday and the deal

could be completed in the coming days.

“There are still a few details to be sorted. Nothing has been signed yet,” board chairman Horst Becker told Kicker.

23-year-old Silva was a member of the Brazilian Olympic squad which won bronze at the Beijing Games.

Robinho To Chelsea Within Hours?

Spanish daily Marca have speculated that the Brazilian winger could be on his way out of the Spanish capital headed for the English capital in a matter of hours.

According to the reports from the Madrid-based newspaper, Robinho last week rejected club president Ramón Calderón’s latest contract offer, which is believed to be roughly the same amount as what Chelsea were prepared to offer him. This has convinced Calderón to concede that no amount of money will be able to tempt the 24 year old to remain at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Despite coach Bernd Schuster’s optimism that the playmaker will stay on with the blancos squad, his exit has been made all the more imminent after events at the weekend.

Firstly, Robinho was heckled and jeered by a group of fans before the squad left for the game against Valencia. And just before the start of the match, he was whistled at when his name was read out on the stadium’s PA system. The most obvious sign, ofcourse, was his muted celebrations with the rest of the team in the background, away from the spotlight when Madrid eventually beat Los Ché for the Supercopa.

The question of how he will leave and for how much is a different matter altogether.

Cléber Relishing Mallorca Challenge

The 27-year-old Brazilian jumped at the chance to make a loan switch to the Balearic outfit for the new season and believes that he will be able to finally prove himself in the Spanish League.

During his year with Atlético, Santana made just 16 appearances and was rarely given a regular run in Javier Aguirre’s side, but now he hopes that will change at Mallorca.

Coach Gregorio Manzano has already stated the wants the former Santos playmaker to play further forward and the player believes that he will revel in the role.

“I know that I have the quality to play there and I just need time in the team to prove that,” he explained.

Mallorca president, Vicente Grande, revealed that he told Santana to be prepared to work hard and that the club had tried to buy the player in previous seasons.

“I have already told him that there is a lot of competition for places and that he needs to be at his best,” he told reporters.

“Mallorca have been following him for some time now and wanted to sign him before he went to Atlético de Madrid.

Atlético Ready To Give Up On Neves

Los Colchoneros are keen to add another midfielder to their ranks before the start of the season and were confident that the 23-year-old would be theirs.

A €12m fee looked to have been settled upon with Fluminese, who own one third of his rights, and Grupo Sonda, who own two thirds, but that has now changed.

With interest also coming from England, the Brazilian business group believe that they could receive a larger amount if they bide their time and wait for another offer.

Manchester City have been reported to have watched Neves, but have yet to make an official enquiry about his services to either his club or Grupo Sonda.

Now Atlético’s sporting director, Jesús García Pitarch, is ready to pull the plug on the deal and has held talks with president Enrique Cerezo and coach Javier Aguirre.

Grupo Sonda are believed to have told the Spanish outfit that rather than the €12m that had been discussed, they now valued Neves at €16m and would wait for an offer closer to that mark.

Atlético could now turn their attention to Neves’ compatriot Diego, who could still be tempted away from Werder Bremen if they can persuade the German club to accept their payment plan.

A deal could have been done earlier in the summer had Werder not objected to Atlético’s plan to defer payment of the transfer fee and instead demanded that they received a lump sum up front.

Inter To Swap Adriano For Drogba?

The Nerazzurri are currently negotiating with their Brazilian hit-man over a possible contract extension. However, things do not seem like they are going to plan, leading to speculation over his future.  

Il Corriere Dello Sport claims that talks between Inter sporting director Marco Branca and Adriano’s agent Mariano Grimaldi have hit the stumbling blocks.  

A number of sources in Italy suggest that the Brazilian may be on his way out and towards the Premier League. A swap deal for Chelsea’s Drogba is on the horizon and it may take off.  

Adriano would fit it in well at West London and there would be no language barrier between himself and Portuguese coach Luis Felipe Scolari.  

Drogba on the other hand is itching to reunite himself with the ‘Special One’ and he was the talk of much transfer hype this summer.  

Mourinho would love to see one of his former stars at San Siro and, following his failure to entice Frank Lampard, the Inter coach is now looking to push for the big Ivorian hit-man.  

Adriano for Drogba seems like the perfect swap as both strikers guarantee spectacular goals, power and pace.