Football news

Milan will have to make an improved offer for Brazil forward Luis Fabiano if they are to prise him away from Sevilla, the player's agent said.

Jose Fuentes said the only thing blocking a move for the Confederations Cup top goalscorer was Milan's reluctance to up their offer.

"Right now it's Milan who need to take a step forward for Luis Fabiano, we're waiting, we'll see if it's possible to close out this deal," Fuentes said.

"It's Milan who have to move, fly to Seville and increase their offer."

Fuentes said Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido's wants the Italians to stump up €20 million for the 28-year-old, although Milan don't want to pay more than €14 million.

United sign Molde striker Diouf

Manchester United have signed 21-year-old striker Mame Biram Diouf from Molde, the Norwegian club said yesterday.

The player, originally from Senegal, would join the English champions in January, pending a medical, and would stay in Norway until then, Molde said on their website.

"Mame Biram Diouf will go through medical checks at Manchester United next week and will join the club in January," the club said.

Norwegian TV station TV2 reported that as many as 12 European clubs were chasing Diouf's signature, including French champions Bordeaux and Hamburg.

Eto'o gets extra week of holidays

Barcelona have given their Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, whose future at the club is uncertain, an extra week of holidays.

The club resume training on Monday but the player will only join up with the team on July 27 along with the six Spanish internationals who took part in the Confederations Cup as well as Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

Coach Josep Guardiola no longer wants Eto'o in his team and the move is an attempt by the European and Spanish champions to "buy time" to offload the striker who has one year left on his contract.

When he took over last year, Guardiola made it clear that he wanted Eto'o to leave, reportedly because of problems that the striker had caused in the dressing room.

Beckham makes low-key return

David Beckham's return to MLS was a low-key affair, the star midfielder barely in the picture in Los Angeles Galaxy's 3-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Thursday.

Playing in a stadium nearly three-quarters empty, Beckham looked sluggish, making no significant crosses and not even taking all of the Galaxy's corners.

It was Beckham's first MLS match since the finish of the Italian league season on May 31. The 34-year-old had been loaned by the Galaxy to Milan with the proviso that he return for the entire 2009 MLS season, but he got his stay in Europe extended.

Some fans booed when Beckham left the pitch in the 70th minute.

Austrians ban vuvuzelas

The Austrian professional football league imposed a stadium ban on the long plastic trumpet, the vuvuzela, which made such a noisy impression in last month's Confederations Cup in South Africa.

But the league said the vuvuzelas were being banned not for the deafening and tuneless din they produce but because they might be used as missiles.

"Vuvuzelas can be used as projectiles. Furthermore, they can incite aggressive behaviour among other fans," Austrian league spokesman Christian Kircher said.

Newly-promoted Wiener Neu-stadt had been counting on handing out 150 vuvuzelas to fans to make some noise during the league's seasonal kick-off at home against Austria Carinthia yesterday.

Japan to relax rule on partners

Japan coach Takeshi Okada may allow his players' family members and partners to stay with the team at their World Cup base in South Africa next year.

The "Blue Samurai" have earmarked a luxury golf resort in George, in South Africa's Western Cape province, and Okada could relax rules on family members joining the players during the tournament.

"The families won't be staying in the same rooms. It would be a different part of the complex," Japan FA said.

Having families join the team at the World Cup would be a first for Japan, who secured their place in their fourth finals last month.

United cancel Jakarta game

Manchester United have cancelled the Jakarta leg of their Asia tour after the hotel where they were due to stay in the Indonesian capital was bombed yesterday.

The English champions were scheduled to play against an Indonesia 'All Star' team on Monday on the second leg of their pre-season tour, which also included stops in Malaysia, South Korea and China.

The team cancelled the Indonesia leg, however, after bomb blasts ripped through the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta's business district, killing nine people and wounding dozens.

"It's a bit of a shock for all of us. We just got news of this when we landed," club manager Alex Ferguson told a news conference.

"There was no other solution as we had to safeguard our players. So it's the correct decision."