Official: AC Milan sign Kaka

The Serie A giants have confirmed that they have reached an agreement with the attacking midfielder over a two-year deal

AC Milan have announced on their official website that they have secured the services of Kaka from Real Madrid. 

Following long negotiations into the early hours of Monday morning in the Spanish capital between Adriano Galliani and Kaka’s representatives, a deal was struck that sees the Brazilian arrive on a free transfer on a contract until 2015, with only performance-related incentives due to Madrid.

The 31-year-old will earn €4 million net per season at Milan and is set to fly to Milan’s Linate Airport on Monday morning to undergo a medical.

Kaka previously wore the Milan jersey from 2003 until 2009, winning one Serie A title as well as the Champions League during his first spell at the club.

The former Sao Paulo youngster then left the club for Real Madrid, but never lived up to the high expectations at the Liga giants as he mainly confined to the periphery at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He announced last week that he wanted to leave Madrid this summer and has now been granted his desired transfer back to Milan.

GOAL.COM

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Victor Moses excited to join Liverpool

Victor Moses unveiled in Anfield

The Nigeria international has left Stamford Bridge for Anfield Road on a year-long loan deal after falling down the pecking order in Jose Mourinho’s squad

New Liverpool signee Victor Moses has expressed excitement at joining up with the Reds on transfer deadline day.

The Nigeria international made a late move to Anfield Road after falling down the pecking order at Chelsea since the return of Jose Mourinho to the side.

Moses will spend a year in Liverpool without the option of a permanent deal, something which shows he might still have a future at Stamford Bridge.

“Really excited to be joining Liverpool this season and can't wait to make my debut now,” Moses tweeted with a photo of him holding up the club’s jersey on Monday.

The 23-year-old is key to Nigeria’s plans for next year’s World Cup and will see this move to Liverpool as a means to guarantee playing time in preparation for Brazil.

GOAL.COM

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Michael Essen loses Dad

Ghana and Chelsea FC midfielder lost his dad today.




The playmaker announced his fathers demise via his twitter handle, he said 'Its hard to take but God knows the best, Thank you for your support and well-wishes. RIP Father'


sportdiva.net

Michael Essien with Dad

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African Football: Sunday African Football Star Watch

Good afternoon and welcome to Sunday’s African Stars Watch on MTNFootball.com.

It is a busy day action for our African stars in Europe before they fly back home to play for their respective national team ah
ead of this weekend's final round of 2014 World Cup group stage qualifiers.

In the English Premiership, at Swansea, Cote d'Ivoire striker Wilfried Bony is expected to be in action when the Swans visit West Brom in a 14h30.

In Serie A, Bony's compatriot Gervinho is in line for a second run-out for Roma when they take on Verona in an 18h00 kick off.

Next door in the French Ligue One, it's derby day on the Riviera when Olympic Marseille renew old rivalries when they host promoted Monaco at 21h00.

Look out for the Ayew brothers in action for OM before they fly home to play for the Black Stars in next Friday's big 2014 qualifying date against Zambia.14h20 - Thulani Serero played the full 90 minutes in Ajax Amsterdam's Dutch Eredivisie match against Groningen which just ended 1-1 and sees Ajax in fourth place on the league table with eight points after five games played.14h30 – Two Barclays Premiership matches are underway as West Brom host Swansea and Liverpool take on Manchester United. Ivorian Wilfried Bony is in action for Swansea.14h34 – Daniel Sturridge scores to give Liverpool a 1-0 lead over Manchester United.14h40 – South Africa’s Kamohelo Mokotjo is also in action for Pec Zwolle up against Utrecht in the Dutch Eredivisie.

14h45 – South Africa’s Darren Keet is in goals for Kortrijk up against St. Liege in the Belgium Pro League.  Ghanaian Daniel Opare is playing at right-back for St. Liege.

14h50 – Ben Davies gives Swansea a 1-0 lead over West Brom.

15h00 – Two games in the South African Absa Premiership have kicked off as Ajax Cape Town host AmaZulu and Bloemfontein Celtic take on Free State Stars.

15h20 – It is half time in the Barclays Premiership games as Liverpool lead 1-0 over Manchester United and Swansea are winning 1-0 against West Brom. It is 0-0 in Holland between Zwolle and Utrecht and 0-0 in Belgium between St. Liege and Kortrijk.

15h22 – AmaZulu are leading Ajax Cape Town 1-0 thanks to an own goal from Lolo.15h30 – Ivorian Arthur Boka is in action in the German Bundesliga as VfB Stuttgart takes on Hoffenheim.

15h35 – The second halves are underway in England, Holland and Belgium.

15h45 – Stuttgart have taken the lead against Hoffenheim. Utrecht have taken the lead against Zwolle. Free State Stars have scored against Celtic.

15h50 – It is half time in the tow Absa Premiership matches as AmaZulu and Free State lead.

15h55 – St. Liege are 2-0 up against Kortrijk.

16h00 – Hoffenheim pull a goal back and trail 2-1.

16h01 – The CAF Champions League match between Orlando Pirates and Zamalek has kicked-off.16h05 – Zamalek take the lead from the penalty spot courtesy of Ahmed Eid, 1-0.16h10 – Zwolle draw level with Utrecht and Free State Stars go 2-0 up against Celtic.16h12 – AmaZulu also go 2-0 up over Ajax Cape Town.16h15 – Celtic pull a goal back against Free State Stars, 2-1.16h25 – The matches in England, Holland and Belgium that kicked off at 14h30 have ended. Liverpool beat Manchester United 1-0, Swansea beat West Brom 2-0, Zwolle drew 1-1 with Utrecht and St. Liege beat Kortrijk 2-0.

16h30 – Lennox Bacela draws Pirates level in their CAF Cahmpions League match, 1-1.

16h32 – Celtic have drawn level with Free state stars after being two goals behind, 2-2.

16h50 – The two Sunday Absa Premiership fixtures have ended as AmaZulu beat Ajax 2-1 and Celtic and Free State drew 2-2.

17h10 - Pirates go behind for a second time after Zamalek re-take the lead from a corner-kick, 2-1.17h20 - Stuttgart thrash Hoffenheim 6-2.17h22 - Arsenal take the lead against Tottenham in the London derby in the Barclays Premiership.17h45 - Dortmund take the lead in their Bundesliga match.17h50 - Zamalek beat Orlando Pirates 2-1 in their CAF Champions League match.19h53 - Ivory Coast star Gervinho played a full 90 minutes for Roma as they beat Verona 3-0 in the Italian Serie A.

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Premiership: Liverpool and Arsenal won Derby at home

Daniel Sturridge sent Liverpool top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday, while Arsenal clipped Tottenham Hotspur's wings in the north London derby.New United manager David Moyes was without Wayne Rooney due to a head injury that looks set to rule him out of England's World Cup qualifiers and in his absence, the Scot's poor record at Anfield continued.

AFP

Sturridge, who could benefit from Rooney's absence for England against Moldova and Ukraine, scored the only goal in the fourth minute, having also been the match-winner in 1-0 wins over Stoke City and Aston Villa.It means that Liverpool are the only team to have won their opening three fixtures, after big-spending Spurs lost 1-0 at Arsenal later in the day."It is a great win for our belief," said Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.

ast season we drew too many of the big games and we lost both times to Manchester United, but today was another marker for us and since January our form has been very, very good."Although the season remains young, it was a painful defeat for United, who already trail their old rivals by five points."I thought we played really well," said Moyes, the former Everton manager, who revealed after the game that Rooney could be out for three weeks."We had long periods of the game, but couldn't score. Apart from the lapse in concentration for their goal, we played well.

"We got two or three opportunities but it was unfortunate we didn't take them."The game was preceded by a minute's applause for the late Bill Shankly, who would have turned 100 on Monday, and the legendary former Liverpool manager would have appreciated his side's purposeful start.There were less than four minutes on the clock when Liverpool struck, with Sturridge stepping off the line to glance Daniel Agger's header past David de Gea and mark his 24th birthday with an 11th goal in nine games.

The visitors improved in the second half, but Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet repelled a Ryan Giggs header and a rasping drive from substitute Nani before Robin van Persie slashed a late chance wide.The final whistle drew roars from the home fans, but there was concern for watching England manager Roy Hodgson, who saw both United defender Phil Jones and Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson hobble off with injuries.

At the Emirates Stadium, Spurs included new record signing Erik Lamela on the bench; the star recruit of a close-season splurge in which they have spent around £110 million ($170 million, 129 million euros) on new players.

It was a familiar combination that saw Arsenal take a 23rd-minute lead, however, with Theo Walcott crossing for Olivier Giroud to beat France team-mate Hugo Lloris with an exquisite near-post finish.Mathieu Flamini, who has returned to the club from AC Milan, made his second Arsenal debut as a substitute for Jack Wilshere, but fears about the injury-prone Eng midfielder's fitness were allayed by the news he had only been suffering from stomach cramps.After Lloris's fingertips prevented Giroud from doubling Arsenal's lead in the second half, Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas sent on Lamela and Sandro, who came on after an injury to Etienne Capoue.

Roberto Soldado vainly appealed for handball after his shot was blocked by Giroud, but while Nacho Monreal was unable to add a second after Lloris saved from Walcott, it did not stop Arsene Wenger's side stealing into the top four at Spurs' expense."To sum it up, their goalkeeper was their best player," Arsenal manager Wenger told Sky Sports.

"We had plenty of chances, but I concede that we did hang on in the end because we just wanted to keep the score."Asked about the chances of Arsenal signing a new player before the transfer window closes on Monday evening, he added: "Maybe we'll have a good surprise for you."Villas-Boas admitted it would take time for his side to knit together.

"We don't have time for the players to gel," he said."We played on Thursday and again on Sunday. We don't have enough time at this moment to put the team together."In the day's other game, Swansea City recorded their first victory of the season with a 2-0 success at West Bromwich Albion.

The home side recalled Nicolas Anelka after he was granted compassionate leave due to the death of a close friend, but they lost to a 22nd-minute Ben Davies volley and a late Pablo Hernandez strike.

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Nigerian Ajayi Shone at Arsenal Trials

Nigeria U20 defender Oluwasemilogo Ajayi shone like a million stars for Arsenal U21 team in a friendly against Blackburn Rovers.



 The towering defender apart from being so in the defence got a goal for Arsenal in 3-0 thrashing of Rovers at Leigh Sports Village.

 The 19-year-old Nigeria star, who is at Arsenal on trials from Charlton Athletic, gave coach Steve Gatting’s Arsenal U21side the lead in the 18th minute with a header off Kristoffer Olsson's cross.

 It was certainly the right way for the towering centre-back to make a positive impression on his potential future employers. It is no secret that Arsenal are short of defenders at this level, although, on this early evidence, Ajayi appears a far more promising prospect than fellow trialist Ramy Bensebaini.

Daniel Boateng and another Nigerian, Chuba Akpom, scored the other goals for Arsenal. Ajayi featured for Nigeria U20s at the Toulon International tournament in France earlier this year, but was later dropped for the World Cup party.



Twitter @aderonkew



mtnfootball

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Liverpool thrashed Manchester united in Anfield as they sign Victor Moses on Loan

Daniel Sturridge's goal earned Liverpool victory over Manchester United to continue their 100% start to the season, their best for 19 years.

The hosts began at a blistering rate and Sturridge stooped to turn in from a corner after four minutes.United, who lost the injured Phil Jones in the first half, were disjointed but
improved slightly after the break, reports the BBC.Nani went close before Robin van Persie fired wide with David Moyes still looking for his first win at Anfield.

Meanwhile, Liverpool will complete the formalities of a season-long loan deal for Chelsea's Victor Moses before the transfer window closes.

The 23-year-old has slipped even further down the pecking order at the Blues after the summer signings of Willian and Andre Schurrle.Liverpool will pay the Stamford Bridge club a loan fee, understood to be around £1m, as part of the deal for the former Crystal Palace and Wigan attacker.

West Bromwich Albion, Southampton and Everton had also shown an interest in Moses.Moses, who was at Anfield watching Liverpool play Manchester United on Sunday, signed for Chelsea from Wigan for a fee reported to be around £9m in August 2012.He made 23 Premier League appearances last season, scoring one goal, but has yet to feature for new manager Jose Mourinho this season.

The Nigerian international joined Wigan from Crystal Palace on a three-and-a-half-year deal in January 2010 for a reported fee of £2.5m.Earlier this week Liverpool agreed to sign central defenders Mamadou Sakho and Tiago Ilori for a combined fee of around £25m.Sakho, 23, will cost £18m from Paris St-Germain with Ilori, 20, moving from Sporting Lisbon.

And at the Hawthorns, a goal in each half from Ben Davies and Pablo Hernandez secured Swansea's first Premier League win of the season while West Brom remain without a league goal.Davies scored only his second-ever goal for the Swans with a thunderous volley, before Hernandez netted his first goal for the club from close range.

The returning Nicolas Anelka went closest for the hosts before the break.

EPL RESULTS

Liverpool 1 - Manchester United 0

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