French League: France's traditional pre-season event between the League and Cup champions will not be played in China after all, the French Professional Football League (LFP) said yesterday. The match will be staged in France because the LFP could not obtain the necessary authorisations from the Chinese administration. The LFP had initially decided to stage the 2007 Trophy of Champions between Ligue 1 champions Lyon and Cup holders Sochaux on July 24 in Tianjin.

Genoa: Genoa yesterday paraded new striker Marco Borriello, who has joined from Milan. The 24-year-old was banned for three months last season for testing positive for corticosteroids.

Matuzalem: Shakhtar Donetsk have put a 25 million euro price tag on midfielder Francelinho Matuzalem. The Ukrainian premier league side had earlier rejected a 12.0 million euro bid for the 27-year-old Brazilian by Spanish club Real Zaragoza.

Owusu-Abeyie: Unsettled Spartak Moscow winger Quincy Owusu-Abeyie has left the Russian premier league club. Moscow officials said the 21-year-old, who joined Spartak from Arsenal in January 2006, wants to negotiate a move back to the English Premier League.

Rangers: Rangers have confirmed the signing of Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar. Manager Walter Smith said he had been impressed by the 25-year-old Osasuna centre-back when Rangers clashed with the Spanish side in last season's UEFA Cup last 16. Cuellar agreed a four-year contract in a deal reportedly worth £2.0 million.

Ban on touring clubs: Asian soccer officials want European clubs banned from visiting the region during future Asian Cups to ensure their presence does not detract from the tournament. A row broke out in the lead up to this year's Asian Cup after Malaysia invited Manchester United to play an exhibition match two days before the final. Manchester United agreed to call off the match after complaints from the AFC. "We need to do this to protect the worth of our competition," AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam said.