Remember when Diego Maradona signed for Tottenham in the late 1980s?
No neither do I, but I do remember the tabloid newspaper back page claiming the deal was done.
And I remember the same reporter coming up with transfer stories a few desks away that led me to the simple conclusion; he was dealing in fiction.
Transfer trash talk has got a much bigger audience now. The combined weight of football and social media has turned millions –
By Tom Parsons
July 12 – Manchester City have announced plans to expand the capacity of their Etihad Stadium up to 60,000 from its current 47,805 capacity. If the plans are approved, the home of the Citizens will be the third largest in the Premier League – behind Arsenal and biggest rivals Manchester United.
July 12 – Litex Lovech owner Grisha Ganchev has opened the way for the possible return of former European European of the Year Hristo Stoichkov to the four-times Bulgarian champions.
By Mark Baber
July 12 – Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville have announced their GG Hospitality company will be launching hotel and café brands with the intention of building a hospitality empire, both UK and overseas, to enable fans to sleep, drink and eat football.
July 12 – The new owner of Greece’s third biggest club, AEK Athens, has pledged to restore its tarnished reputation following bankruptcy and demotion to the third tier of the country’s football league.
By David Owen
July 12 – Last week Buenos Aires won the right to host the 2018 Youth Olympics with a little help from Lionel Messi, who was given a prominent place in a promotional video shown to International Olympic Committee (IOC) members before the decisive vote. Now Istanbul is attempting to harness the power of football to help its bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
By Mark Baber
July 12 – Yemen’s Football Federation has pulled its national football team from participation in foreign competitions for the rest of 2013 due to a financial crisis.
By Gareth Messenger
July 12 – Racing Santander have denied an allegation their 3-0 home win against Hercules on the final day of the second-division season was fixed and said they will co-operate fully with a probe by Spanish and European football authorities. Despite their victory on June 8, Santander were relegated to the third tier of Spanish football making it their second consecutive relegation.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 12 – Thailand is once again facing the possibility of being expelled from FIFA unless the continuing impasse over implementing contentious new reforms can be resolved.
July 12 – Football’s global match-fixing scourge, regarded as the biggest threat to the integrity of the sport, has now struck at the heart of CONCACAF with the confederation confirming that two Belize players were offered bribes to throw their opening match of the Gold Cup, the region’s blue riband event, against the United States.
July 11 – The qualifiers for The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Women’s Under-20 Qualifiers Tournament kicked off this week with the Dominican Republic losing 3-0 to Trinidad and Tobago at home.
By Mark Baber
July 11 – A new report by Deloitte highlights the opportunities for the construction sector in Qatar as the country gears up to spend $140 billion over the next five years in transport infrastructure and over $200 billion in construction projects.
July 11 – Paris St. Germain’s Brazilian sporting director Leonardo has caved in to the pressure of his 14-month ban and is to resign from the Qatari-owned club.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 11 – Lazio and Genoa face starting next season in Serie A with a points deduction as a result of the latest revelations in Italy’s match-fixing scandals. The two top-flight clubs, plus Lecce, face sanctions as do eight players accused of “sporting fraud” by the Italian football federation, allegedly involving sums of up to €500,000 in bribes.
July 11 – Five nominees from the Bundesliga are included in UEFA’s initial shortlist of ten players for the 2012-13 Best Player in Europe Award, reflecting the success of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in reaching last season’s Champions League final.