Man Utd accept £80m bid for Ronaldo

Manchester United have accepted a bid of £80m from Real Madrid for their Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo. According to a statement on the Man Utd website: "At Cristiano's request - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player". The news comes as Real Madrid's new president, Florentino Perez, celebrates capturing Kaka from AC Milan for £56m...

Newcastle defender Sebastien Bassong, one of the few players to redeem himself during the past season of mayhem at St James's Park, has told the Newcastle Evening Chronicle that he wants to escape the "madness" at the relegated club. Bassong, player of the year for many fans, would attract bids of around £10m and is interesting many Premier League sides. His fellow Toon defender Fabricio Coloccini has already been offered to Marseilles...

According to the Daily Mail, Anfield boss Rafa Benitez is rebuffing Barcelona's attempts to unsettle Liverpool's Argentinean midfielder Javier Mascherano, as reported on The First Post yesterday. But Benitez hit back at claims made by Mascherano's agent about his client moving to Barca, saying: "Mascherano has no price. Barcelona could not afford to match his value. They can offer £40m or even £50m. We don't want to sell. His agent told me that two clubs with big, big names were asking after Mascherano and I told him to forget it, that Javier was happy in Liverpool and he was not for sale"...

Manchester City's bold bid to bring Chelsea striker Didier Drogba to Eastlands appears to have failed, as the player has told the moneybags Mancunians that he wants to stay put at Stamford Bridge, the Sun reveals. After the Ivory Coast striker's histrionics following the defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final, he seemed to be certain to leave the Londoners over the summer but the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti as boss at Chelsea has persuaded Drogba to stay on at the club... ·