Hedge fund Elliott set to take control of AC Milan

Nigeria risks FIFA rap

ROME, July 10, (Agencies): Hedge fund Elliott will take control of Italian football giants AC Milan this week after the club’s Chinese owners failed to make a loan repayment to the American firm, sources close to the matter confirmed to AFP on Tuesday.

Elliott will take the reins of the seven-time European champions after owner Li Yonghong missed a Friday deadline to repay 32 million euros ($37.5 million) lent by Elliott to finance the final instalment of two capital increases worth a total of 120 million euros.

The source told AFP that Elliott began the legal process of taking control of Milan on Monday, and that a board meeting will be held on Thursday in which the date and agenda of a shareholder’s meeting will be confirmed.

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Nigeria on Tuesday edged closer to a possible showdown with FIFA after a judge adjourned a long-running court case over the disputed leadership of the country’s football federation.

The case, heard at the Federal High Court in the central city of Jos, seeks to have Chris Giwa declared as the real winner of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) elections in 2014. The country’s highest judicial authority, the Supreme Court, had previously upheld Giwa’s challenge to the elections, in which Amaju Pinnick was voted in as president.

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo said the new improved contracts for him and his coaching staff reflected the confidence the Premier League new boys have placed in their long-term project.

The 44-year-old Portuguese manager — whose one-year contract extension sees him tied to the club until 2021 — guided Wolves to promotion in his first season in charge as they eased to the second tier Championship title.

England manager Gareth Southgate’s waistcoats have become such a hit at the World Cup that the Museum of London has announced plans to acquire one for its fashion collection.

Marks and Spencer, official tailors to the England team, declared last Saturday #NationalWaistcoatDay in honour of Southgate and his team.

Barcelona have confirmed the arrival of Brazilian new recruit Arthur from Brazilian outfit Gremio on a 31 million euros ($37 million) deal.

The Spanish champions will pay an extra 9 million in bonuses in the six-year deal struck with the Brazilians for the midfielder, full name Arthur Henrique Ramos de Oliveira Melo.

A release clause has been set at 400 million, the Catalan giants said overnight Monday on their website.

Barca had inked a pre-accord for the 21-year-old in March.

Portuguese club Benfica has invited 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach who were rescued from a cave in Thailand to spend an allexpenses-paid week at its training academy.

Club president Luis Filipe Vieira wrote to the Thai ambassador to Portugal to invite the boys to the camp in Seixal across the River Tagus from the capital, a club statement said on Tuesday.

Emre Can has said he moved to Italian champions Juventus from Liverpool because he was attracted to the Turin side’s ability to consistently challenge for titles as well as being lured by their ambitious targets.

The German international joined Liverpool in 2014 and played his 167th and last match for the Premier League side in their Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid in May.

Former Netherlands midfielder Nigel de Jong will join Qatari topflight club Al Ahli, the club has said.

De Jong, who has played for AC Milan, Ajax and Manchester City, most recently played for Bundesliga side Mainz where he made 11 league appearances after joining them in January.

Al Ahli said on Twitter the club would hold a press conference with the 33-year-old, who also won 81 caps for the Netherlands, later on Tuesday. Terms were not disclosed.

Aston Villa will probably have to sell several of their best players, including midfielder Jack Grealish, to meet Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, manager Steve Bruce has said.

He told Sky Sports News on Monday that Villa, who missed out on a lucrative return to the Premier League when they lost in the playoff final, have no choice but to sell prized assets.

Iceland captain Aron Gunnarsson has signed a new one-year contract with Cardiff City.

The 29-year old, who led Iceland in their debut World Cup campaign last month, was hindered by a long-term ankle injury last season as Cardiff finished second in the second-tier Championship to earn promotion to the Premier League.

Sandro Rosell has been charged with alleged tax fraud and will be questioned by a judge in September, prosecutors in Barcelona said Monday, adding to the former FC Barcelona president’s legal woes.

The 54-year-old is accused of defrauding the taxman of 229,569 euros ($270,000) and will be questioned by a judge in Barcelona on Sept 18, a spokesman for Barcelona’s prosecutors’ office told AFP, without giving further details.