Football news

Rafael Benitez pledged his 100 per cent commitment to Liverpool after rumours that he was set to quit.

Benitez, whose side cruised to a 4-0 victory over Stoke at Anfield on Wednesday, was speaking after pre-match whispers swept Merseyside claiming that the Spaniard was ready to quit over lack of transfer funds given to him by the club's American owners.

"I am 100 per cent committed to the club," Benitez said.

"I was told about the rumours before the game. Maybe it's something that can happen here. But I am staying for the fans and the players."

No Real gift for Bor. Dortmund

Spanish giants Real Madrid beat Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund 5-0 late on Wednesday in a friendly as part of the German club's 100th anniversary celebrations.

There may have been a carnival atmosphere among the 75,000 Dortmund spectators, but Real were clearly in no mood to hand out gifts as they tore the home side apart in the second half.

Esteban Granero opened the scoring for the Spaniards after just three minutes and only three minutes after the break Arjen Robben slotted home the second.

Gonzalo Higuain netted the third in the 73rd minute before Kaka slotted home a 76th minute penalty with Raul adding the fifth with just a minute left.

New consortium to bid for Portsmouth

A new consortium led by chief executive Peter Storrie has been formed to try to buy Portsmouth from the Premier League club's owner Alexandre Gaydamak.

Portsmouth announced on July 21 that an agreement in principle had been reached to sell the club to Sulaiman Al-Fahim of the United Arab Emirates, but a month on, its future is still unclear.

"The group (headed by Peter Storrie) is very positive about the talks and confident that the deal can be completed," the club said.

"Sulaiman Al-Fahim may partner the new consortium through Al Fahim Asia Associates."

Portsmouth, widely tipped by bookmakers to be relegated, have been forced to sell a number of their best players to reduce debts.

English clubs slash agent payments

English Football League clubs cut payments to agents by £2.3 million over the last year.

A total of £8.8 million was paid to agents by the 72 clubs in the three divisions outside the Premier League between July 2008 and June 2009, compared with £11.1 million for the previous 12 months.

Over the course of the season, Football League clubs made 3,727 player transactions, which includes new registrations, transfers, contract updates, contract cancellations and loans, but just 229 involved a payment to an agent.

Payments from the Championship clubs totalled £7.5 million between them, 86 per cent of the total paid out.

Ibra makes debut in defeat to City

Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic (picture) made his debut for Barcelona in the second half of their 1-0 defeat by Manchester City in the Joan Gamper Trophy on Wednesday night.

With City already ahead after Bulgarian Martin Petrov raced clear and finished coolly past reserve Barca keeper Jose Manuel Pinto, Ibrahimovic came on at the break in the Catalans' traditional season curtain-raiser.

The former Inter striker was given a warm reception as he set about trying to produce an equaliser.

After linking well several times with Lionel Messi, he had a low volley well saved by City goalkeeper Shay Given and the Irishman kept out the Swede's crisp long-range effort shortly after.

Huntelaar to skip Milan opener

Milan will be travelling to Tuscany this weekend for their match against Siena in the 2009/10 Serie A opener but they will have to play without Klaas-Jan Huntelaar who must serve a suspension he incurred while playing for Real Madrid.

Dutch striker Huntelaar never had the chance to serve the suspension while playing in the Primera Liga. However, according to FIFA rules, a ban must be served in any country and league when a transfer is made.

Huntelaar's absence means coach Leonardo will struggle in attack as Milan failed to leave their mark in pre-season. Marco Borriello and Filippo Inzaghi will be vying to get the the vacant slot up front with strike partner Alexandre Pato.

'Pool's Lee charged with misconduct

Liverpool assistant manager Sammy Lee has been charged with improper conduct over an incident in the 2-1 defeat at Tottenham, the FA said.

Lee was sent from the dug-out for yelling at fourth official Stuart Attwell when referee Phil Dowd refused to award Liverpool a penalty late in Sunday's Premier League game.

He has until Wednesday to respond to the charge under new fast-track regulations relating to technical area offences, aimed at getting a resolution within a month of the incidents taking place.

The FA also charged two lower-division managers with improper conduct - Peterborough United's Darren Ferguson, the son of Manchester United's Alex, and Paul Lambert who took charge of League One Norwich City on Tuesday.