Manchester United turned down the opportunity to sign Colombia star James Rodriguez for as little as £5m a couple of seasons ago, preferring instead to pursuit other options and, to add insult to injury, ended up signing Bebe – £2m more expensive than Rodriguez and with a fraction of the talent.
United were first approached by intermediaries in 2010, the Guardian reports, when Rodriguez, 18 at the time, was carving out a reputation for himself at Club Atletico Banfield in the Argentine’s first division, having made his professional debut a year earlier when he became the youngest ever foreigner to play in the Argentine top-flight.
Banfield won their first ever title that season and coach Julio Falcioni convinced the youngster he had what it take to succeed in Europe and Rodriguez was offered to United, one of the few Premier League clubs to employ a permanent scout in South America, but the agent never received a response from the club.
A few weeks later, however, United thought well of splashing £7.4m on Bebe, despite the fact that Sir Alex had never seen him playing and that Bebe had only been at Vitoria Guimaraes for five weeks before moving to Old Trafford.
As the Guardian points out, Rodriguez then moved to Porto – with whom he won the Portuguese league and cup double and the Europa League in the same season – for £4m in 2010 but, as it’s common practice with a lot of South American players, 30% of his economic rights were retained by a company – an agreement forbidden under Premier League rules.
Last summer Rodriguez left Porto and moved to Monaco for £38.5m – where a hefty release clause has been included in his five-year deal – and has been the man of the tournament at this World Cup, scoring five goals in four games as Colombia booked themselves a place in the quarter finals against Brazil. United, meanwhile, can look forward to Bebe’s return from loan this month.
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The likes of Koke and Diego Costa have both been heavily linked with moves away fromthe Spanish champions after helping propelAtletico toLa Ligaglory last season. If he were to leave, Costawould follow in the footsteps of Fernando Torres, Sergio Aguero and Radamel Falcao in leaving for pastures new, but Cerezo says the club will always continue to reinvest and evolve. "Everyone has left on good terms. Torres,Falcao... everyone except Aguero, who had a silly problem," Cerezo told Digisport. "He could've left (for Manchester City)as a hero and he left as a villain instead over something silly. "Any player who doesn't want to stay should pay the release clause and that's it. Our policy is clear. We don't want any players who are unhappy at Atletico. "It hurts us when they leave, but if they pay the release clause, it's not a problem."
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Like Van Persie, Robben netted three times as the Dutch cruised into the knockout phase following three consecutive wins in Group B, earning a last 16 clash with Mexico. Defending champions Spain were the first to fall as Louis van Gaal's men shocked the world to triumph 5-1, before comfortable victories over Australia and fellow qualifiers Chile secured their passage as group winners. Robben has been in scintillating form for Van Gaal's side, with his pace and ability on the ball proving to be a potentcombination, particularly on the counter-attack. The Bayern Munich star also has an assist to his name and Van Persie revealed just how much he enjoys playing alongside the former Chelsea man. "Robben is a great player, I love playing with him," Van Persie said. "He is always unpredictable. "The important thing is to understand his game because he can do many special things. "He is fast, he plays many decisive passes. Together we play narrower, but we have managed to score six goals between us in the tournament. I hope it stays that way." Defender Stefan de Vrij may not often get to reap the full benefits of Robben's creativity, but he appreciates performingalongside the forward who, in his eyes, has been decisive in all three of the Netherlands' matches so far. "It's so nice to play with him," De Vrij said. "Arjen is a great player, the rest of the team looks to him. "You know you have someone on the pitch that makes the difference. And that (has been the case in) all three games in a row."
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Holland secured their place in the last eight courtesy of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's stoppage time penalty, after Wesley Sneijder's 88th-minute volley had cancelled out Giovani Dos Santos' 48th-minute opener
The Portuguese press are reporting this evening that Manchester United have stepped up their chase for Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho.
Carvalho has apparently been named as a priority signing for Louis van Gaal and representatives from the club travelled to Lisbon to discuss the transfer today.
The player has a buy-out clause for £36m but United are reluctant to pay that much for the 22-year-old.
United already have links with Sporting, after signing Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani from them in the past, but the Portuguese side are keen to get as close to the £36m clause as possible. It has been reported that Jose Mourinho is also a big fan and that Chelsea are monitoring the situation.
When asked about his future earlier this week, the player was reluctant to commit himself.
“Will I stay at Sporting? I don’t know. I’m going back to Portugal and then we’ll see.”
------------ The Republik of Mancunia has brought out a brilliant downloadable World Cup preview. It contains 20 articles written by football experts on the countries our players will be representing in Brazil. There is also exclusive content from this country's top football journalists, such as Sid Lowe, Martin Lipton, Sam Wallace and Dominic Fifield. All profit is going to charity. More info on the RoM World Cup preview can be found here.
Minimum price is £4. Enter your e-mail address to receive the download and the price you would like to pay.
Louis van Gaal will forego post-World Cup holiday and fly to LA with Man Utd squad within just 48 hours of returning from Brazil if Holland progress to final
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In pics: Colombia star James Rodriguez was a target for Manchester United, but went to Monaco. We list the other stars of the game United tried to sign but failed
In pics: Colombia star James Rodriguez was a target for Manchester United, but went to Monaco. We list the other stars of the game United almost signed but failed
93 min: Christodoulopoulos thunders onto a loose ball on the edge of the box and just can't resist lashing a shot at goal even though he knows it's bouncing awkwardly in front of him. The ball, predictably, disappears into the terraces behind the goal.
91 min: Torosidis curls in a cross so dangerous it likes its meals served with fava beans and a nice chianti. Umana just gets a toe to the ball ahead of Mitroglou.
Peep! Off we go once more.
All match I've been trying to shoe-horn linesman Matt Cream into an entry. Extra-time is tiring for officials too is he whipped? No, you're right it wasn't worth it.
I'm not sure about the officials but the Costa Ricans do look exhausted. All the momentum is in Greece's favour.
"This was my reaction," writes Tim Yorath:
Peep! PEEEEP!! PEEEEEEEEP!!! That's it! Or, more accurately, that's not it! Extra-time to come.
90+5 min: Karagounis belts into Campbell and gives away a daft free-kick.
90+4 min: And Navas is now down getting treatment.
90+3 min: What a save! Mitroglou flicks a header goalwards. Navas leaps to tip the ball over the bar!
90+2 min: Umana almost slices a kneed clearance over Navas. There's only one winner at this moment in time.
But Greece only need one! Gekas's effort on the turn is saved by Navas, but he can only paw the ball out to the centre half who powers the ball home for his first international goal. Heartbreak for Costa Rica.
90 min: We'll have a minimum of FIVE minutes of injury time.
89 min: Cholevas gets on the end of Samaras's flick on, but can't pull the ball back from the touchline.
87 min: Christodoulopoulos does superbly down the right, beating Diaz and then fizzing a low cross into the six-yard box. Navas can't grab it first time, but nor can Mitroglou trap it and the ball bounces back into the keeper's hands.
86 min: Lovely stuff from Ruiz. He calmly swerves away from a couple of tackles and heads for the corner flag. Karagounis bundles into him and concedes a free-kick that'll munch up a few more valuable seconds.
85 min: Another Greece corner sparks a bit of panic in the box, but Costa Rica have the chance to break. Acosta, though, can only wang his attempted cross-field ball back into Greek possession.
83 min: Brenes replaces Bolanos.
83 min: A stunning ball from Torosidis puts Gekas in behind the Costa Rica back four, but he can't quite tame the ball and it dribbles away for a goal kick.
82 min: lofted in by Cholevas, nodded over by Manolas. Tick-tock, tick-tock
81 min: Samaras turns away from a couple of challenges and picks up yet another free-kick. He was the most fouled player in the group stages, by the way, and he's picked up a few more tonight. Anyway, dangerous free-kick
79 min: Karagounis hammers a free-kick five, perhaps 10, yards over the bar.
77 min: And Katsouranis is on for Maniatis.
76 min: Gamboa, being shoved and nudged off by Greece players irked by his gentle amble to the touchline, is eventually off. Acosta comes on.
75 min: Cholevas again gets down the left and fizzes in a cross. It takes a bobble and a deflection, so Gekas isn't ready for the ball to find him at knee height. It trickles out for a goal kick. Costa Rica are wobbling.
74 min: Bolanos dinks in the free-kick. Manolas heads away. And Campbell is penalised for what seemed to be a non-existent handball.
72 min: Manolas flies through Campbell and is the latest name to go into the book. It's getting very feisty out there.
71 min: Navas flaps at a cross and his defenders have to bail him out. Replays show three Greece forwards offside.
70 min: Ruiz nods the ball away before a Greece free-kick. Williams, who is increasingly struggling to keep a lid on things, flashes the yellow card.
68 min: Salpingidis goes off. Theo Gekas is on.
67 min: Cholevas whips in the free-kick, Samaras glances a header wide. What a chance Greece now have to get back into it. "Greece having to attack is a bit like asking Monty Python to be serious for a bit," writes Justin Kavanagh.
66 min: Oscar Duarte picks up a second booking and is off. Cholevas charges past him and is upended by the centre half. He's off!
65 min: Cubero replaces Tejera.
63 min: And, the world is telling me, that was what Granados was complaining about to pick up his booking.
62 min: Fernando Santos isn't a happy man. His arguing over a throw-in draws the attention of the fourth official. He shouldn't be too annoyed with the officials just after the goal Torosidis missed a header and the ball dropped onto his hand. Other officials might have given Costa Rica a penalty.
60 min: "Greece's small thermal exhaust port is known as the Achilles Vent," honks Niall Mullen.
59 min: Manolas punts a long ball from the back straight out for a Costa Rican goal kick. The response to the goal doesn't bode well for Greece fans.
57 min: On comes Kostas Mitroglou, with Samaris heading off.
56 min: "Karnezis was in carbon freeze," writes Dan Nooter of the Costa Rica goal. It was a strange one he didn't move, but he had time to learn to knit, write a novella and bake a batch of muffins before the ball trickled over the line. The reaction suggests that Ruiz mis-hit the shot and was aiming for the other corner.
55 min: Trouble here. Costa Rica substitute goalkeeper Oscar Granados is booked for reasons as yet unclear.
53 min: That came out of nowhere. Now what have Greece got?
Campbell finds Bolanos. Bolanos rolls the ball across the edge of the box. And Ruiz curls his shot low into the corner! The Costa Rican X-wing has fired a proton torpedo into Greece's small thermal exhaust port.
51 min: Uncle Sepp's mug appears on the big screen. Cue boos from the crowd.
50 min: but it comes to nothing.
49 min: The full-backs are proving Greece's best attacking outlet. Cholevas in particular is causing a few problems and he's won a corner for his team here
47 min: Tejeda goes into the book for a thunking challenge on Karagounis.
46 min: Cholevas dinks in another tasty cross, this time from a free-kick. Samaras leaps highest but his header is straight at Navas.
Peep! According to the official Fifa statistics there were 25 "dangerous attacks" in that first half. I'm dubious about their definition of "dangerous". And of "attacks" for that matter. But still, off we go again with hope in our hearts and a song on our lips.
So, it's not been great. The Greece Death Shed is standing firm and they've actually posed more of a goal threat than Costa Rica. Fernando Santos will be the happier manager at the break.
PEEEEEP!! That's that. And there are quite a few boos and whistles from the terraces as the players trudge off.
45+1 min: The busiest man on the pitch thus far has been the linesman running the Costa Rican defensive line. He's at risk of RSI. Greece are caught offside yet again the sixth time this half.
45 min: Two minutes of added time to play.
43 min: Karagounis chips in, Navas claims it.
42 min: Duarte pulls down Christodoulopoulos on the edge of the box, picking up a booking for his trouble. Decent chance for Greece this
41 min: Ruiz drops a little deeper to pick up the ball and orchestrate an attack. His team-mates aren't helping him hold the ball, though.
39 min: "It's not only MBMers that have to deal with difficult names," writes Ray Wells. "Spare a thought for the man who calls out the names on University Challenge (they even had to use a smaller type for the guy top left)."
37 min: What a save! Cholevas swings in a ball so delicious it should come served with a side salad. Salpingidis is charging in at the back post and makes a sweet contact six yards out, but Navas sticks out a leg and turns the ball aside. Brilliant stuff from the keeper.
35 min: Campbell is chopped down in midfield by Andreas Samaris. The midfielder becomes the first name in the referee's Big Book Of Bad Men.
33 min: Costa Rica's three central defenders have a minute or two of passing practice between themselves. If you were contemplating the most likely outcome at this stage, extra-time and penalties would be a fairly strong contender.
31 min: Campbell swings a corner. Karnezis, under no pressure, plucks the ball from the air.
29 min: Cholevas rumbles forward and dinks in a fine cross that somehow evades Samaras in the box. And as the ball comes back in Samaras is caught offside for the umpteenth time.
28 min: It's a nightmare moment for MBMers worldwide as Papastathopoulos finds Christodoulopoulos with a long ball. The ball is worked across the box and Karagounis sends in a bouncing-bomb of a shot that Navas deals with without fuss.
26 min: Campbell almost spins away from Papastathopoulos, but the Greece defender is strong enough to hold him off.
25 min: Another corner, this time a Greek one after Torosidis's diagonal pass is cut out by Gonzalez. Karagounis pings it in. Headed clear.
22 min: softly lobbed in by Bolanos. Borges, thundering in, can't quite make contact.
21 min: taken short and worked back to Joel Campbell. He outfoxes the 112-year-old Karagounis, who brings him down right on the edge of the box. Dangerous free-kick
20 min: A backheel from Ruiz finds Gamboa, but Maniatis has tracked the run. The cross is blocked but it's a Costa Rica corner
19 min: Campbell forces the ball through to Ruiz on the left, but the Fulham man's ball across is a hopeful one. Manolas, I think, is there to mop up.
17 min: Things haven't really caught fire yet in Recife. "Surely Polish names such as Jakub Blaszczykowski are harder to type?" writes Andrew Goudie. "'McManaman' would be my favourite to type were it not for the intercapping.'Pele' is OK." I've always found Jaaskelainen my favourite name to type. Somehow it just works. Jaaskelainen. Jaaskelainen. Jaaskelainen. Lovely.
15 min: Karagounis swings the corner in, Papastathopoulos gets his noggin to it first but under pressure he can't make a clean contact.
14 min: Samaras chests down beautifully for his team-mate who wears the No16. He wins a corner
12 min: Typo-in-waitingChristodoulopoulos cuts inside from the left, but drags his shot wide. As good as anything Greece have mustered thus far really.
11 min: Greece get their collective foot on the ball for the first time since the opening seconds. Torosidis finds Samaras, but the Celtic man is a millimetre offside.
9 min: "Greece is like the Millwall of international football. No one likes, but we don't care," writes Alex Sakalis. "Let's go Hellas."
7 min: Chance for Bolanos! Campbell skitters through midfield, tumbles, but the ball runs for Ruiz, who feeds the Copenhagen midfielder. He thrashes a shot over from the left edge of the box. Los Ticos have made the better start here.
5 min: Another dangerous break from Costa Rica, but Campbell and Ruiz muddle things up and a Greek boot comes in to break things up.
4 min: Great noise from the pocket of Greece fans behind their goal. "Hellas! Hellas!" is the chant. But they're given a scare here the right wing-back Cristian Gamboa storms forward into the box, but drags his shot wide.
3 min: "With the Greek lineup, It brings to mind a question I've had for a while," begins Dave Hill. "Do you have a list of Greek names on a separate sheet that you cut and paste, or are you an incredibly fast typist?" Neither I'm afraid. I might just have to call players "The Greece No19" or similar.
2 min: Karagounis beats the wall but not the first defender in the box. It drops out to Christodoulopoulos, who smashes the ball over the bar from distance.
1 min: Torosidis romps forward, as is his wont. He finds Samaras inside, and Greece have an early free-kick
Peep! Off we go then. Greece are all in blue, Los Ticos in all white.
An email: "Greetings from a Canadian reader in a rather desolate Montevideo, Uruguay, where there's hardly a soul in the streets," writes Michael Ireton. "Granted, it's a Sunday in what passes for the dead of winter here, but I can't help but feel that yesterday's game and the whole sordid Suarez business have something to do with the municipal mood today.
"Anyway, for the Fulham supporter like me, today's match seems like a veritable intra-squad training session at Motspur Park. The ageless wonder Giorgios Karagounis was a bit of a cult hero at Craven Cottage in 2012-13...only to be let go at the end of the season...only to rejoin the cub for 2013-14...only to be released again. Then there's Kostas Mitroglou--Fulham's record signing who managed to appear in three matches this year. And finally we have Bryan Ruiz. Everything about Fulham's 2013-14 season was either his fault or Martin Jol's ... even after both were long gone.
Click-clack, click-clack the teams emerge from the tunnel, the ball is plucked from its plinth and the thousands in Recife stand for the national anthems.
Tonight's referee is Benjamin Williams of Australia. His assistants are Hakan Anaz and Matt Cream, who has romped to the Linesman Who Mosts Sounds Like A Tin Of Paint award. They're the first set of Australian officials to referee in the World Cup knockout stages, so there's a little slice of history made.
What a World Cup then, eh? Record numbers of goals, incredible late drama, thrilling attacking football and at least half a dozen strikes that will feature in future World Cup Best Of DVDs. the knockout matches wouldn't compete with the group stage we thought. Then Brazil v Chile went to penalties, James Rodriguez did that against Uruguay, and Holland smashed and grabbed in the dying seconds against Mexico.
There's just so much to enjoy, so much to reinvigorate your love of the game. And that's all well and good. But we need a Bad Guy. No great stories have ever featured solely heroes. Superman needed Lex Luther, Holmes needed Moriarty, John McClane needed Hans Gruber. And this World Cup needs Greece. Greece are like the Death Star. If the Death Star were a shed. The Death Shed if you will. Dull, functional, terrifying.
Attacker touted to Old Trafford but Bebé signed instead Agents drew blank despite his billing as a world beater
James Rodríguez, the Colombia playmaker whose breathtaking form at the World Cup has seen him lauded as one of the players of the tournament and has thrust his national team into a first ever quarter-final, was offered to Manchester United for around £5m as a teenager, only for United to pursue other options.
The forward, now an established performer at Monaco whom he joined from Porto for £38.5m last summer, scored twice to eliminate Uruguay at the Maracanã on Saturday and swell his goal tally to five in four matches before a meeting with the hosts, Brazil, in Fortaleza in the last eight on Friday.
The Mexico coach Miguel Herrera has been one of the stars of the tournament, with his antics on the touchline making him a firm favourite with neutral fans. Here are our favourite pictures of the man Mexicans call Piojo Continue reading...
This World Cup gets more dramatic by the day. Two goals in the last six minutes, one of them a penalty in the dying moments, sent Holland through to the quarter-finals. Wesley Sneijder and the substitute Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored them, but no one had been as significant as Arjen Robben, and he it was who sprinted towards the end of the stadium and leapt in the air, clenching his fists at the full-time whistle. It was a run he had made over and over; he had done most to drag the Dutch back into the World Cup.
Louis van Gaal explained how Holland had switched between formations as they chased the game but, whatever the shape, Robben stood at the heart of it. He was at the heart of the games decisive and controversial moment, too. The Mexico manager, Miguel Herrera, described the penalty that finally won this match as invented.
The Super Eagles are concentrating on beating France for a place in the quarter-finals after President Goodluck Jonathan helped resolve their $3.4m bonus concerns with bank notes Continue reading...
After both Holland and Mexico started with a three-man defence the Dutch coach changed to a back four creating width on both flanks which he was able to successfully exploit Continue reading...
Neymar gained a few grey hairs in win over Chile while crossing on Brazil-Colombia border will be closed on Friday
The Brazil versus Chile match broke the tweeting record for an event that was held by this years Super Bowl. The tense game, extra time and penalty shootout generated 16.4m tweets, according to Twitter. When Gonzalo Jara cracked the final penalty against the post, the microblog chatter peaked at 389,000 tweets per minute 7,000 more than at the height of the Superbowl. With the World Cup still only at the last-16 stage, this record looks certain to be broken again and again, especially if the hosts continue to progress in the month-long tournament.
With the impressive Colombians to face the hosts in the quarter-finals, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is trying to steady his sides nerves but has failed to lead by example
Had the crowd at Belo Horizontes Estádio Mineirão, or the 40,000 people who crammed on to Copacabana Beach to watch the game, been a bit less shell-shocked they would have noticed a very peculiar moment beamed on to the giant screens. While waiting for the beginning of the penalty shootout that would decide Brazils fate at their home World Cup, the QPR goalkeeper Júlio César began to cry.
He would credit the emotional outburst to his team-mates doing the rounds for quick pep talks but the fact was that his mind had travelled in time: four years ago in South Africa Júlio César had been singled out as one of the culprits for Brazils quarter-final defeat to Holland.
22-year-old Alpine Messi is key to reaching quarter-final Ottmar Hitzfelds men looking for first ever win over Argentina
Switzerlands Alpine Messi, Xherdan Shaqiri, hot from a hat-trick against Honduras in his last game, meets the real Lionel Messi in the last 16.
Shaqiri is the same height as the Argentinian and has a similarly low centre of gravity and, while he has some way to go to match the feats of the prolific Barcelona star, the 22-year-old gives Switzerland a threat up front.
Nat Coombs is joined by Mike Carlson to preview Monday's last-16 matches: France v Nigeria and Germany v Algeria. Mike picks out some key battles involving opposing goalkeepers Manuel Neuer and Rais M'bolhi, utility man Philipp Lahm, France's top scorer Karim Benzema, their manager Didier Deschamps and Nigeria's two-goal hero vs Argentina, Ahmed Musa. And contrary to widespread opinion, Mike doesn't see this as an easy ride for the European sides over their African opponents.
Dutch and Mexican fans were talking up the chances of their sides ahead of Sunday's knockout match in Fortaleza. With temperatures expected to top 30C, many Mexican fans predict the heat will be too much for Louis van Gaal's team. But the Dutch are sure stars Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie will work in concert to send Mexico packing Continue reading...
Incident involved Mauricio Pinilla and Brazil spokesman Rodrigo Paiva admits shove but says he acted in self defence
Fifa is investigating a bust-up at the World Cup after claims the Chile striker Mauricio Pinilla was punched by Brazils communications director Rodrigo Paiva at half-time during Saturdays match. Paiva, a well-known figure in Brazilian football, has admitted to shoving Pinilla but said that he did so only in self-defence.
Fifas disciplinary committee is believed to have access to video footage and pictures of the incident in Belo Horizonte.
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