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Manchester City have announced a partnership with baseball giants the New York Yankees to form a new Major League Soccer franchise.

New York City Football Club will enter the MLS in 2015 after a deal thought to be worth $100m (£66m) was struck.
The new club will play in a temporary home until a new stadium is built.

"We are thrilled to contribute to the energy and growth of New York City soccer," said Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano.

More to follow.

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Beckham's son, Brooklyn, has been backed at 12/1 by Paddy Power to grace the international stage for England one day by bookmakers after signing for QPR.

Brooklyn had a trial at Chelsea, but signed for QPR and is expected to have a meteoric rise in the game like his father had.

Paddy Power have priced Brooklyn at 9/2 to play in the Premier League, and 18/1 to follow in his father's footsteps and play for Manchester United.

Special bets have been offered left, right and centre for Brooklyn. He is a distant longshot at 100/1 to score from inside his own half.

Furthermore, he is offered short odds of 11/10 never to play one of the top four flights of English football.

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Liverpool are close to making Kolo Touré their first summer signing as part of Brendan Rodgers' plans to add experience to a central defence without Jamie Carragher.

The 32-year-old is available on a free transfer when his four-year contract with Manchester City expires next month and he has not been offered an extension, having fallen down the pecking order under the former manager Roberto Mancini. Touré wants to stay in English football, ideally in the north-west where his children are settled at school, and has been offered the ideal solution by Rodgers.

A deal is believed to have been agreed in principle with Touré, who is in the United States for City's end-of-season tour and will undergo a medical on his return.

The Liverpool manager will strengthen in central defence this summer and may require three additions in that department, with Carragher retiring on Sunday, Martin Skrtel out of favour and Sebastián Coates failing to make an impression in his two seasons at Anfield. Liverpool are open to offers for Coates but Rodgers has claimed that Skrtel remains in his plans.

The manager has several targets in mind with Kyriakos Papadopoulos of Schalke the prime target, Ajax's Toby Alderweireld under consideration and the Lille left-back, Lucas Digne, also a possibility. Touré offers an experienced, inexpensive option for Rodgers, who lamented that he had a quiet squad in need of more leaders even before Carragher's retirement.

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The Manchester City striker, 29, is again the subject of intense speculation about his future and a move to France this summer is being widely tipped.

Asked by French television station Telefoot about the prospect of joining newly promoted Monaco, he confirmed he would be open to the idea.

"For me, Monaco is one of the largest French clubs, and any player would go there," he said.

"I have a one-year contract left at City and I am happy, and I love playing in the Premier League - but a project like Monaco I really like.

"I know [Claudio] Ranieri [Monaco coach] and he has proven he is a great coach so for me this would be great."

Likewise, he admits that PSG would equally be as desirable - a club he almost joined last season when he was in dispute with City.

"There was interest from PSG for me, and we talked with Leonardo, but we could not reach an agreement," he said.

"But it remains an interesting option as the French championship is moving very fast. If Leonardo called me, it's not a problem for me to come, really no problem to come to Paris and France."

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VICENTE has blasted suspended Albion boss Gus Poyet as “the worst person I’ve come across in football”. The departing Spanish star has branded Poyet “selfish” and “egocentric”. And he has accused the Uruguayan of mocking his players in training.

Vicente was released by Albion on Thursday after 18 starts in two injury-hit seasons with the Seagulls.
The 31-year-old former Valencia playmaker claims Poyet was ready to let him return to Spain last summer, because his four-year-old daughter Blanca was struggling to settle in England, but then did a U-turn.

Vicente, who played in the Champions League and La Liga for Valencia and was capped 38 times by Spain, told The Argus: “He is the worst person I’ve come across in football. “For example, he deceived me when he said I could go and then he didn’t let me. I was four months out injured and he wasn’t capable of coming up and asking how I was.

“For me he is a selfish person, very egocentric. I say that because it’s how I feel.
“I won’t talk badly about my team-mates, because they have been fantastic with me. What I think is unacceptable is that the manager makes fun of his players. I’ve seen things here that I have never seen in my career. If you miss with a shot in training, he makes fun. For me, that is unacceptable in football.”

Poyet, his assistant Mauricio Taricco and coach Charlie Oatway, have been suspended by Albion pending an internal investigation into alleged breaches of contract.
Vicente and other players out-of-contract were spoken to by chairman Tony Bloom and head of football David Burke after Poyet refused to deal with the retained list.

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David Beckham has been tipped for a return to MLS as owner of a new club, following talks between his advisors and league executives.
The former England captain announced his retirement on Thursday, 20 years after signing his first professional contract, and has been tight-lipped about his future plans.
And while Beckham's contract with MLS, signed when he joined the L.A. Galaxy in 2007, included an option to purchase an 'expansion franchise', it has been revealed his advisors have been in talks with the league about possible locations for a new team.
"There have been discussions with his advisors, his management, preliminary discussions," MLS executive vice-president of communications, Dan Courtemanche said.
"It is one of many markets that has been mentioned, so have other markets."
MLS hopes to add a 20th club in New York City, with Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour reported as the likely buyer.
And Beckham's option, which would allow him to create a new franchise for a fee understood to be $25 million, rules out this location.
When the contractual opportunity to own an MLS team was first disclosed, in 2009, Beckham said: "It will happen eventually." And last year he stated: "I have the option of owning a franchise, and that excites me."
While MLS is currently focused on completing the deal for the New York City franchise, the talks with Beckham's faction are expected to continue.
"At some point in time he will exercise that option and we can go through the process of making sure it is the perfect fit for David and Major League Soccer but we are not there yet," said Courtemanche.

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the Premier League club are in 'advanced' talks over Auxerre starlet Yaya Sanogo.
The highly-rated striker, 20, has scored nine goals in just 11 league appearances for the Ligue 2 outfit.
He current deal expires this summer and reports in France have claimed that he has shunned offers from a host of clubs in his homeland by agreeing a four-year deal with the Gunners.
However, Wenger has insisted a deal is not yet concluded for the France Under-21 international, but admitted it was close.
"It is in the advanced stages but it is not done," he said, when asked about Sanogo.
If, as expected, Arsenal conclude a deal then they would be due to pay Auxerre compensation as Sanogo is under 23.

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Former England winger Chris Waddle thinks David Beckham would not rank in the top 1,000 Premier League players.

Ex-Manchester United midfielder Beckham, 38, will retire from football at the end of the season.

"I would say he has been a good player, I wouldn't put him down as a great," Waddle, 52, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"You can go down a list of footballers since the Premier League and I don't think David Beckham would probably be in the first 1,000."

Beckham, who signed a five-month deal at Paris St-Germain in January, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1991, making his first-team debut the following year and signing his first professional contract in 1993.

He went on to make 394 appearances for United, winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League, and 115 for England.

"I think there has been a lot more talented players in the world. But he made the most of what he has got," said Waddle, who played more than 100 times for Newcastle, Tottenham, Sheffield Wednesday and Marseille, winning 62 England caps.

Waddle added: "He has got a terrific image and used it very well. He never had a trick, wasn't particularly quick, but he was very good at set-pieces and deliveries, he made chances and made goals and was fantastic for clubs.

"He said the right things, he sold shirts, he put money in the tills wherever he went and conducted himself well."

Beckham became one of the world's most high-profile sportsmen during his time at Old Trafford - and a global celebrity following his marriage to Spice Girl Victoria Adams in 1999.

He signed for Real Madrid in 2003 and won a La Liga title in 2007 before switching to the United States with LA Galaxy. He also spent time on loan at AC Milan.

"As a player I would say he was a fantastic crosser of the ball, a great athlete," said Waddle. "Now people will be talking about him and saying 'how great, how great'. I would say 'how good'.

"I would not say he was a great. He was very good at his job, he worked very hard as a professional footballer."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has added to the tributes to Beckham since his announcement on Thursday.

When asked if he was ever interested in signing Beckham, who trained with the Gunners in January, the Frenchman said: "Yes, I was. It was at a period when I couldn't afford him. And after that there was a question mark before he went to Milan, but it was a position we didn't really need.

"It was always a pleasure to have him here because of his attitude and behaviour. He gained respect from everybody.

"At the end of the day no matter how strong a player he is, what remains in your memory is his genuine commitment and dedication and the natural humility which he always had. That will stay forever."

QPR manager Harry Redknapp was in charge at Tottenham when Beckham trained with Spurs in 2011. He said: "He was down to earth, everybody loved him, he treated everybody with great respect and he had time for everyone. He's had a fantastic career and is an absolute top-class fella.

"He's been a great role model for any young footballer."

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