Van Buyten: Veteran Belgium defender Daniel van Buyten an-nounced his retirement yesterday, ending speculation he was to join champions Anderlecht. The 36-year-old came to the end of his contract with Bayern Munich in June and although he held talks with the Belgian champions on Monday, has decided to call it a day.
Abidal: Defender Eric Abidal has followed Franck Ribery in announcing his retirement from the France national team. The 34-year-old, who this summer joined Olympiakos from Monaco, revealed his decision in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC1. Abidal recovered sufficiently from a liver transplant in April 2012 to return to the national team under coach Didier Deschamps but was not selected for this summer’s World Cup.
Qatar Moves: Swansea City’s Chico Flores and Pablo Hernandez have left to join teams in Qatar for undisclosed fees. Defender Flores will be reunited with former Swansea manager Michael Laudrup at defending champions Lekhwia, while attacking midfielder Hernandez has joined Al-Arabi.
Buckley: Sunderland head coach Gus Poyet has finally got his man after successfully ending his lengthy pursuit of Brighton midfielder Will Buckley. The 24-year-old winger joined the Black Cats for an undisclosed fee yesterday, signing a three-year deal. Buckley played under Poyet during his spell in charge on the South Coast.
Zuber: Hoffenheim have bolstered their attacking options by signing winger Steven Zuber from CSKA Moscow. The former Swiss U-21 international has put pen to paper on a four-year deal after the clubs shook hands on an undisclosed fee.
Defour: Belgian international midfielder Steven Defour has moved back home to champions Anderlecht in a club record six million-euro move from FC Porto. The 26-year-old, sent off in his only appearance at the World Cup in Brazil in June, signed a five-year contract on Wednesday. Defour, who has won 44 caps for Belgium, was previously the object of much scorn from Anderlecht fans for provocative performances during his time at rivals Standard Liege.