Ronaldo Stunner: I'm Joining Madrid

The longest transfer saga of the summer is apparently in its closing stages.

Crisitiano Ronaldo has blatantly said that he is going to join Real Madrid this summer. Spainish newspaper 'AS' has quoted Ronaldo as saying, "Everything is fine. Next week I will return to England and tell them [Manchester United] that my only desire is to play for Real Madrid and that I will not negotiate."

Ronaldo is currently recuperating in Portugal after having undergone a surgery.

According to reports the talented winger will hold a meeting with Sir Alex and the owners of Manchester United next Tuesday, to tell them he wants out.

Should he arrive at the Bernabéu, it will be interesting to see how he will be received, it is said that the players are tired of rumors of his arrival. Some players like Gago and Higuain have reportedly said they have no problem with Ronaldo's arrival, while others like Sneijder aren't really too keen.

So what do you think? Will Ronaldo be a help or a hindrance to Madrid? I personally am of the opinion that he is by far more important to Manchester United than he will be for Real Madrid.

Pick Your Barca Starting XI

With Barcelona's squad near completion( I say near completion because of the uncertainty of Eto'o's future) it's time to pick who you think should be the starting XI, and what formation should be used. If you want, include a striker who could possibly replace Eto'o if he leaves.

Squad Members:

Goalkeepers
Victor Valdes, Jorquera, Pinto

Defenders
Abidal, Alves, Puyol, Pique, Cáceres, Sylvinho, Milito, Marquez

Midfielders
Xavi, Iniesta, Yaya Toure, Keita, Hleb, Crosas

Strikers
Messi, Eto'o, Henry, Bojan, Gudjohnsen

My Starting XI and Formation{4-1-3-2}

-----------------------------------------Valdes-------------------------------
---Alves------------Marquez---------------------Puyol-------------------Abidal------
--------------------------------------Yaya Toure-------------------------
------------Iniesta----------------------Xavi-------------------Hleb------------------
---------------------------Messi-----------------Eto'o-------------------------------

Tevez To Become England's Record Breaking Signing

According to reports Manchester United will pay Media Sports Investment, the Kia Joorabchian firm that owns Tevez's rights a record fee of around 32 million euros to gain full ownership of the player.

Tevez along with Javier Mascherano were both brought to West Ham by the firm in a third-party move. West Ham was subsequently fined by the Premier League 5.5 million euros for not disclosing the details of the players' contracts. The Premier League FA has also stated that this will be the last time that a player is allowed to join a Premier League club under a third-party agreement.

Tevez moved to Manchester United on a two-year loan deal which runs out next summer. Manchester had the option of closing a permanent deal for the player, but has opted to wait despite the player's appeal for a permanent deal.

Now that talks have reopened with MSI, a fee has been agreed that will surpass that of the 30.6 million euros that Chelsea payed Milan in 2006 to bring Shevchenko to Stanford Bridge, making Tevez the most expensive player in English history.

I believe the fee is correct because Tevez is easily the best player in the Premier League currently. I strongly believe that if he wasn't being used so sparingly by Sir Alex that he would have easily surpassed Ronaldo's goal tally. Tevez scored 19 goals while starting the majority of his games on the bench, scoring more than Wayne Rooney who started, justifying my reason why he should be starting.

It is yet to be seen if Manchester will pay the fee this summer or when Tevez's loan deal runs out.

Barca Latest!

Finally! Oleguer Presas has been sold. To me his sale has been long overdue due to the many defensive arrivals this summer and Oleguer's clumsy tendencies. Oleguer never looked to me like a defender who was up to Barca's standards and I'm glad to see him go.

According to reports Ajax and Barcelona have agreed to a transfer fee of 3 million euros for the player, and if the Amsterdam club qualifies for the Champions League in one of the next three seasons, an extra 2.25 million will be paid. Oleguer is the Dutch club's fourth singing of the summer.

In other news Eto'o is being linked with a move to Lyon that includes Benzema coming to Barca in a swap deal. Lyon president, Jean Michel Aulas is apparently very keen on bringing the Cameroon international to France, as the club is looking to strengthen their attacking options ahead of the Champions League. However this sounds like just another rumor, as Benzema is a prized possession at Lyon, but who knows, Eto'o is more prolific than the Algerian-Kabyle descendant, and Lyon as well as Barca could be tempted.

To cap off my post, I just want to give some hope to the Barca fans out there like myself, who want to see Eto'o stay at the Nou Camp. After Barca's thrashing of yet another Scottish side, this time running out victorious over Dundee United 5-1 in their second preseaon match, where Messi scored a hat-trick, President Joan Laporta was full of praise for Eto'o, commending him for his attitude and for just being a great player. When asked by the media if Eto'o would stay, the president sunned the question and raced away in a hurry according to reports. Seems like Laporta might be having second thoughts about offloading Eto'o, but only time will tell what the future holds.

Maniche Apologizes: Wants To Stay With Atletico

Atletico Madrid midfielder Maniche, who was told by the club that his services were no longer needed, due to disagreements with coach Javier Aguirre and a few of his teammates, has now publicly apologized for his behavior and expressed his desire to stay at the club.

Maniche was loaned out to Inter during the January transfer window because of his conduct but didn't really impress at the San Siro.

Now back at Atletico Madrid the player has admitted his mistakes and wishes to fight hard for his place at the club.

Atletico Madrid took the last Champions League spot in Spain, and will be challenging for top honors in both La Liga and Europe.

I myself was wondering why Maniche was loaned out to Inter because he played relatively well in the team. Now that he has admitted his mistakes, I believe he will be a valuable player to Atletico, as he will bring much needed experience as he has won the Champions League before with Porto back in 2004.