Usain Bolts From UK Tax System
Jamaican speedster Usain Bolt celebrates after winning the men's 100 metre race during the Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting 2010 at Daegu Stadium
Usain Bolt has withdrawn from next month’s Diamond League meeting in London for tax reasons.
Britain’s sports minister Hugh Robertson said he could intervene after Olympic and world 100m and 200m champion Bolt revealed he wouldn’t run at next month’s event because of Britain’s prohibitive tax rules. Robertson has alluded he could work something out with UK Athletics and promoters Fast Track.
“I’ve not had a direct approach from either the sport’s governing body or the promoters of the Crystal Palace meeting so I don’t know exactly what we are dealing with here,” Robertson said in an interview on BBC radio on Tuesday. “It is a problem we have come across and addressed with other sports and clearly if they write to me I will take it up with the treasury. It’s a problem across other sports.
“Golfers and tennis players have come to me, and I’m pretty sure that at the back end of the 2012 Olympic bill is a commitment not to tax overseas stars who come over to compete in the Olympics,” said Robertson. “If there is a particular problem (with Bolt) I’m happy to look at it and see if I can help.”
The British tax system means that Bolt would be taxed on his earnings at the lucrative event and also on a proportion of his huge personal endorsements throughout the year, even though he does not reside in Britain. It is a system that has already undermined Britain’s attempts to host some major sports events, including this year’s Champions League final, which was staged in Madrid rather than Wembley.
Robertson, however, said that it might be too late to prevent the world’s fastest man taking on Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay in a mouthwatering 100m in London. “Ideally (he will be at Crystal Palace) which is why I say when they write to me, I will see what I can do. Three weeks doesn’t give us a whole lot of time to organise a tax concession.”
REUTERS
Roy Hodgson Fits The Bill For Liverpool
Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson’s first public statement as Liverpool manager was the sort of platitude which convention demands. “This is the biggest job in club football,” he said.
In terms of honour and prestige, as a nod to Anfield’s gilded history, it was an understandable exaggeration. In terms of the scale of the task he faces, though, the 62 year-old could be accused of underestimating what awaits him.
Liverpool is a land of revised expectations. When the club’s hierarchy first countenanced the possibility of losing Rafael Benítez, Hodgson’s polarising predecessor, the two names which were discussed as putative replacements were Jose Mourinho and Fabio Capello.
Anfield’s plight is such, though, that the prospect of tempting a managerial galactico was remote at best.
Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the owners who have placed England’s most decorated club in hock to the tune of £237 million to the Royal Bank of Scotland, could no more afford their wages than they could offer a substantial transfer budget or a stable working environment.
In such circumstances, the three-week search which culminated in the appointment of Hodgson, always their first choice, was dominated not by the trophy-hauls of prospective candidates but by a list of character traits. Stable, experienced, statesmanlike. The well-travelled Hodgson fits the bill perfectly.
The bill itself is reduced, too, with the former Fulham manager on a salary £1 million-a-year less than that which Benítez would have commanded.
And while he will be handed an initial fund of £12 million plus whatever he raises from culling the chaff from the squad he has inherited to return Liverpool to the Champions League, it is unlikely he will meet with the same fate as the Spaniard should he fail to do so.
Such is the nature of Liverpool’s altered reality.
Yet it is not one that sits easily at a club who exist, as one of Hodgson’s illustrious forebears proclaimed, solely to win trophies. The new manager may have been appointed to steer Liverpool through troubled waters but, deep down, the aim at Anfield is always the same.
To win.
Easier said than done. It is telling that, on the day Manchester City announced the £24 million capture of David Silva, a player who would have spent last season at Anfield had Benítez’s transfer budget not evaporated, Liverpool were linked with the veteran midfielder Gilberto Silva.
That is where Hodgson must look to rebuild his squad: not the exclusive boutiques of Europe, but the vintage shops.
Even if he succeeds in offloading a host of fringe players, he will be expected to overhaul Tottenham, City and Aston Villa and return Liverpool to the Champions League on what is, in modern terms, a pittance.
It is that financial plight which puts Hodgson in the unenviable position of knowing he will be handed substantial backing only if he loses one of the club’s crown jewels.
Javier Mascherano is almost certain to leave, with Benítez’s Inter Milan and Barcelona hovering, while doubts linger over the futures of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
Sell either one, of course, and no matter how much money comes in, Liverpool will be robbed of much of their lustre. Yet keep both and the chances of the major reinforcements they feel are required at Anfield to prove the club can match their own ambitions are distant. Hodgson has walked out of Craven Cottage and into Catch 22.
Top of his to do list was to hold talks with Gerrard, Mascherano and Torres, though it is the England captain and the Spanish striker he will hold out the greatest hope of persuading to stay.
If he fails, it would be seen as a condemnation of his appointment. Such a judgment would be unfair.
All of Liverpool’s senior players were kept appraised of the developments as Christian Purslow, the managing director, sought a manager, and it is safe to assume that none raised any serious objections.
What all of Liverpool’s squad do object to, though, is the continued presence and the endless parsimony of Hicks and Gillett.
Until they depart Anfield, taking their debts and their doubts with them, making Liverpool great again will remain the biggest job in club football, without any exaggeration.
Courtesy of The Telegraph
Ronaldo: I nearly signed for Arsenal
Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed just how close he came to signing for Sir Alex Ferguson’s bitter rivals Arsenal FC prior to his move to Old Trafford in 2003.
The former World and European player of the year was shown around the Gunners training facilities by Arsene Wenger on three separate occasions, with the Frenchman even offering the precocious youngster an Arsenal shirt as a memento of his visit.
Despite interest from Arsenal FC, Ronaldo eventually signed for Manchester United in a deal worth £12.24 million and he subsequently went on to win three Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League with Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, as well as establishing himself as an Old Trafford legend and one the world’s best players.
Although he enjoyed an illustrious Manchester United playing career, Ronaldo recalls he and his mother watching a Premier League game involving Arsenal FC prior to his move to England, during which Arsene Wenger appeared on the screen. Ronaldo recalls his mother’s reaction to seeing the Frenchman, with her declaring how much she had liked the Gunners manager.
The Manchester United legend told the latest edition of GQ Magazine: “It’s true. I was an inch away from signing for Arsenal.”
“I saw Arsene Wenger three times with my mother. It was very close to being a done deal.”
“After I signed for United, she and I were sitting watching a Premier league game on television and she yelled out, ‘I know that guy – I liked him.’”
Although Arsenal had shown strong interest in the then Sporting Lisbon talent, the player’s agent Jorge Mendes, suggests Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had showed the greatest intent on signing the player by offering the Sporting Lisbon starlet the best deal.
Mendes told GQ: “This is what really happened. Everyone wanted Cristiano; Real, Juventus, Barcelona. But only Arsenal and Manchester United attempted to take him from Sporting Lisbon that season. The others wanted to leave him at Sporting at least a year.”
“But with United, everything was in place already, since an agreement had been reached the day before the match (a friendly involving Manchester United and Sporting).”
Ronaldo claims he was ready to leave Sporting Lisbon at the time, and despite his host of suitors from around Europe, he simply chose Manchester United because they offered him the best deal.
The Manchester United legend said: “The reason I went to United was because they were the team that made me the best offer.”
“I had never been to Manchester before, but what helped me was that my mother lived with me, my family visited a lot and I made friends with the players. What were my first impressions of the city? It rains a lot.
With thanks to Sport.co.uk
Mourinho Eyes Gerrard
Real Madrid’s new coach Jose Mourinho is hoping to make Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard one of his first new signings, a Spanish sports newspaper said.
“Gerrard, very close to Real Madrid,” headlined the sports daily Marca.
Mourinho joined Real on a four-year deal this week in the wake of leading Inter Milan to an historic treble of successes in Italy’s Serie A championship, the Italian Cup and Champions League.
He replaced Manuel Pellegrini, sacked last week after a barren season having spent 250 million euros on new players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Xabi Alonso.
The one-time Chelsea boss has said he hopes to boost the team with two wide defenders and two midfielders.
And 30-year-old England international Gerrard is now one of his priorities, Marca said.
His first choice to support Alonso in midfield was Italy’s Daniele de Rossi of Roma, but the club has already said he is not for sale.
With thanks to timesofmalta.com
Mourinho Signs Real Deal
Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho has been unveiled as the new manager of Real Madrid after signing a four-year deal at the club.
The 47-year-old replaced Chilean Manuel Pellegrini to become Real’s 11th coach in the past seven years.
“I like to give myself a challenge and this is a big one,” said Mourinho. “I have a lot of confidence in myself and my ability as a coach.”
Sporting director Jorge Valdano said: “It’s an honour to have one of the most prestigious coaches in the world.”
Valdano added: “We are delighted to have him here with us. The best thing for our club right now is to have Mourinho with us.”
Mourinho, once on the coaching staff at Barcelona, has moved to Spain after Real and his former club Inter Milan agreed a compensation package.
The Portuguese boss won the Champions League in his final game at Inter after his side defeated Bayern Munich to complete a historic Treble, having already retained the Serie A title and defeated Roma to lift the Italian Cup.
But Mourinho explained that he felt the lure of coaching Real was too strong to resist.
“I don’t know if I was born to coach Real Madrid but I was born to be a football coach,” he added.
“I am Jose Mourinho and I don’t change. I arrive with all my qualities and my defects.
Real have not won a trophy in the two seasons since Florentino Perez returned as president – and new coach Mourinho stressed the importance of the attitude of his players in crafting a winning team.
Accomplishments
Mourinho moved to Chelsea in 2004 and ended the club’s 50-year wait for a top-flight title in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea retained the title in the 2005/06 season and also won the Carling Cup twice and the FA Cup before Mourinho left in September 2007 after a widely reported series of disagreements with owner Roman Abramovich.
Mourinho took over at Inter in June 2008 but endured a difficult relationship with the Italian press.
The day after Inter won the Champions League at Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium, Mourinho, who was contracted until 2012, conceded it had almost certainly been his last game in charge.
And following the news that Mourinho was moving to Spain, an Inter statement read: “President Massimo Moratti and FC Internazionale thank Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff for the work done during two successful seasons on the domestic and European fronts.”
Mourinho will reportedly have full control of transfer policy at Madrid, with Perez taking a backseat after two successive seasons without a trophy since the start of his second spell as president.
Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard and Chelsea duo Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole have been linked with Real over the last few days.
Fabio Capello
Meanwhile, the Internazionale president, Massimo Moratti, remains hopeful that the England coach, Fabio Capello, can be tempted into breaking his contract after the World Cup and become a candidate for the vacant position with the Champions League winners.
The manager who secured Inter their first European Cup since 1965, José Mourinho, has left for Real Madrid after winning an unprecedented treble with the Italian side and Moratti has already identified the former Juventus, Milan and Roma coach Capello as a target.
“I would be pleased if he frees himself after the World Cup,” Moratti said. The news comes as the FA attempts to clarify Capello’s future as the manager of the national side.
Moratti also has his eye on another England-based manager but doubts a deal could be done. “I’ve always thought Rafa Benítez was good but he is tied to Liverpool,” Moratti said.
The Fulham manager and former Inter coach, Roy Hodgson, has also been linked with the position.
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