Owen joins Manchester United in shock move

Michael Owen has been confirmed as a Manchester United player. The striker has signed a two-year deal to play at Old Trafford and no transfer was paid as the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Newcastle forward was a free agent.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson happily confirmed the deal saying, "Michael is a world class forward with a proven goalscoring record at the highest level and that has never been in question. Coming to Manchester United with the expectations that we have is something that Michael will relish"

Owen himself was similarly happy, and said: "I had just begun to talk to other Clubs when out of the blue Sir Alex phoned me on Wednesday afternoon, invited me to have breakfast with him next morning during which he told me that he wanted to sign me. I agreed without a moment's thought.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I intend to seize it with both hands.

"I am now looking forward to being a Manchester United player and I am fortunate that I already know so many of the players here. I missed pre season last year and am pleased that I will be starting at Carrington from day one.

"I want to thank Sir Alex for the faith he has shown in me and I give him my assurance that I will repay him with my goals and performances"

The striker spent Friday morning at United's training complex, Carrington, before heading to a south Manchester hospital for more tests.

Owen left the hospital just after five o'clock and was understood to be returning to United's Carrington training ground to complete the formalities of the move.

The England international had been without a club following the expiry of his contract with Newcastle United and it appeared only Stoke City and Hull City were interested in offering him a contract.

But Sir Alex Ferguson has snapped up a player who is fourth in the all-time goalscorers list for his country.

Newspaper reports suggest the contract will be purely incentive based, depending on minutes played and goals scored. Sir Alex tried to sign the player - a boyhood Everton fan - as a teenager but instead he opted, on the advice of his father, to pen a contract with Liverpool where he scored 118 goals in 216 games.

United have been searching for a new forward since the departure of Carlos Tevez at the end of his loan deal. They had been linked with the likes of Karim Benzema and David Villa, but now it seems Owen will be arriving to pep up their striking options.

The 29-year-old suffered an injury-ravaged time at St James' Park but still managed to score 10 goals as the Magpies dropped out of the Premier League.

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker will be hoping a move to Old Trafford will push him back into the thoughts of England coach Fabio Capello ahead of next summer's World Cup finals.

In Manchester and among fans, the reaction has been mixed; Red Devils' messageboards have been lighting up with negative comments.

"Not happy. From what I've seen he is nowhere near as good as he was," was one; while another discontented fan lamented: "Owen hasnt been the same for years!"

Kaka Receives Squad Number 8 At Real Madrid

Over 40,000 fans packed into the Santiago Bernabeu this evening to see the arrival of one man at Real Madrid, and it is fair to say they did not seem disappointed.

Kaka's first appearance as a Madrid player in the White House was an occasion that grew louder and louder as the evening went on.

The opening words from Florentino Perez greeting the Brazilian to the club caused quite a stir, but that was soon overtaken as the former AC Milan man himself walked up onto the stage, applauding all the way.

Even then as he stood and smiled as Perez continued to talk, the fans cheered and chanted, and only finally came to a hush when Kaka took charge of the microphone.

"Thank you president, good evening to all Madridistas. This is very special for me. I'm very happy to take my career here to Real Madrid," he began.

"There is nothing comparable to the history of this club. Hala Madrid!"

The final two words were greeted with the loudest roar of the evening and even when minutes later he was handed his top with the number eight on, the fans were still singing his name.

A quick lap around the stadium slapping hands with the hands and applauding them was a fitting end to the evening before he wandered back down the tunnel with his number clear for all to see.

In recent times the '8' jersey has been worn by Steve McManaman, Michel, Ruben and last year by Fernando Gago.

As Jorge Valdano, Real Madrid director explained, the decision does not mean Gago is leaving, just he is changing number too.

"I want to clear up the reason why he has been given the number 8 jersey. As you know, numbers 5, 18 and 9 were not assigned. We knew that Fernando Gago wanted to wear the no. 5 - that is something that us Argentinians understand very well, it's a very special number for us. So we gave Kaka the number 8, which he was very happy to have," he mused.

"So for the first time at Real Madrid, we made two people happy at the very same time."

Ronaldo signs six year deal at Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo has completed his £80 million world record transfer to Real Madrid, signing a six-year contract.

"Real Madrid and Manchester United have signed the final agreement for the transfer of the rights of the player Cristiano Ronaldo effective July 1," the Spanish club said.

"The player will remain at Real Madrid for the next six seasons and will be presented on July 6 at the Bernabeu stadium," a statement read.

Portugal international Ronaldo, the World Footballer of the Year, becomes the third confirmed signing under new Real president Florentino Perez, who has returned to the club pledging to create a "spectacular sporting project".

Perez spent around 67 million euros on AC Milan's Brazilian playmaker Kaka and has also brought in Spain defender Raul Albiol from Valencia for a reported fee of 15 million euros.

Real and Ronaldo's representatives had been negotiating personal terms since United announced this month they had accepted the Madrid club's offer.

There were no details of the agreement in the Real statement. Spanish media have reported that Ronaldo will earn around 13 million euros per season.

Glen Johnson Joins Liverpool From Portsmouth

Liverpool have confirmed that Glen Johnson has joined them today from Portsmouth, in a deal reportedly worth £18.5 million, though there has apparently been some negotiation around the fee due to Pompey still owing the Merseysiders money from the deal that took Peter Crouch to the South Coast.

Johnson has signed a four-year deal at Anfield.

Reds manager Rafa Benitez was clearly pleased with the signing, telling the club's official website, "He was important at Chelsea and in the last year at Portsmouth he has improved and is much better. One of the main things is his mentality - it's really good. He is a winner. I was impressed with the conversations I had with him. He wants to improve."

As for the reasons he was brought to Anfield, Benitez chose to highlight not only the player's obvious quality, but also the fact the he is English, which is important with new rules concerning foreign players on the immediate horizon.

"We were thinking about bringing in players with quality - that's the first thing," he added.

"He is also English and that is important for the Champions League list. We were thinking about improving the team and Johnson is a very good player who will do that.

"We knew the market was going to be difficult this summer and some of it has been crazy. Manchester City and Chelsea were there - they were making offers.

"We had to be quick and the club acted quickly. It was down to the player whether he chose us or City or Chelsea and he chose us. It was very clear from talking to him that he wanted to play for Liverpool."

The manager also did not rule out further acquisitions for the Mersey men, though he took a typically cautious line when he explained, "We are working and trying to bring new players in but we are happy with the squad we have at the moment.

"We were thinking about improving and with Johnson we have improved. Like I have already said, we could buy one more player without selling anyone. We now have to wait.

As for what the deal could mean for Spanish international Alvaro Arbeloa, linked this week with a move to Real Madrid, Benitez was frank, adding, "Arbeloa was a good player for us last year. The thing is, he has one year left on his contract. We have offered him an extension and we're talking.

"He is our player but if there is a good offer we have to consider it. We have two or three clubs asking about him. He would like to stay but he knows the competition will be hard."

Raul Albiol to join Real Madrid

Real Madrid have agreed to sign defender Raul Albiol from Valencia on a five-year contract, the big-spending Liga club announced.

The deal will be completed next week once the 23-year-old Spain international, who is at the Confederations Cup in South Africa, completes a medical and signs his contract, Real said on their website.

Spanish media reported the transfer fee was around 15 million euros (£13m).

Albiol will become the second confirmed signing by new Real president Florentino Perez following his purchase of Brazil playmaker Kaka from Milan for around 67 million euros.

Perez has also bid £80m for Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo, with the deal expected to be completed in the next few days.

Albiol, who suffered a serious car crash in 2004 which left him without a spleen, is likely to partner Portuguese international Pepe in central defence although Madrid could buy another centre half this summer, with Pepe six matches into a 10-game ban.

Albiol made his Valencia debut in 2003 and first played for Spain in a 3-1 win over Denmark in 2007.

Benfica Sign Real Madrid's Javier Saviola

Javier Saviola had been linked with a loan move to the Estádio da Luz but Benfica have instead opted to make this a permanent move.

The Eagles have released a statement to the Portuguese stock market to confirm the signing of Saviola for a fee of 5 million euros.

The 27-year-old will fly to Lisbon in the next few days and will sign a three-year contract upon passing a medical with the club.

Saviola will now reunite with Pablo Aimar, with whom he enjoyed great success during their time at River Plate.

El Conejito is hoping that this new challenge will put his career back on track after failing to impress at Real Madrid during his two-year stint.

Real Madrid sign Kaka in £60m deal

Real Madrid have completed the signing of Brazilian playmaker Kaka from Milan for just under £60 million.

The 27-year-old international has agreed to a six-year contract to become the first player to join Real since Florentino Perez returned to the presidency this month.

Reports said the transfer fee was around 68 million euros (£58.8m) which would make it the second biggest ever after Zinedine Zidane joined Real from Juventus for around 73m euros (£63.1m) in 2001.

Kaka completed a routine medical earlier on Monday in Recife, where Brazil face Paraguay at home in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday.

Kaka said he was leaving the Italians on good terms.

"Everything I've always done for Milan has been by mutual agreement, from the moment I arrived until my departure today," he said at the Brazil team hotel. "I'm leaving by the front door."

"I've won everything that I wanted as a player and this is a new motivation for me."

"I'm sure Real Madrid will build a competitive team which can start winning titles again."

The official unveiling in Madrid is likely to take place at the end of the month, after the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

"We are working on building a good team, an important team, and this has only just begun," Perez told radio station Onda Cero.

Milan thanked Kaka for his contribution.

"Milan thanks the man Kaka and the champion Kaka for his decisive contributions to so many victories obtained in the last six years," the Serie A club said.

"His loss on the field, though serious, can be filled. It will, however, be very difficult to fill the void left by Kaka the man."

Kaka has long been a target for Real Madrid since former president Ramon Calderon promised to sign him in his election campaign in 2006 but failed to deliver.

Calderon resigned in January paving the way for Perez to come back three years after he stood down, and he was returned unopposed to the post.

Perez has promised to deliver a "spectacular sporting project" built around the world's greatest players, and local media have spoken of a 300 million euro (£259.5m) war chest which will be used to finance a second 'Galactico era' at the Bernabeu.

Having lured the likes of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham to Real earlier in the decade, Perez's flagship first signing on his return was Kaka, a move seen as both a declaration of intent and a dig at his predecessor.

He has also spoken of interest in Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery, Liverpool's Xabi Alonso and Valencia duo David Villa and David Silva.

New coach Manuel Pellegrini is the man tasked with blending these talents into a team capable of challenging treble-winners Barcelona.

Kaka will not face much competition in midfield which was one of Real's weakest areas last season as they lacked flair players capable of opening up sides in big games.

His arrival will also cheer Real fans clamouring for a more entertaining brand of football, and who had often chanted "Where is Kaka?" at player presentations under Calderon over the last couple of years.