It's Your Lucky Day: Mediocre English Clubs Edition

In the rough and tumble world of Russian economics, news of 40 new Russian billionaires doesn't seem so strange (I just saw Eastern Promises, I know how it works). The real news will be about who'll be willing to splash the cash for one of the dozens (and dozens) of middling English soccer clubs out there.

Come on, which one of you guys wants to battle it out with Chelski?


Battle of the oligarchs... the amazing showdown between Roman Abramovich and his arch rival [Daily Mail]
Russia Adds 40 Billionaires [Bloomberg]

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Shirt Sponsors: Professional Arm-Twisters Edition

Gazprom, the biggest extractor of natural gas in the world, as well as German side Schalke 04's main sponsor, has quite an interesting history. Wholly owned by the Russian government, the policies of the company have been difficult to separate from the policies of Valdimir Putin's government. The excellent blog Culture of Soccer has an great primer on the subject.

The latest news on Gazprom shows, that currently, the intertwining of both the company and the Russian government is still alive and well. Gazprom officials were shocked (shocked I tell you) that anyone would accuse them of playing politics with natural gas. Just when Ukraine appears to have reelected a pro-Western coalition led by Yulia Tymoshenko, Gazprom suddenly warned that the country's $1.3B gas tab hadn't been payed. Ukraine, the company said, may find it's gas cut off if it doesn't cut a check. But it's just business, company officials say: "The problem is objective. It is not connected in any way with who wins or does not win in Ukraine. But it is connected to debts that have to be paid."

They might have added, "Who ya gonna believe? Me or your eyes?" But as one analyst put it to the Financial Times, "[T]his is sort of a way to send a signal to the next government that if Tymoshenko comes to power, expect things to get tougher."

If Ukraine doesn't pay up, how is Gazprom supposed to honor it's $35.5M-a-year deal with Schalke?

Gazprom’s Sponsorship of Schalke [Culture of Soccer]
Gazprom threatens Ukraine with gas cuts [Financial Times]

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It Was Nice Knowing You Kid

It looks like Antonio Cassano could be on his way out of La Liga and back to Italy. Real Madrid's forward, who they bought from Roma for $6.8M a year ago, is in the shop window with a $5.5M price tag.

With the acquisition of Gonzalo Higuain, it seems that the Italian is now surplus to requirements. Besides the new Argentine addition, Real already have Raul, Ronaldo, Robinho, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Jose Reyes at the club. They also have Oscar Minambres and Julio Baptista out on loan. [Channel 4]

In other Spanish news:

• Sevilla have signed their first second-half addition, Russian Aleksander Kerzhakov, from FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. If they can make a offer that Fiorentina can't refuse, this guy would be a great pickup. [Marca, Channel 4]
• Real Betis have hired a new coach after sending Javier Irureta packing last week. [Reuters]
• Barcelona is reporting that Samuel Eto'o will start training with the first team in mid-January. Leonel Messi and Lillian Thuram should be doing the same once February rolls around. If you happen to be in the Catalan capital next Thursday, stop by the 15,276 seat Mini Estadi to watch the first team train. It'll cost you 3 euros. [Barcelona official site]
• Some twenty teams have made inquiries into David Beckham's situation at Real Madrid. The latest: Sam Allardyce and Marseille, asking if the player would be interested in a move if Sven Goran Eriksson became the new coach. The ex-England captain has until the end of the month to agree to a new deal lasting through June of 2009. Some are saying that New York will be his next stop. [AS, Deportes Punto Com]
• Real Sociedad is still trying to negotiate the signing of Federico Higuain, Gonzalo's younger brother. The player's contract is owned by River Plate, who loaned him out to Nueva Chicago over the summer. The loan deal is through the upcoming Clausura season, so Chicago are not willing to rescind the deal and get nothing in return. Once River offers up a suitable replacement to their Buenos Aires neighbors, the deal should go through. The club has just signed centerback Victor Lopez from Avellaneda club Arsenal de Sarandi. [La Nacion, UEFA official site]
• Any Spanish club looking to sign 24 year old Mariano Pavone know how much they're going to have to pony up for his services. Estudiantes de La Plata vicepresident Julio Alegre revealed that they have already turned down an offer of $4.5M from Italian club Genoa. [Clarin]
• The South American seller's philosophy: three years and they're gone. [BBC]
• In music news: If things don't work out at Arsenal, at least Julio has the ukulele to fall back on. And who wouldn't like to see a moustache on Barca's little Freddy Mercury look-a-like? [UEFA official site]
  
• Details about the new Portuguese remake of The Fast and the Furious. [Goal.com]

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