Hamann: German midfielder Dietmar Hamann ended a farcical journey around the Premier League clubs of England's northwest by joining Manchester City yesterday. Hamann signed for Bolton Wanderers earlier this month before changing his mind. He officially left Liverpool for Bolton on Tuesday before tying up his switch to Manchester City 24 hours later. The 32-year-old has joined on a free transfer and signed a two-year contract with the Blues. Hamann won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005 after joining them in 1999 from Newcastle United. He has been capped 57 times by Germany.
Watford: Jamaica midfielder Damien Francis joined promoted Watford from Premier League rivals Wigan Athletic yesterday. Francis, 27, signed a three-year deal for a fee that could rise to £1.5 million. He made 24 appearances and scored one goal for Wigan after joining from Norwich City last August.
Inter: Inter have signed French midfielder Olivier Dacourt and Brazilian pair Maicon Douglas Sisenando and Maxwell Scherrer Cabelino Andrade. Dacourt, 31, comes from Roma on a two-year contract. Defender Maicon, 24, signed from Monaco on a five-year contract and Maxwell, also 24, arrives from Empoli on a four-year deal.
Barcelona: European soccer champions Barcelona are lining up two trips to Asia in a bid to reach out to new fans. The trips were revealed following the signing of a new sponsorship deal with Singapore's Tiger Beer. The sponsorship deal was sealed on Tuesday in Singapore and confirms Tiger as the official partner of Barcelona in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Robert: French winger Laurent Robert has signed a two-year deal with Levante, the promoted Primera Liga club said yesterday. The 31-year-old was loaned out to Portsmouth from Newcastle at the start of last season but moved to Benfica during the January transfer window where he played 13 games and scored two goals. Robert, who has nine French caps, has also played for Paris SG and Montpellier. Levante signed French defender Frederic Dehu on a one-season deal last week.
¤ The National Basketball Association has set the NBA salary cap for the coming season at $53.135 million per team, the league said yesterday. The announcement came just one day before the cap comes into effect and teams can begin signing free agents. The luxury tax threshold was increased from $61.70 million to $65.42 million for the 2006-07 season. Any team whose payroll exceeds that figure will pay a dollar-for-dollar on any amount which exceeds $65.42 million. The minimum team salary, which is 75 per cent of the cap, was set at $39.85 million.
¤ Pakistan have moved above England into second place behind Australia in the CRICKET test rankings. Pakistan have 120 points, 10 fewer than Australia and seven more than England, their hosts in a four-test series starting at Lord's today. England, who beat Australia last year to win the Ashes for the first time since 1987, slipped down following defeat in Pakistan and drawn series in India and at home to Sri Lanka.