Sneijder: Galatasaray have agreed a deal to sign Holland midfielder Wesley Sneijder from Inter, the Turkish club have confirmed. The 28-year-old has been locked in contract talks with Galatasaray since Inter accepted a €10 million euro bid for his services two weeks ago. “The transfer of Wesley Sneijder from Inter has been agreed. The conditions of the deal will be made public and the player will sign the contract after health checks,”Galatasaray said.
Kaka: Milan are optimistic they can bring Brazilian playmaker Kaka back from Real Madrid, club president Silvio Berlusconi said in a television interview yesterday. “I’m optimistic, he’s a great player and a great man and he is still in our hearts,” Berlusconi told the Sky cable network. Kaka spent six seasons at Milan before leaving to join Real Madrid in 2009.
Well win: Michael Higdon’s clinical hat-trick sent Motherwell level on points with second-placed Inverness in the Scottish Premier League after they repelled a late fightback to edge St Johnstone 3-2. Motherwell looked to be coasting when Higdon swept home his third goal in the 69th minute after scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes. But Nigel Hasselbaink and Liam Craig beat Lee Hollis within the space of two minutes just after the goalkeeper had replaced the injured Darren Randolph, setting up a nervy finish.
Moggi: Luciano Moggi, the former Juventus official who was the centre figure in a soccer scandal a few years back, has officially abandoned his plan to run for political office. Moggi had raised eyebrows when announcing he would be running as a candidate for the Riformisti Italiani Party. However, yesterday he said he had changed his mind. “After careful reflection, I must give up on this candidacy so that I can concentrate better on what will be my priority – the Calciopoli trials.”
Hecking: Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking was happy with the points but not so much with his side’s performance in a 2-0 victory over Stuttgart. Hecking’s debut on the Wolfsburg bench following his move from Nurnberg during the winter break ended with three points, but he saw plenty of room for improvement. “I am not happy with the way my team played,” he said. “We were far too cautious and that is not what I expected. Overall, it was a lucky win.”