James Rodriguez to Cost Chelsea and Manchester United £60m

The Spanish giant Real Madrid have decided to cash on 2014 highest goal scorer and former Monaco midfilder James Rodriquez and have reportedly put a £60million price tag on Chelsea and Manchester United transfer target James Rodriquez, who has been linked with a move away from the Spanish club.

The Colombian star who is attributed with scoring from long range of the field joined the club in 2014 from Monaco after starring at the World Cup but has endured a disappointing campaign at the Bernabeu this season, which has led to speculation he could leave Los Blancos.

FIFA to Expand World Cup Teams to 40 Teams

 

World football governing body FIFA is planning to expand the tournament from 32 teams to 40 teams. Fifa’s executive committee discussed increasing the size of the tournament at its meeting in Zurich and deferred a final decision until next year. 

 

This is not the first time the expansion move would be discussed, and if it's approved this time around, it would add another 32 fixtures to the World Cup from the year 2026, taking the total number of games to 96. It is likely this would involve the size of groups being expanded from four to five teams, meaning the overall length of the tournament could increase by up to a week from the current 31 days.

Belgium Remain Number One on Latest FIFA Ranking as Germany Drop to Fourth Position

The Red Devils moved into first position for the first time in their history in November, and their fantastic performance during the last legs of euro qualifier with a 3-1 victory over Italy in Brussels saw them hold on to the coveted spot for the final ranking of the calendar year.

World Cup holders Germany have dropped from second to fourth place in the latest Fifa world rankings, while Belgium end the year in top spot. Joachim Low's side slipped from second to fourth following their 2-0 friendly defeat at the hands of France last month, while Belgium ended in first to earn Fifa's Team of the Year award for 2015.

FIFA Corruption Saga Continues as Two High-ranking Officials Arrested at Zurich Hotel

Two "high-ranking" Fifa officials have been arrested in dawn raids at a Swiss hotel on suspicion of accepting millions of dollars of bribes. Police swooped on the luxury Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich, where several Fifa officials were arrested in May. "Fifa became aware of the actions taken today by the US Department of Justice," football's world governing body said.

Venezuelan National Football Team Threatens to Quit Unless the Coaching Staff are Fired

Some 15 members of the squad are unhappy about recent criticism aimed in their direction after Laureano Gonzalez, head of the federation, accused the squad of conspiring to work together in a bid to have head coach Noel Sanvicente fired.

‘A movement came together there [inside the team] to throw out the coach, who is our best national coach,’ Gonzalez said.

Arsenal Set to Sign Corinthians Striker in January

Corinthians chief Edu admits Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has asked about Alexandre Pato. Reports in Brazil have claimed that Wenger is a big admirer of the presently inform forward, who has been linked with Tottenham and West Ham.

Edu has increased talk of an imminent bid from the north Londoners by claiming that Wenger enquired about the former AC Milan star during his recent visit to London.

Lionel Messi and Ronaldo Leads as FIFA Announced 2015 World-XI 55 Nominees

FIFPro, in association with Fifa, have announced the final 55 players in contention for a spot on the 2015 World XI. The 55 players have been selected by professional footballers worldwide, with a new record of almost 25,000 players from 70 countries participating in this year’s ballot.

The Fifa FIFPro World XI will be announced on January 11, 2016, at the Ballon D’Or ceremony in Zurich. The 55-player shortlist:

Goalkeepers (5): Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus), Iker Casillas (Spain/Porto), David De Gea (Spain/Manchester United), Keylor Navas (Costa Rica/Real Madrid) and Manuel Neuer (Germany/Bayern Munich).

Chicago Fire Name the Coach of Serbia U-20, Veljko Paunovic Head Coach

The Chicago Fire announced they have hired Veljko Paunovic as the club's new head coach. Paunovic, 38, has coached Serbia’s U-20 side since August 2012 and led the team to the 2015 U-20 World Cup title in the summer.

“In the face of stiff competition from other global soccer clubs, we are extremely fortunate to have secured our first choice, Veljko Paunovic, as our head coach,” said Fire general manager Nelson Rodríguez in a club release. “We conducted a thorough search process and, over its course, Pauno consistently graded highest across all of our desired characteristics. He is a champion, teacher of the game and man of great principle and integrity.”