Spanish champions Real Madrid, plagued by injuries and poor form this season, have signed Dutch international striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Ajax for €27 million, the two clubs said on Tuesday. The 25-year-old is expected to replace another Dutchman, Ruud van Nistelrooy, who will miss the rest of the season after a knee operation.

"Huntelaar is now officially a new player at Real Madrid," the club said in a statement, which praised 'his great positioning, opportunism and intelligence'. "The agreement is of course contingent upon the player passing a physical and signing his contract with Real Madrid," which would keep him at the club until June 30, 2013.

Ajax said the transfer fee was €27 million ($34 million), a fixed payment of €20 million and a "variable" fee of €7 million. Huntelaar is currently out of action due to an ankle injury, and is not expected to be fit again until the middle of this month. He has scored six goals in the Dutch first division this season after finishing as top scorer last season with 33 goals in 34 games played. He has also taken over from van Nistelrooy in the Dutch national side.

The reigning Spanish champions, currently fourth in the Primera Liga, last summer lost Brazilian Robinho to Manchester City and failed to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United. They have also been plagued by injuries this season; in addition to van Nistelrooy, Robben has been unavailable since early last month.

On Saturday, three players, Sneijder, Spanish defender Miguel Torres and Brazilian-born Portuguese defender Pepe, were injured during a 3-1 defeat by city rivals Getafe and will be out for between two weeks and a month. Recent poor results have also led to press reports that German coach Bernd Schuster, who joined Real in July 2007, could be on his way out. However, Calderon on Monday gave him a cautious vote of confidence. fifa

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Arsenal FC lost 2-0 away to Burnley FC to crash out of the English League Cup at the quarter-final stage.

Arsène Wenger's team went the same way as Chelsea FC in the previous round – beaten on penalties by Burnley – succumbing to goals early in each half from Kevin McDonald. The 20-year-old Scottish midfielder struck first after six minutes at Turf Moor, turning in the loose ball after Arsenal goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański, under pressure, could only parry a low Chris Eagles cross into his path. McDonald's second came 12 minutes after the interval, when he outmuscled and outpaced Mark Randall to run on to a throw-in, break into the Arsenal area and clip the ball around Fabiański.

In between times, Danish goalkeeper Brian Jensen was an equally influential figure for the side from the Championship, or second tier of English football. Manager Owen Coyle's promotion chasers were grateful for a series of saves by Jensen from Nicklas Bendtner, Carlos Vela and Randall. Fran Mérida went closest for a visiting team showing eleven changes from the starting lineup in Sunday's 2-1 Premier League victory at Chelsea. Burnley were joined in the semi-finals by Derby County FC who also knocked out top-flight opposition, winning 1-0 at Stoke City FC thanks to a Nathan Ellington penalty deep into stoppage time. The Championship side hit the woodwork twice in the second period, before surviving a scare when goalkeeper Roy Carroll kept out Ricardo Fuller. The quarter-final ties continue on Wednesday, with holders Tottenham Hotspur FC visiting Watford FC, and Manchester United FC hosting Blackburn Rovers FC. EUFA

Other results;

Burnley 2 - 0 Arsenal
Stoke City 0 - 1 Derby County
.......
Watford ? - ? Tottenham
Manchester United ? - ? Blackburn R.

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The Willow Foundation, a charity that helps organise special days for the seriously ill 16 to 40 years old, have produced 300 small canvases, each of which has been drawn by well-known names from the worlds of sport, design, art, music and entertainment.

Several ex-Prem and Prem stars have given their free time to involved in this charity and at the same time to show their 'art' skills. They have a football skills but do they have 'art' skill also? Watch up their canvases..

Cesc Fabregas

Nicolas Anelka

Michael Ballack

Paul Robinson

David Seaman
For more, click here

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Real Madrid icon, Raul has added another job title with his beloved club after being appointed as an ambassador.

Raul Gonzalez Blanco was yesterday officially honored by club president, Ramon Calderon as a Real Madrid ambassador at the Santiago Bernabeu VIP box. His new duties, which he will undertake during his free time and no doubt after his playing career, will include traveling around the world to help the less fortunate through football and also to promote the image of Real Madrid. During the presentation, Calderon joked in his speech that the ‘Number 7’ will be the club’s first winter signing, before congratulating and passing the microphone over to the captain.

“I thank the club for giving me another important role to play. I will carry out my functions as best I can to enhance the image and prestige of this club. This is a great day for me. I have been here for 14 years and to be appointed ambassador brings me great joy. There is no better position and I ensure that I will do a good job to promote all the values that I have,” affirmed Raul.

Raul then revealed that his first duties will be to visit a joint-football school that advocates peace between Israel and Palestine. Calderon concluded the proceedings by stating: “A club with the prestige like Real Madrid must demonstrate that we do not contribute more problems to our surroundings. Goal.com

“We all share a common goal and we help those who are in need.”

See some of his glorious goals for Real Madrid in this video;

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Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has won the 2008 Ballon d'Or award ahead of Lionel Messi and Fernando Torres.

Ronaldo was the clear favourite to land the prestigious prize after a remarkable year at Old Trafford. The powerful attacker netted 42 goals last season as the Red Devils claimed Premier League and UEFA Champions League glory. His summer was overshadowed by Real Madrid's courting of the 23-year-old, while he missed the start of the new term with an ankle injury. But Ronaldo has demonstrated his impressive ability in recent weeks, netting nine times since September.

Ronaldo finished runner-up to Brazilian forward Kaka in 2007 and overcame strong competition this time around from Barcelona playmaker Messi - who finished second - and third placed Liverpool star Torres. He is already FIFPro World Player of the Year and also took the top prizes from the Professional Footballers' Association and the Football Writers last term.

The Portugal winger is the first United player to win the Ballon d'Or since George Best in 1968 and the first from his country since Luis Figo in 2000. SkySports


Full results;

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Manchester United), 446 pts
2. Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona), 281 pts
3. Fernando Torres (Spain, Liverpool), 179 pts
4. Iker Casillas (Spain, Real Madrid), 133 pts
5. Xavi (Spain, Barcelona), 97 pts
6. Andrei Arshavin (Russia, Zenit St Petersburg), 64 pts
7. David Villa (Spain, Valencia), 55 pts
8. Kaka (Brazil, AC Milan), 31 pts
9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden, Inter Milan), 30 pts
10. Steven Gerrard (England, Liverpool), 28 pts
11. Marcos Senna (Spain, Villarreal), 16 pts.
12. Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo, Arsenal), 12 pts.
13. Wayne Rooney (England, Manchester United), 11 pts.
14. Sergio Aguero (Argentina, Atletico Madrid), 10 pts.
15. Frank Lampard (England, Chelsea), 8 pts.
16. Franck Ribery (France, Bayern Munich), 7 pts.
17. Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon, Barcelona), 6 pts.
18. Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, Juventus), 5 pts.
19. Michael Ballack (Germany, Chelsea), Cesc Fabregas (Spain, Arsenal), 4 pts.
20. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast, Chelsea), Sergio Ramos (Spain, Real Madrid), Nemanja Vidic (Serbia, Manchester United), 3 pts.
21. Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands, Manchester United), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands, Real Madrid), 2 pts.

• No votes : Karim Benzema (Lyon), Pepe (Real Madrid), Luca Toni (Bayern Munich), Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid), and Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow).

Last 10 Ballon D'Or Winners;

• 1998 - Zinedine Zidane
• 1999 - Rivaldo
• 2000 - Luis Figo
• 2001 - Michael Owen
• 2002 - Ronaldo
• 2003 - Pavel Nedved
• 2004 - Andrei Shevchenko
• 2005 - Ronaldinho
• 2006 - Fabio Cannavaro
• 2007 - Kaka

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