Ferguson changes mind to sign Senegal star

(CNN) -- Manchester United have signed Senegal striker Mame Biram Diouf, less than a week after manager Alex Ferguson said their spending in the close season transfer window was at an end.

The 21-year-old will have a medical in Manchester next week and is set to join the English Premier League champions in January, the club's official Web site www.manutd.com reported.

Diouf is likely to remain on loan at the Norwegian club until then.

Ferguson told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur where United are on tour that Diouf had been a target for some time.

"We've been looking at him for two years," he said.

"We weren't intending on signing anyone else after last week -- we feel we have a full squad -- but the situation accelerated to a point where other clubs started to make bids, so we had a decision to make.

"We decided to act now and he'll be the last person we sign this summer."

Diouf has scored 38 times in 73 appearances for Molde, the same club from which United signed striking star Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as a virtual unknown in 1996.

Ferguson claimed that he had concluded his summer transfer spending last week as he unveiled Antonio Valencia, Gabriel Obertan and Michael Owen.

His comments took observers by surprise, particularly as United had netted $130 million for the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid.

But Ferguson claimed that it was "difficult to get value" with transfer fees rocketing sky-high as Real and Manchester City have splashed out millions to strengthen their squads.
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In other transfer news on Friday, United confirmed that they had agreed terms with Real Valladolid for the transfer of their Angolan striker Manucho.

The 26-year-old has failed to win a regular first team place and has spent spells on loan with Greek side Panathinaikos and with English Premier League Hull City

Worst XI: Infamous football punch-ups

LONDON, England (CNN) -- An ill-tempered CONCACAF Gold Cup match between Mexico and Panama recently saw three players and Mexico coach Javier Aguirre sent off amid violent scenes in Houston, Texas.

The 1-1 draw, which saw the referee add on 10 minutes at the end for all the various stoppages, got Fanzone thinking about some of the most controversial match melees that have occurred.

Do you agree with our worst 11? Post your comments in the Sound Off box below.

1 The Battle of Santiago, Chile v Italy, World Cup 1962

Surely the most violent match in history. The tone was set when the first foul was committed after 12 seconds. Two Italian players were sent off as the teams spent the whole 90 minutes punching, spitting and scuffling with each other, with Chile managing to score two goals in-between the fighting. Police had to come onto the pitch three times to sort out the chaos while Italian Giorgio Ferrini had to be escorted off by armed officers when he refused to leave the pitch after his dismissal. Referee Ken Aston remarked: "I wasn't reffing a football match, I was acting as an umpire in military maneuvers."

2 Valencia v Inter Milan, Champions League 2007

Six yellow cards were handed out during the game, but it was events that followed which marred Valencia's passage through to the quarterfinals. On the final whistle, Inter midfielder Nicolas Burdisso came together with Valencia defender Carlos Marchena, sparking a brawl. Unused Valencia substitute David Navarro then ran onto the field, to join in - the result of which was a broken nose for Burdisso. Navarro, retreated to the sidelines chased and kicked by Inter players Julio Cruz, Ivan Cordoba. The melee continued in the tunnel, with the Spanish Civil Guard eventually needed to quell the problem. UEFA, European football's governing body, subsequently fined Navarro $200,000 and banned the player for eight games, Burdisso was slapped with an eight-match suspension, Maicon for six, Córdoba for three games and Julio Cruz for two.

3 Turkey v Switzerland, World Cup play-off 2006

Violence erupted after Turkey missed a place in the 2006 finals after going out on the away goals rule following a 4-2 win in Istanbul. Players and technical staff were seen throwing punches in the tunnel as the Swiss side ran for their lives against a torrent of Turkish anger. Turkey assistant-coach Mehmet Ozdilek was banned from all football for one year, while two Turkish players, and one Swiss, were handed six-match bans. Turkey were also ordered to play their next six competitive home matches behind closed doors at neutral venues.

4 Manchester United v Arsenal, English Division One 1990

These two rivals have been involved in some juicy encounters over the years, but this is one of the most infamous. Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn went in late on Manchester United's Denis Irwin prompting chaos, as 21 players, with Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman proving the exception, joining in the fracas. Remarkably nobody was sent off but the English Football Association took a dim view and deducted Arsenal two league points and United one. Arsenal won the match 1-0 and still went on to lift the title.

5 France v Italy, World Cup final 2006

The great Zinedine Zidane had led an unfancied and ageing French side to the World Cup final. With the match level in extra time, the attentions of notorious Italian hard-man and chief agitator Marco Materazzi finally proved too much for the France No.10 - who responded to some choice words by the Inter Milan central defender by turning around and viciously head-butting his rival in the stomach. Zidane was sent off. France eventually lost on penalties and the Real Madrid playmaker bizarrely went on to be voted 'Player of the Tournament'.

6 Kevin Keegan v Billy Bremner, Liverpool v Leeds Charity Shield 1974

England striker Keegan blamed Bremner for "taking him out" in an off the ball. Bremner was not one for holding back and Wembley stadium, home of some famous boxing matches over the years, played host to another as these two diminutive players slugged it out like two featherweights challenging for the WBC world title. Unsurprisingly both were sent off and added to their charge list by hurling their tops to the ground and walking off the pitch bare-chested. Each player was fined £500 ($810) and banned for 11 games, although shirt-throwing accounted for eight of the matches!

7 Rudi Voeller v Frank Rijkaard, Netherlands v Germany World Cup 1990


Not the most violent, but certainly one of the funniest. The pair were sniping at each other throughout the match. Rijkaard came in late on Voeller, who later took his revenge with a lunge on goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen. Rijkaard took exception and, after a melee, the pair were sent off, with the Dutchman then notoriously spitting as hard as he could into the German's curly perm as the disgraced pair left the pitch.

8 Lee Bowyer v Kieron Dyer, Newcastle v Aston Villa English Premier League 2005

Punch-ups are rare in modern football, but between teammates they are non-existent. These two hot-heads got into a debate over Dyer's refusal to pass Bowyer the ball. Both players had made news for their off-field activities in the past - but they took their behavior to a new low when they exchanged blows in the middle of the Newcastle half soon after Villa had gone 3-0 up. The pair later appeared alongside manager Graeme Souness to apologize for their conduct, but pointedly did not say sorry to each other.

9 LDU Quito v Barcelona, Ecuador league 2006

A mass brawl at the end of the match on the final day of the season shocked Ecuador - and resulted in a host of suspensions being handed out. A total of 11 players were banned for between two and 12 months for taking part in the punch-up which saw four Barcelona players receive injuries. The incident started with a clash between former Ecuador striker Agustin Delgado and his marker Victor Montoya.

10 Cruzeiro v Atletico Mineiro Brazilian league 2007

Atletico Mineiro defender Coelho did not take kindly to the seal dribble of talented teenager Kerlon - who collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area, flicked it up and performed his trademark dribble by bouncing the ball on his head as he ran towards goal. Coelho crashed into him and was given a straight red card and a four-month suspension. Other Atletico players remonstrated angrily with Kerlon, leading to an angry pushing match which interrupted the game for five minutes. Atletico coach Emerson Leao warned that Kerlon could get seriously injured if he tried the trick again.


11 Chelsea v Arsenal English League Cup final 2007

With Chelsea winning 2-1 Arsenal defender Kolo Toure reacted angrily to a late challenge. Both sides had a number of African players in their line-ups and a mass brawl erupted which saw three of them, Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor, Toure and Chelsea's John Obi Mikel sent off. Adebayor refused to leave the pitch and it needed respective managers - the hot-headed pair of Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho - to stride onto the turf and defuse the situation

Ferguson expects Rooney to carry Man United attack

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) Alex Ferguson expects Wayne Rooney to shoulder much of the responsibility for Manchester United's front line this year following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid and Carlos Tevez to Manchester City.

The Premier League champion's manager believes Rooney will play a pivotal role despite signing Michael Owen from Newcastle, Antonio Valencia from Wigan and Gabriel Obertan from Bordeaux to bolster its attacking options.

"The expectation on Rooney is always high," Ferguson told a news conference in Malaysia. "It is a natural situation as it is the standard which he has set for himself."

The Red Devils unexpectedly boosted their attacking options further Friday by agreeing to sign Senegalese striker Mame Biram Diouf from Norwegian club Molde - despite Ferguson saying at the start of the week that his business in the transfer window was over.

Terms have been agreed and Diouf will have a medical in Manchester next week, although United wants him to stay at Molde on loan before joining the squad in January.

Ferguson said he had been keeping on eye on Diouf for two years.

"We weren't intending on signing anyone else after last week - we feel we have a full squad," Ferguson said. "But the situation accelerated to a point where other clubs started to make bids, so we had to decide whether we acted or didn't act. We decided to act and he'll be the last person we sign."

United begins its preseason Asian tour on Saturday with a friendly against a Malaysian XI in Kuala Lumpur. A second planned stop in Indonesia was scrapped after Friday's deadly bomb attacks at two Jakarta luxury hotels, including the Ritz-Carlton where the team had been scheduled to stay.

Ferguson brushed off suggestions that United will lack bite for the new season because of Ronaldo's absence, saying the presence of other forwards such as Dimitar Berbatov and promising youngster Federico Macheda will compensate for the loss.

"We have a squad ... with outstanding football and it is how we use them which is important," Ferguson said.

He was also confident that a few injured players will be back in action by September.

"(Nemanja) Vidic is nursing an ankle injury and it will take him some time although the situation with Owen (Hargreaves) is showing positive signs," Ferguson said.

Coach: Villa staying at Valencia

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) David Villa will be staying at Valencia, coach Unai Emery said Friday.

The Spain striker had been a Real Madrid and Barcelona transfer target, but Valencia's high price tag - 50 million ($71 million) - saw the two Spanish powerhouses look elsewhere. Madrid signed Lyon forward Karim Benzema and Barcelona is on the verge of acquiring Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

"The reality is that Villa is staying," Emery said. "Valencia wanted to have David Villa in its team despite its known economic hardships. It's important that the club puts stock in the sporting side."

Villa, who scored three goals for Spain at the Confederations Cup despite constant reports over his future, turned down a move to Chelsea to stay in Spain.

Emery said it was normal for Villa to ponder a move, and that he was sure that the 27-year-old Spaniard would return to preseason training with the same motivation as always despite seeing potential moves fall through.

"Villa never said he wanted to leave," Emery said a day after reports emerged that the Spain striker was willing to take a salary cut to move to Barcelona.

Fellow Spain internationals David Silva and Juanma Mata have also been reported Madrid and Barcelona targets, but new president Manuel Llorente has preferred not to sell any of his stars despite the club being up to 600 million ($845 million) in debt and with construction work on a new stadium having halted since the club cannot afford to pay the costs.

Valencia's players played without pay for a month early in the year before the club finally came through.

"I think they are players that have always been happy at Valencia and I hope, I'm convinced, that they will return to the group easily, and will do so with the complete professionalism they have always shown," Emery said.

Cristiano Ronaldo ready for challenge at Madrid

MAYNOOTH, Ireland (AP) Cristiano Ronaldo is the player expected to lead Real Madrid back to the top of the football world, and he is relishing the chance to prove he can do just that.

"Life is a challenge, and I'm a challenge man," Ronaldo said Thursday at Madrid's preseason training camp near Dublin.

The Portugal winger moved to Madrid from Manchester United for a record 80 million pound ($131 million) transfer fee. Along with Kaka, Karim Benzema and Raul Albiol, Ronaldo said he and his teammates have a job to do when the Spanish season starts next month.

"The new players have to show they have been brought in for a reason," Ronaldo said. "We have to win the league."

Last year, Barcelona not only won the league title but also added the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, becoming the first Spanish team to win all three in one season. Ronaldo, who won the Champions League with Manchester United but lost to Barcelona in last season's European Cup final, is hoping his new team can do the same thing.

"You need sometimes a little bit of luck, but I believe we have a good team, a good coach. Why not?" Ronaldo said of the nine-time European Cup champions. "We have to be thinking like that to win."

Ronaldo dismissed reports that the new wave of "galacticos" at Madrid was causing friction with the star players already there.

"All of us have to concentrate together to win championships," Ronaldo said. "I'm the same as all the others, and together I think we can achieve that."

Ronaldo's first match with Madrid is likely to be on Monday when the team plays a friendly against Shamrock Rovers. He said coach Manuel Pellegrini hadn't told him yet whether he will play at Rovers in a stadium where special stands have been erected to accommodate the more than 10,000 fans expected to attend.

Whether or not he plays, Ronaldo was not prepared to offer any insight into Madrid's opponent.

"To be honest with you, I don't know. I don't know any player," Ronaldo said. "Sorry about that."

Bayern warns Madrid of FIFA complaint over Ribery

MADRID (AP) Bayern Munich will report Real Madrid to FIFA if the Spanish team continues to pursue of Franck Ribery, the Bundesliga club said Friday.

Madrid and Barcelona have been in pursuit of the France winger, but persistent comments by Zinedine Zidane - who is working as a special adviser to Madrid president Florentino Perez - seemed to irk the Germans.

"Everybody is speaking about Ribery's transfer. Above all, Zidane says 'blah, blah, blah ...' It seems a lack of respect to us," Bayern manager Uli Hoeness told sports daily AS on Friday. "I want to be clear. We will report them to FIFA if things continue this way. This is not the way to do things."

Hoeness said that Bayern hadn't taken the case to FIFA because of good relations with Perez and director general Jorge Valdano. Ribery has so far refused to speak on the matter.

"We never wanted to listen to Madrid because, to us, Ribery has never been for sale," Hoeness said. "I've never been worried. Not me, not anyone else. Since the start there's never been a Ribery theme."

Hoeness said the situation would not lead Bayern to re-negotiate Ribery's contract, which is due to expire in 2011.

"Madrid's way of acting is incredible," Bayern coach Louis van Gaal said. "But everyone remembers how the last presidency of Florentino Perez ended."

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson previously complained - unsuccessfully - to FIFA over Madrid's pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was eventually signed by Perez as part of the Spanish powerhouse's 214 million ($302 million) spending spree this offseason.

Brazilian left back Maxwell arrives at Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Maxwell completed a 4.5 million ($6.4 million) move to Barcelona from Inter Milan on Friday after passing his medical examination.

The 27-year-old Brazilian left back arrived from Inter Milan's preseason tour of the United States to be presented at Barcelona's Miniestadi - a smaller stadium located next to the Camp Nou - after signing his contract, which is reportedly a five-year deal.

"Excuse me that I don't speak the language," Maxwell said after being introduced in Catalan. "But I'm happy to arrive at the best club in Europe."

Maxwell is likely to be the first of two Inter players to join Barcelona. The Spanish champions are also negotiating with Inter to sign striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a deal worth a reported 40 million ($56 million).

Maxwell, who began his career at Cruzeiro before joining Ajax in 2001, scored one goal in 33 appearances for Inter last season, his third at the Italian club.

Maxwell helped Ajax to two league titles in four full seasons - with another lost to a knee injury - and was named best player in the Dutch league in 2004.

Barcelona's medical staff said Maxwell's knee was in fine condition.

"It was a long examination," doctor Ricard Pruna said. "Basically, we looked at the right knee that was operated on some years ago and everything in the knee is correct."

Barcelona has initial agreement for Ibrahimovic

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Barcelona reached an initial agreement with Inter Milan to sign striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Friday in a deal that could also send striker Samuel Eto'o and midfielder Aleksandr Hleb to the Italian champions.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said "there is an agreement in principle with Inter Milan." On Thursday, Spanish news reports said a 40 million ($56 million) deal for the Sweden striker had been completed.

The Catalan club, however, said it was still negotiating with Inter with the deal dependent on Ibrahimovic and Eto'o, so other options - such as Valencia striker David Villa - had not been discarded.

"Ibrahimovic's signing depends on the player himself, on Samuel Eto'o and all the parties involved," said Laporta, who added that he had been personally discussing the matter with Eto'o. "David Villa as an option is not finished. We haven't discarded any possibilities."

Inter president Massimo Moratti said that the impromptu meeting with Laporta and Barcelona sporting director Txiki Beguiristain on Thursday was originally intended to tie up left back Maxwell's 4.5 million ($6.4 million) transfer to Barcelona and complete Hleb's move, which is expected to be a season-long loan deal.

Beguiristain hoped to complete any transfer by July 27 as the club looks for its first marquee signing since it became the first Spanish club to win the treble last season.

The 27-year-old Ibrahimovic, who led Serie A with 25 goals last season, guided Inter to three straight Serie A league titles since a 12 million ($17 million) move from Juventus in 2006. The former Ajax player has scored 21 goals in 58 appearances for Sweden.

"We're trying to manage the best options possible. The Ibrahimovic option is still open," Beguiristain said. "Inter could be a good club for Eto'o."

Eto'o had already rejected a lucrative offer from Manchester City. The Cameroon striker instead opted to stay and let his contract run out so he could leave without a transfer fee at the end of next season despite Barcelona offering a two-year extension to his current deal.

Barcelona agreed to extend the 28-year-old Eto'o's vacation time as it sought a replacement. Villa was linked with a potential move but Barcelona is unwilling to meet Valencia's 50 million ($71 million) asking price for the Spain striker.

Atletico Madrid's Diego Forlan is also thought to be a Barcelona target.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola originally wanted to sell the volatile Eto'o last year after saying the three-time African footballer of the year would not factor into the club's plans.

But Eto'o - who won three league championships, two European Cups and one Copa del Rey title in five seasons at Barcelona - won Guardiola over with 34 goals in 50 appearances last season, including the winner in the Champions League final against Manchester United. That victory allowed Barcelona to become only the fifth European team to win the treble.

Hleb played a minor role in Barcelona's success last season, often coming on as a substitute to make 34 appearances in his first season after a transfer from Arsenal.

Man U scrap Indonesia match after hotel blasts

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) Manchester United has canceled a planned visit to Indonesia after Friday's bomb attack on the hotel where it was due to stay in Jakarta.

The English Premier League club was booked to stay on Saturday and Sunday nights at the Ritz-Carlton, one of the two hotels hit by Friday's terror attack. The blasts at the Ritz and the adjacent J.W. Marriott killed nine and wounded at least 50 more.

The club said it has informed the Indonesian Football Association that it cannot play the friendly match against the Indonesian All Stars scheduled for Monday.

United arrived earlier Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - the first stop of what was supposed to be a four-nation Asian pre-season tour that also includes South Korea and China.

United chief executive David Gill indicated the team might extend its stay in Malaysia but would consult the country's football association before announcing a decision.

"We have to consider the safety of the players and the staff and everyone else in the team because they are of paramount importance," Gill told a news conference.

A statement by the club said it was "deeply disappointed at not being able to visit Indonesia" and said "our thoughts go to those affected by the blasts."