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Nilmar: if his agent can be believed (and that's a fairly significant if), no agreement has yet been reached with Sao Paolo over Nilmar's salary, but negotiations are continuing. It sounds as though Nilmar's family would be happy for him to return to Brazil, at least:
Da Hora sigue presionando al Sao Paulo - Deportes - El Periódico Mediterraneo
Gio Dos Santos: not much new here, everyone is expecting a deal to take place 'by the weekend'. There is an interesting story that an investment fund is involved in both the Nilmar sale and Gio arrival, but I don't know how accurate it is:
El Villarreal cierra el acuerdo por Nilmar: 10 millones más Giovani Dos Santos - elConfidencial.com
Juan Róman Riquelme: yes, that's right! Hey, if Arsenal can bring back Thierry Henry.... Riquelme is in the news because he gave an interview to Marca in which he said if Villarreal wanted him, he'd take the next plane back. A nice thought. Details here:
Riquelme: "Si el Villarreal me llama, tomo un avión y voy mañana mismo" – PlayFútbol
Meanwhile, while the big clubs struggle on in their various ways, smaller clubs are going under. Sporting Mahonés has withdrawn from their Segunda B group, becoming the third team, after Poli Ejido and Sporting Villanense, to do so in the last month. And while I don't pretend to understand all the machinations going on at our near-neighbors Castellón, the players haven't been paid in months, and not by choice or agreement. Latest news is the owner isn't returning phone calls and some of the players are leaving for other clubs:
Meanwhile, Alexis Sanchez and Andrés Iniesta are going to miss Saturday's match in El Madrigal. Of course, they still have that Messi guy. And Xavi, too. Nonetheless, Marcos Senna is doing his best to be upbeat:
Senna: "Podemos vencer al mejor equipo del mundo" - Deportes - El Periódico Mediterraneo
Endavant!
Vamos Villarreal!!