City eyeing Tevez now

The craziest club in England has confirmed that they are looking to sign Carlos Tevez a day after buying Gareth Barry from Aston Villa. And it so happens that Tevez' agent, Kia Joorabchian is keen on selling the Argentine forward to City just to piss United off. Well, if this deal goes through, it will certainly piss a number of people off besides United.

Cheif among them will be Liverpool supporters who are keen to see the striker paired with Fernando Torres. While Rafa Benitez has yet to drop the slightest of hints that his interested in the player, there's a common belief Tevez is a player much at admired at Liverpool.

Should Tevez go to City, it will be second time in a week the Manchester club has stolen someone from Benitez' shopping list.

As for Tevez, we'll never really know how much of a say he'll get in deciding where he ends up. I personally don't think he'd trade Man Utd for the mid-table life of Man City. Then again, I never thought Barry would go there either.

Speaking of crazy clubs, if the Real Madrid - Ronaldo saga annoyed you last year, get prepared for another round. No, no, I'm not refering the second edition of the "Ronaldo loves Madrid" show, which by the way, should begin any day now.

No, I'm refering to the "Real Madrid wants Kaka" show. Yes, following Florentino Perez' declaration the Brazlian playmaker is one of the club's targets for the summer, reports from Spain suggest a deal has already been struck with AC Milan, only to have the Italian club deny the whole thing a few hours later. And we haven't heard from Chelsea yet. Let's just hope this new show doesn't last until August.

So who the heck is Kleber?

Yes, just who is this Kleber guy who claims Liverpool wants to sign him? Information, in English that is, on the player is pretty limited at this time. As far as I've found out, he's 25, plays for Brazilian side, Cruzeiro, is a striker and is nicknamed the Gladiator by his fans.

More importantly, he's scored 19 goals in 19 appearances for Cruzeiro hence the supposed interest from Anfield. Stay tuned for more updates. Hopefully more info on the striker comes out or I'll just have to learn Portuguese.

In the meantime though, I do urge Final Kick readers to search for some of Kleber's performances on the field using the You Tube function on this page. Specifically, search for "Kleber, Cruzeiro."

Barry moves to City! (Updated)

The Bernabeu isn't the only source of crazy news these days. Manchester City, the place where good footballers go on vacation, is back in the limelight and this time it appears as though Sparky's gotten hold of Rafa Benitez' shopping list.

Last night, Aston Villa agreed to sell captain, Gareth Barry to Manchester City for GBP 12 million. Now, this move obviously warrants a "what the f__?" as I can't begin to see how Barry would fit in Sparky's grand plan for world domination. Then again, there may be a hint of a possibility that Martin O'Neill's preferred selling Barry to City to spite Liverpool. After all, last summer's dealings between Villa and Liverpool didn't end on a good note.

Still, even if that's the case, it seems bizzare that Barry would have even considered a move to Man City considering his lifelong ambition to play in the Champions League. Now that Barry has committed to appearing for the blue half of Manchester next season, he might as well give up on ever playing in the Champions League.

Better yet, Aston Villa has much better chance of making it into the Champions League before City does. Oh, I'm sure he'll say Sparky laid out his masterplan and indicated all the great footballers who have verbally agreed to sign on and that's what convinced him. Yeah, Sparky tried that with Kaka and we all know how that turned out.

So Barry's decided to cash in on his career and if Chelsea doesn't come knocking on your door, Man City will do.

It has to be noted that this move comes a day after the British tabloids suggested Kia Joorabchian is willing to spite Man Utd by selling Carlos Tevez to City.

Dubai buying into Milan, Real appoints new coach

The billionaires in Dubai were never going to be satisfied with just the Barclays Premier League. Hence, comes along a story that the ruler of Dubai now wants to buy a 40% stake at Italian giants AC Milan. The report adds the deal includes an option for the Dubai ruler to buy the rest of Milan within two years.

This bit of news comes after the club's general manager, Adriano Galliani, admitted it will hard for Milan to turn down offers for Kaka and Pato as the Italian giants no longer commands the kind of financial power it did in the 90s.

As such, one can see why Milan would be tempted to go for a deal with the Dubai rulers. Still, I can see a big stumbling block to the deal in the form of Silvio Berlusconi.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid have hired Manuel Pellegrini to bring back the good times to the Bernabeu. Pellegrini was formerly the head coach at Villareal who finished fifth in the La Liga last season.

The fact that Madrid opted for him instead of a high-profile name speaks volumes on the direction the club intends to move towards. But is Pellegrini the right man for the job should Real's new president Florinto Perez have his way and restart the failed Galacticos programme? If Kaka, Ribery and co show up, will Pellegrini be able to keep all those egos in check?

Ancelotti finally appointed!

In the world of football, rumours tend to have a way of becoming true. And so, the long standing rumour that Carlo Ancelotti will be appointed Chelsea's new manager was finally announced today.

Despite the fact the news comes as no big surprise, Ancelotti's appointment raises a lot of questions. For a man that has practically won everything with AC Milan, it is indeed a little a puzzling as to why Ancelotti would seek to risk his reputation and place in history as one of the best European managers of his generation by taking on a job that has seen three different managers over the last 18 months. Then again, I've been told you can never have enough money.

In fact, several reports in the UK as well as excerpts from Ancelotti's own autobiography indicate the Italian has been Roman Abromovich' radar ever since Avram Grant's sacking and Ancelotti himself has been "coaching" Chelsea on paper for some months now (is it a surprise Milan let him go?).

But is Ancelotti really the man Chelsea need? Don't forget that Felipe Scolari's appointment was also greated with the same amount of fan fare as Ancelotti's. And as the Brazilian found out, things in England, especially at Chelsea, can be difficult. And as it is, Ancelotti already shares one similar trait to the Brazilian: a poor command of English.

Nonetheless, Ancelotti, in his first interview with Chelsea TV (check it out here or on the youtube link on this blog) has promised to polish up his English by the time the new season gets underway in August.

But back to my earlier question as to whether Ancelotti's the right man for the Blues. One doesn't have to look much further than the two Champions League titles he won at AC Milan to see why Abramovich picked him.

Then there's the fact that every new manager at Chelsea has brought in footballers he's previously coached to the club. Mourinho and Scolari did it and Ancelotti will expected to do the same. So don't be surprised if Chelsea launch an audacious bid for Kaka some time soon. And in case Ancelotti needed some help with his summer shopping list, club captain John Terry wants his new boss to bring in both David Villa and Franc Ribery.

Last and not least, Ancelotti will be expected to bring Chelsea back as the champions of English football and implement Abramovich' much desired attacking football.

Its hard to see Ancelotti fulfilling all these demands. He certainly has the experience needed to lead Chelsea to its first Champions League but it's something that could take some time but Abramovich may want to see the results in the coming season itself.

As for player acquisitions, it might take a bit more to convince Kaka to make the move. The same goes for Ribery and Villa. However, Ancelotti is a respected manager, so he might excel in this department.But Italian will have his work cut out for him when it comes to challenging for the Premiership next season and altering Chelsea' style of play.

To implement attacking football, Ancelotti will need to undergo a serious house-cleaning exercise at Stamford Bridge this summer, which is something Scolari failed to do a year ago. The existing members of Chelsea's squad are not cut for free-flowing attacking football. And even if Ancelotti brings in a whole host of players, it will take time for them to gel and form a formidable force.

Thus, like all his predecessors, Ancelotti's fate at Chelsea will very depend on Abramovich's priorities. Will he allow Ancelotti the time needed to achieve all that is craved so dearly by the Russian billionaire and the Stamford Bridge faithful or will Ancelotti be handed the same deadlines the ones before him were given?

Is he really worth it?

Ok, raise your hands, how many of you reading this blog play fantasy football? If asked to hazard a guess, that number is probably close to 100%. And for those of you who do, which player represents the most expensive buy but brings back the most returns. Sorry Liverpool fans, it's not your Captain Marvel.

Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo is the one to have in any team, fantasy or otherwise, if you're looking to win nice shiny cups and trophies, CR7 is the one you want ... until now. There's always been a not so nice aspect of this talented footballer's personality, he can be a bit of a sore loser and he can be prone to the odd temper tantrum. The Champions League final showed that this negative side to him still remains.

Quotes like ""We, the players, were not well, the tactics were not good... everything went wrong" and ""About clubs, I do not want to talk about that, I want to rest, go on holiday, I am very tired, I have played a lot of games, a lot of pressure. The future, we will see" aren't going to endear him to the Man Utd faithful. Neither will it please Sir Alex.

So, what happens now? Well, based on past trends, CR7 will be exported post haste to sunnier climes for a sum that, while still quite high, won't be close to what the market would have paid for him if Alex Ferguson still wanted to keep a player. Big names in Man Utd's past have all paid the price for raising the ire of the Old Man and have all been shown the exit door.

Ronaldo will be no different. There's only so many hairdryer treatments and boots kicked that can be dished out before something snaps within the living legend. After that, there's only Sir's way or the highway ... and Sir usually gets his way.

Barca are Champions!

And so Barcelona are now European champions for the third time (the second time at the expense of an English club if you're counting) although they might as well have been crowned world champions after their display last night.

To say that United were second best would be an understatement. United were outplayed, lacklustre and bereft of that spirit they're so famous for. Sir Bobby Charlton may claim the current Man U squad is the club's best ever. The truth is the squads that won it in 1999 and 2008 would have given Barcelona a much tougher fight.

And interestingly enough, the squad that showed in Rome yesterday comprised largely of the same group of individuals who won it last season. The only difference is that the Cristiano Ronaldo in Moscow last year was a lot different than the one who cut a frustrated attention-seeking figure last night. Last night's performance should be enough for Ferguson to let Ronaldo go to Real Madrid this summer.

But let's take anything away from a Barcelona team who, despite some shambolic defending in the opening minutes, made a statement to the world that short passing attacking football is still the best way to play football. So confident and excellent was their passing abilities that they made the Devils look like an amateur side getting their first lesson in professional football.

Iniesta was sublime while Xavi Hernandez was as fantastic as ever. Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry were a constant threat. And then there was Lionel Messi.

Last night's final, no matter on United and Barcelona say, was always going to be about Messi and Ronaldo. It was not just a match to determine who the best team in the world is but the who the best player is? The question as to whether Ronaldo truly deserves to be called Fifa player of the year was finally going to be answered.

And it was pretty obvious that last question has been nagging the Portuguese star for some time. The second the match began, Ronaldo seemed to be on a personal mission. He attacked Barcelona's already fragile defence with ruthlessness that was never on display in the Premier League this season. If people were unsure as to who the real world player of the year is then he was going remove all doubts.

Messi in contrast seemed uninterested in proving a point to anybody and began playing deep to get Barcelona's passing movement going. And once it began flowing, Messi was a complete menace everytime he got the ball. As for his dribbling skills, which gave United's defence a torrid time, let's just say Ronaldo's step-overs started looking amateurish.

That difference in attitude made all the difference. Ronaldo's desire to prove something to the world made him selfish in front of goal and had he passed the ball, things may have been different. But in his defense, Rooney and Giggs were so out of depth it would have been a waste of time anyway.

Messi on the other hand was committed to his team and never once seemed selfish although at some points it seemed as though the Argentinean would have been able to dribble past the entire Man U team if he wanted to. And that perhaps is the marking of the best footballer in the world.