Football news

Portugal centre-back Ricardo Carvalho has reiterated his desire to leave Chelsea in an interview published in the Il Corriere dello Sport.

The 31-year-old former Porto defender had a miserable season in London last time out, largely due to injuries which saw him lose his place in the Chelsea team.

And now he has set his heart on a move away from Stamford Bridge with Inter his preferred destination, although the two clubs cannot agree on a fee.

"I want to start a new cycle in my career, I feel ready to do so," he said.

"I have spoken to Chelsea's bosses and they know what I want, we'll see what happens now.

"I've been in London for five years. The first four seasons were fantastic but the last one was really difficult. It's only right that our paths (his and Chelsea's) separate."

Lyon snap up Porto's Lopez

French side Lyon said they had agreed terms with Porto to sign Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez for an initial €24 million, plus four million under a bonus structure.

The 26-year-old Lopez has spent four years with Porto after coming to prominence in his homeland with Racing Club.

Lyon, who failed to lift an eighth straight league title last season and must go through the Champions League qualifying round, are in transition and Lopez is their first summer signing.

They have just sold midfielder Juninho, striker Karim Benzema and Ivory Coast star Kader Keita, who has joined Galatasaray.

Sun goes out at Sheffield Utd

Veteran Chinese international defender Sun Jihai ended a seven-year spell in English football as he left Championship side Sheffield United this week.

The 31-year-old - who played for Manchester City for seven years before joining Sheffield United last year - had admitted to being homesick and opted to return to China.

Sun - capped over 70 times - had initially made it to England back in 1998 and stayed for a year with Crystal Palace before returning to China but then returned to the UK to join Manchester City in 2002.

Goalkeeper gets temporary reprieve

Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary will be able to play over the coming months after world sport's top court granted him a temporary stay of execution on a suspension imposed by FIFA.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport froze the sanction first meted out on El-Hadary and Sion in April while it examines the dispute over his controversial transfer to the Swiss side last year from Al-Ahly.

FIFA had suspended El-Hadary, who recently left Sion, for four months and ordered the joint payment of €900,000 to Al-Ahly.

El-Hadary's sudden mid-season move in February 2008 sparked anger in Egypt, shortly after he helped his national side defend their African Nations Cup title and Sion's boss flew over to make him a lucrative offer.

Bayern put €80m tag on Ribery

Bayern Munich have set a price tag of €80 million on French midfielder Franck Ribery, Bild reported yesterday.

The German giants have been insisting all summer they intend to hang on to Ribery, who insists he wants to join Real Madrid.

According to Bild, Bayern have given the Spaniards an ultimatum of July 16, the day when the squad begin pre-season training, to decide if they are ready to stump up the cash or not.

Bayern's new coach Louis van Gaal indicated on Sunday he wanted to see an end to the uncertainty over Ribery's future.

Valdes extends stay at Nou Camp

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has agreed to extend his contract with European champions Barcelona until June 2014.

The 27-year-old, Barcelona's first-choice keeper, has been at the club since 2002 and his current contract was due to expire in 2010.

The talks over the contract extension had reportedly been bogged down due to the player's demand for a higher salary.

Spain's sports media has reported that Valdes, who helped Barcelona win two Champions Leagues and three Spanish Ligas, had demanded a salary of €9 million per season but finally agreed to a salary of around €7 million.

M'boro 'Coyne' it with Wales keeper

Championship team Middlesbrough secured the services of Wales international goalkeeper Danny Coyne from League One side Tranmere Rovers.

The 35-year-old signed a two-year contract and will compete with Brad Jones for the first choice spot.

"Danny is an excellent goalkeeper," Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate said.

"He has played at the highest level with Wales and has great experience."

Coyne - who has Premiership experience having played just five times for Leicester in 2003 - has had two spells at Tranmere and also played for Grimsby and Burnley.