15 best-paying teams in the world

Barcelona and Real Madrid top an ESPN list of the world's highest-paying sporting teams, with three other football clubs featuring in the top ten.

A global salary survey published in ESPN The Magazine, which was conducted by Sporting Intelligence, revealed which clubs or franchises paid the most on a per-player basis in their most recently completed seasons, with the two Spanish giants coming in first and second ahead of last year's top payers, the New York Yankees.

Rank	Team	League	Average Annual Salary Per Player	Average Weekly Salary Per Player
1	Barcelona	La Liga	$7,910,737	$152,130
2	Real Madrid	La Liga	$7,356,632	$141,474
3	New York Yankees	MLB	$6,756,301	$129,929
4	Los Angeles Lakers	NBA	$6,540,690	$125,782
5	Orlando Magic	NBA	$6,367,114	$122,445
6	Chelsea	EPL	$6,020,741	$115,783
7	Inter Milan	Serie A	$5,999,643	$115,378
8	Boston Red Sox	MLB	$5,991,203	$115,215
9	Denver Nuggets	NBA	$5,990,174	$115,196
10	Manchester City	EPL	$5,863,585	$112,761
11	Utah Jazz	NBA	$5,829,643	$112,109
12	Bayern Munich	Bundesliga	$5,780,358	$111,161
13	Philadelphia Phillies	MLB	$5,765,879	$110,882
14	AC Milan	Serie A	$5,647,633	$108,608
15	Boston Celtics	NBA	$5,236,922	$100,710

The sports and leagues: Aussie rules football (AFL), baseball (MLB, NPB), basketball (NBA), cricket (IPL), football (CFL, NFL), soccer (Bundesliga, EPL, La Liga, MLS, Serie A, SPL).

The countries: Australia, Canada, England, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Scotland, Spain, USA.

source: ESPN, www.soccernet.com

Premier League's 6 best transfers of the 2010-11 season

Goal.com UK picks the top signings of the current campaign based on impact, adjustment, price and contribution to their new sides since their arrivals in the past year.

The transfer window produces its fair share of flop signings as clubs aim to boost their chances of a highest possible finish in the Premier League, but it cannot be denied that some real gems are also unearthed in the process too.

Goal.com judges the best transfers for 2010-11 based on:

• The player's overall contribution (this being the most important factor)
• How the player fitted into his new line-up
• How quickly the player adapted to his new surroundings, and vice-versa
• The transfer fee paid, if any, and any other financial details known. (Transfer fees unconfirmed by either club or otherwise unknown are given as approximations. 

 

1. Javier Hernandez: to Manchester United from Guadalajara - £8m (€9m) 

Potentially one of the best buys in Premier League history, Chicharito had been monitored by the club for a couple of years before they finally got their man in the summer of 2010.

Hernandez has scored some vital goals for United in his debut season at the club, few more important than his double in the Champions League last 16 second leg against Marseille at Old Trafford. 

2. Rafael VAN DER VAART : to Tottenham from Real Madrid - £8m (€9m)

His performances may have slightly tailed off towards the end of the season, but the Dutchman certainly played a crucial part in keeping Spurs in the race for fourth place, while scoring some crucial goals in the Champions League before Redknapp's side were beaten in the quarterfinals by his old club. 

3. William Gallas: to Tottenham from Unattached - Free 

Spurs fans had their reservations regarding the signing of the former Arsenal defender, but manager Harry Redknapp described the move as a no-brainer, and the Frenchman has repaid his boss's faith in him.

Two performances stick out as the ones that could yet endear Gallas to the Tottenham faithful; his stellar display against former club Arsenal in which Spurs won 3-2, and the Champions League home leg against AC Milan in which the centre-back cleared a certain goal off the line.

4. David Luiz: to Chelsea from Benfica - £21m (€24m)

David Luiz has wasted no time in establishing himself as a fan favorite at Stamford Bridge following two decisive goals against Manchester United and City.

At just 23, Luiz has demanded a relatively high transfer fee but has shown all the signs of justifying his £21m price tag with the Blues, while drastic changes could be happening around him.

5. Chris Smalling: to Manchester United from Fulham - £10m (€11.5m)

Smalling has excelled for United this season, largely in the absence of the vastly experienced Rio Ferdinand, and at 21 years of age the former Fulham man looks like he could be the figurehead of the United defense for many years to come.

6. Luis Suarez: to Liverpool from Ajax- £22.8m (€26m)  

A January signing during what Kenny Dalglish was probably hoping would be a relatively quiet winter transfer window, which ultimately saw him lose £50m striker Fernando Torres.

Suarez wasted no time in scoring, netting with a fine strike against Sunderland towards the end of March. The Uruguayan also endeared himself to Liverpool fans by turning in a performance of the highest calibre against bitter rivals Manchester United as the Reds ran out 3-1 winners. 

source: Goal.com 

It’s time for a change, Arsene

ARSENAL'S failure to defend a lead took on a new dimension at the Emirates yesterday.

Only the Gunners could go ahead in the 98th minute - and still not win. They got exactly what they deserved. A solitary point which is of no use to them at all.

Now Manchester United need only a dozen points from their last six games to be champions - even if Arsenal win all theirs. So there was a silver lining to a weekend in the capital for the watching Alex Ferguson - even if United's Treble dream was ended the day before by Manchester City. 

In the end, Arsene Wenger was told to "p*** off" by Kenny Dalglish after the Arsenal boss advanced on him, moaning about the injustice of it all.
Do us a favour, Arsene.

The 102nd-minute penalty conceded by Emmanuel Eboue for bundling over Lucas in the box was what you would expect from Arsenal's madcap full-back.  And another example of the errors that have littered Arsenal's season.

As it was, Wenger's team had to rely on a penalty to break the deadlock - their 16th of the season.  So the Frenchman can hardly moan about the breaks going against his boys.
The lack of character that has been the hallmark of this Arsenal side has been there for everyone to see over the last six weeks.

Just one win in five Premier League games.

And just two in nine overall - against Orient in the FA Cup and a Blackpool team in freefall.
It must be eight seasons since Thierry Henry spoke about the need for "a fox in the box".
And yet, along with his failure to sign adequate goalkeepers and centre-halves, Wenger has also done nothing to buy an orthodox, proven goalscorer. Since Henry netted 27 goals in the 2005-06 season, only one Arsenal player has scored over 20 in the league - Emmanuel Adebayor in 2007-08.

If you can't put the ball in the net when it matters most you won't win a thing. As ever, when the season comes to the boil, Arsenal go off it.

They cannot even beat strugglers like Sunderland, Blackburn and West Brom. Or a Liverpool team, already without Steven Gerrard, that then lost Fabio Aurelio, Jamie Carragher and Andy Carroll.

How much longer will Arsenal fans put up with all this?

How much longer before Fabregas and Van Persie realise they are wasting the best years of their careers chasing their manager's dream?

How much longer before Wenger's vanity and stubbornness starts to cause damage to a club he has served so brilliantly?

Arsenal's majority shareholder, American Stan Kroenke, was there yesterday. He may not be a football expert but even he can see this team is heading nowhere.

If Wenger doesn't want to make the marquee signings that can turn things round then, perhaps, someone else should be given the opportunity.

source: Steven Howard, Thesun.co.uk

United risk Roo three-game ban

ALEX FERGUSON is risking losing Wayne Rooney for THREE games to make sure he can face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final. 

Rooney, 25, accepted a charge of using offensive, insulting and/or abusive language for his foul-mouthed rant at a TV camera at West Ham. But Roo and Manchester United are arguing that the striker's two-match suspension is too severe.

That ban rules him out of this weekend's Premier League clash with Fulham PLUS the FA Cup semi against their Manchester rivals at Wembley on Saturday week.

An FA hearing will consider the appeal - and could increase it by an extra game if they consider it frivolous.

That would also rule him out of the leaders' league trip to Newcastle on April 19.
Rooney is likely to hear the verdict just two hours before taking on Chelsea in the Champions League tonight.

An FA statement said: "Manchester United player Wayne Rooney has admitted a charge for the use of offensive, insulting and/or abusive language.

"However, Rooney has submitted a claim that the automatic penalty of two games is clearly excessive.

United boss Ferguson yesterday refused to talk about the Rooney incident, saying: "I am not going to discuss it at all. We have submitted our case."

But Fergie is happy the striker's hat-trick at West Ham shows he is coming to the boil at the right time of the season in terms of his scoring.

source: Thesun.co.uk