FanHouse ACMilan

In a very unsurprising development, AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani declared that the club is "95 percent" finished on bringing back David Beckham to the club in January on loan. Galliani went as far as to call it a "done deal."

Unlike last year when there was a lot of alarm and acrimony when Beckham announced his intentions to play somewhere else during the break in the MLS season, this time there doesn't seem to be too much problem that he'll be away from the Los Angeles Galaxy for a period of time after the 2009 season wraps in November.

Maybe the most under-reported aspect of the U.S. national team's run to the Confederations Cup final last month was that, given the spotlight, a couple of American players probably earned themselves some nice European paydays. Nowhere was this more evident than starting central defender Oguchi Onyewu, especially after his epic performance in the U.S.'s 2-0 win over-then FIFA No. 1 Spain in the tournament semifinals.

All of the post-Confederations Cup scuttlebutt surrounding Onyewu, who was out of contract at Belgian champ Standard Liege, were moves to lower-tier Premier League clubs and some far-flung Turkish teams. So Tuesday's announcement that the 6-foot-4 Maryland native signed with Italian giants AC Milan on a three-year contract comes as a pleasant surprise for U.S. fans since it's a far cry from a pre-Confederations Cup link to Birmingham City.

The Guardian is reporting that Chelsea is prepared to offer A.C. Milan a world-record €100 million transfer fee for Brazilian midfielder Kaká.

If completed, the audacious deal would smash the previous record transfer fee of €76 million, which Real Madrid paid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001. Milan turned down a €90 million from Madrid for Kaká last summer, but with none of that filthy Champions League lucre coming in next season, Milan might use this deal to balance their books and add a less expensive, albeit less talented central midfielder.

This comes just days after Milan signed Ronaldinho from Barcelona for €21 million, so that much-anticipated Brazilian renaissance at the San Siro might not happen as expected.

Kaká beat out Cristiano Ronaldo for the Ballon d'Or in 2007 after leading Milan to the Champions League title. He would join a very crowded Chelsea midfield, which currently includes Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Essien, Jon Obi Mikel, Florent Malouda, Claude Makélélé and Shawn Wright-Phillips. Lampard, however, is expected to move to Inter Milan and be reunited with Jose Mourinho soon, while Makélélé and Wright-Phillips are believed to be on their way out.

UPDATE (7/21): Chelsea is now denying that they made this offer. Looks like it's up to Cristiano Ronaldo to break the world record for a transfer fee after all.

Has anybody else noticed the long line of players exiting Arsenal these days?

First, French midfielder Mathieu Flamini bolted for A.C. Milan on a free transfer. Another midfielder, Alexander Hleb, has been rumored to head to either Barcelona or Bayern Munich, though he would prefer you shut up about it. Now come reports that Emmanuel Adebayor, the Gunners' top goal scorer last season, is drawing interest from both Barcelona and AC Milan.

It's plainly obvious why Barca and Milan would throw upwards of €30 million to get their hands on a tall 24-year-old striker who scored 24 goals in the Premier League last season. What's less obvious is why Arsenal is even considering putting Adebayor on the market, let alone allowing so many players to leave the Emirates. Has the club lost faith in the current direction Arsene Wenger is taking them? Has someone above Wenger decided that four years without a trophy is too long, and thus, drastic changes are necessary?

Selling a striker who has scored 36 goals in 78 appearances seems a little too drastic. Who's going to score the goals if he leaves? And is this a sign that the Gunners are in for a struggle next season? Yes, we thought that last year when Thierry Henry left, but this is a stranger and more problematic exodus from the Emirates than we saw last summer. Wenger better hope his wunderkinder are ready for the Premier League. They weren't ready for the Carling Cup last season.

It's been a thoroughly rotten season for A.C. Milan striker Ronaldo. After years of overeating following his successful 2002 World Cup stint with Brazil, the 31-year-old blew out his left knee, leaving his career in jeopardy.

In times like these, a man seeks comfort. Unfortunately, it seems Ronaldo went looking for love in all the wrong places.

Soccer star Ronaldo was questioned by police early Monday after a run-in with Brazilian transvestites in a Rio de Janeiro motel.

Ronaldo accused one of the transvestites of trying to extort him, police inspector Carlos Augusto Nogueira said Monday night. Nogueira said the altercation began when Ronaldo found out he was dealing with transvestites instead of women. The inspector said Ronaldo admitted he knew they were prostitutes when they met earlier Sunday night but did not realize they were transvestites until they got to the motel.

Really? Is inspecting the merchandise before purchase discouraged in Brazil? Weren't those adam's apples enough of a giveaway? Or was our favorite pie-eater just a little loopy after a bad batch of painkillers for his knee? These are the important questions, people. Six years from now, the World Cup will be in Brazil, where prostitution is legal, and out-of-towners need these helpful hints.

We should start a pool to see how many more stories about hookers and footballers named "Ronaldo" we'll get this year. I have dibs on 3.

(H/T: The Offside)

If last Sunday's Premier League Grand Slam wasn't enough to whet your appetite for club soccer at its highest hype level, two other dominant European -- La Liga in Spain and Serie A in Italy -- are serving up huge superclub matches that will air on Sunday morning in America.

First up in Italy, Serie A champs Inter Milan will take on European champs AC Milan in the famed Milan derby. (9:00 AM ET, Fox Soccer Channel.) Inter currently sits comfortably atop the league table once again. On the other hand, AC Milan's form in its own league has been dire. They're stuck in 11th place with only 18 points and zero wins at home. They're also listed as the away team here, despite playing at the San Siro, the stadium they share with Inter. Will that psychological edge get them over the hump?

Then it's El Clasico in Spain, as La Liga leaders Real Madrid head to Camp Nou to face 2nd-place Barcelona. (1:00 PM ET, GOLTV) Barca is four points behind Real on the league table, but they're unbeaten at home. However, they will be without Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, who's out with a thigh injury. Ronaldinho might sit as well after getting an earful from manager Frank Rikjaard yesterday. It may fall to Samuel Eto'o to score goals against Real, who have had much less drama but much better results away from home. Can Real steal a win and take a commanding seven-point lead in Spain?

Despite their 2-0 win over Liverpool in yesterday's Carling Cup quarterfinal, Chelsea seems to be in a fairly precarious position these days. They're 6 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, who beat them 1-0 last Sunday, they're stuck playing slow-footed Andriy Shevchenko up front because Didier Drogba is recovering from knee surgery, they've lost John Terry to a broken foot for six weeks, and they're going to lose four players -- Drogba, Michael Essien, Saloman Kalou, John Obi Mikel -- for a month because of the African Cup of Nations.

Now it seems Drogba may not figure in Chelsea's future plans at all. Reports are emerging today that AC Milan will make Chelsea a £21 million transfer bid for Drogba in an attempt to save its Serie A season.

The timing of this offer is curious for a number of reasons. If Drogba transfers in January, he won't be able to play in the Champions League for Milan, because he's cup-tied to Chelsea. Plus, he wouldn't start for Milan until February anyway because of his Ivory Coast duties. There's no telling how well his knee would be after the African Cup of Nations, either.

However, Chelsea might benefit from moving Drogba now.

The Story So Far: Filippo Inzaghi found himself in the way of an Andrea Pirlo freekick in the waning moments of the first half and deflected the ball into the net, giving Milan a 1-0 lead against the run of play. Jermaine Pennant has dominated the right flank but Liverpool forwards have been useless thus far. Kaka was largely invisible but drew the foul that led to the goal.

At halftime, Smythe suggests Harry Kewell coming in for Zenden, but he's been suggesting that since the 30 minute mark. What about Crouch? I don't understand: Pennant is crushing them on the right so why not bring on your best target forward to get on the end of those crosses? It is the mystery.

In any case, with Liverpool forced to press for a goal Kaka should find the room he was denied in the first half. Hopefully we'll get an entertaining finish.

45': No changes for either side; Irishman Steve Finnan whips in a cross but there's no one on the end of it. Stadium announcers looking for the "uncle of Curtis Pennant"; Gerrard earns a corner from Nesta; nearly a penalty. Dude runs onto the pitch, prompting a delay.

47': Header from Agger harmlessly wide.

Manchester United brought a one-goal lead into the second leg of their Champions League semifinal clash with AC Milan ... among the things they did not bring, however, were pride and an ability to defend. Milan embarrassed them in every way, winning 3-0.

It's a bit of a shame ... had United been able to get even a draw, it would've set up a battle in the finals between Premier League rivals Manchester United and Liverpool. I guess everyone's entitled to an off day every now and then, but to me at least, Milan vs. Liverpool is a far less appealing final. I'll still watch, but ... not with a ton of excitement.

Anyway, I don't know what United's deal was. They looked more like Scunthorpe United than Manchester United today ... they were timid, they had no rhythm, they looked like they were playing scared. They rarely resembled the team they usually are.

It's time for a quick United recovery ... they can wrap up the Premiership this weekend with a win in the Manchester Derby, and a little help from Arsenal against Chelsea. The chances of them looking this brutal two games in a row, I believe, are pretty slim.

For better or worse, diving is a part of soccer. It is, sadly, a skill. Some guys are good at it, some guys are not. Above, you see AC Milan striker Alberto Gilardino. Alberto Gilardino, in this particular instance, anyway ... is not very good at it.

Either that, or he's got some kind of a strange muscle synapse delay thing. You can count four full steps between the contact and the flop. It was like he wanted to keep his feet until he was sure he couldn't score, and then go to the old swan dive. After that, the audacity to complain about getting yellow-carded is just icing on the cake.

That's an all-time great call, too, by the announcer ... referring to the dive as occurring "almost posthumously." Throw in "outrageous," "deserves censure, if not ridicule," and "disgraceful," and that's fine broadcasting work.