Brazilian former world player of the year Ronaldinho has returned home to sign for Rio de Janeiro club Fluminense.
A picture of the 35-year-old playmaker wearing the distinctive maroon and green striped shirt of “Flu” was posted on the club’s Twitter account over the weekend as he agreed to team up with fellow former Brazil international Fred.
“Warriors! I feel at home! Thanks for the support! An honour to become a tricolour. We are together,” Ronaldinho tweeted.
He had been a free agent since leaving Mexican side Queretaro in June after a disappointing year at the club.
Best remembered for his five-year spell at Barcelona, between 2003 and 2008, Ronaldinho was part of the Brazil side that won the World Cup in 2002 and won the Ballon d’Or in 2005.
Leicester City
Leicester have named Italian Claudio Ranieri as their new manager.
Ranieri, who has previously coached in England with Chelsea from 2000 to 2004, succeeds Nigel Pearson at the Premier League club.
Pearson was relieved of his duties last month despite keeping the club in the Premier League last season, with the club making a statement at the time which said “fundamental differences in perspective exist between us”.
Ranieri has been out of work since leaving the Greek national side last year. The 63-year-old Italian has agreed a three-year contract at the King Power Stadium.
Chelsea
The Premier League champions have signed Stoke City’s Bosnia international goalkeeper Asmir Begovic on a four-year contract.
Begovic, 28, has signed for a fee reported in British media to be worth £8 million (Dh45.6m).
Begovic will compete with first-choice Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois at Stamford Bridge after Petr Cech ended his trophy-laden 11-year spell by joining rivals Arsenal last month.
Begovic becomes Chelsea’s second signing of the summer after Colombian striker Radamel Falcao joined from Monaco on a season-long loan.
Juventus
Juventus have bid farewell to Carlos Tevez by announcing the Argentina international striker has joined Boca Juniors for €6.5m.
Tevez, who began his career at Boca as a teenager, had one year left on his contract with the Turin giants.
Tevez was Juve’s top scorer in the past two seasons and was twice voted player of the season by the fans.
He struck 20 league goals during the 2014/15 campaign and also set up seven more to help Juve clinch their fourth straight Scudetto.
Tevez, 31, also won the Coppa Italia this past season and played a prominent role in helping Juve reach the Uefa Champions League final for the first time since 2003, losing 3-1 to Barcelona in the final.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has suffered a fractured wrist during and could miss the start of the campaign.
France international captain Lloris is the club’s No 1 goalkeeper but has been linked with a move to Manchester United this summer.
A statement on Tottenham’s website read: “The France goalkeeper will continue to work alongside the first-team squad to build up his fitness in a bid to be ready for the start of the season.
Our medical team will continue to monitor his rehabilitation and progress during pre-season.”
Melbourne City
Northern Ireland defender Aaron Hughes has joined Australian A-League club Melbourne City on a one-year deal, the club said Monday.
Hughes, 35, began his career at English Premier League club Newcastle United, making 279 appearances, before spells with Aston Villa, Queens Park Rangers and Brighton & Hove Albion.
He also had six-and-a-half years with Fulham. Hughes has 96 caps for Northern Ireland – second most in the nation’s history – and captained the side between 2003 and 2011.
Monaco
Italy international Stephan El Shaarawy is close to completing a transfer from AC Milan to Monaco.
The 22-year-old forward was undergoing a medical with the French league club on Monday. The Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Monaco will pay Milan a €16 million (Dh64.7m) transfer fee and that El Shaarawy will sign a five-year deal worth €3m per season.
In 2012/13, El Shaarawy was Serie A’s top scorer at the season’s midpoint with 14 goals but then struggled the second half of the campaign after Mario Balotelli’s arrival. He was slowed by injuries the past two seasons.
Kuban Krasnodar
Former Russia captain Andrei Arshavin has signed a one-year deal with Kuban Krasnodar as a free agent, the Russian Premier League club said on their website.
The 34-year-old midfielder, whose Zenit St Petersburg contract ended last month, scored 17 goals in 74 internationals.
He played most of his career at Zenit before moving to English side Arsenal in 2009, where he netted 23 times in 105 games.
He rejoined Zenit in June 2013, after a short loan spell back at the club the previous season. Kuban, who are based in the south and finished 10th last term, appointed a new coach in June when Dmitri Khokhlov, who once played with Arshavin for Russia, took over.
Swansea City
Swansea City have signed teenage striker Ollie McBurnie from Bradford City for an undisclosed fee. McBurnie, 19, who made only four senior starts for Bradford, has put pen to paper on a three-year deal and will join the club’s development squad.
Follow us on Twitter at NatSportUAE
