North America

+ Paul James: Final phase hurting Toronto FC.

+ The Vancouver Whitecaps have released fan favourite Justin Moose.

+ Whitecaps residency player Russell Teibert (two-time Canadian u-17 player of the year) is expected to join the senior side for their matches against Montreal and Carolina this week.

+ The Red Bulls’ on-again, off-again search for a Classic 10 attacking midfielder is back on. Well, at least on life support, at least.

+ Down the Byline on Kansas City’s 2-1 win over Manchester United: Friendly or Not, that was a good result.

England

+ Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli has signed a five-year deal with Manchester City, according to reports in Italy.

+ Roberto Mancini has confirmed Manchester City are willing to underwrite a British record transfer for Fernando Torres should the Spaniard decide to leave Liverpool.

+ Stephen Ireland’s future at Manchester City is in serious doubt after he was told he may not make Roberto Mancini’s final 25-man squad for next season and should consider severing his ties with Eastlands.

+ Manchester City have completed the signing of left-back Aleksandar Kolarov from Lazio, for an undisclosed fee believed to be around €22.5m (£18.9m).

+ James Milner is expected to hold talks with Martin O’Neill when he returns to Aston Villa for pre-season training tomorrow, with the furore last week about his future still fresh in the mind.

+ Rio Ferdinand may not return to action until early September after the Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed he is still six weeks away from full fitness.

+ Newcastle United hope to sign Marseille winger Hatem Ben Arfa in a loan deal.

+ Didier Drogba is set to miss next month’s Community Shield and Chelsea’s Premier League opener after undergoing groin surgery which will rule him out for three weeks.

+ Chelsea expect to see Ricardo Carvalho at pre-season training despite his desire to join Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid.

+ Former Manchester United and Aston Villa midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba has emerged as a target for Barclays Premier League newcomers West Brom.

Spain

+ Real Madrid legend Raul bid farewell to the Bernabeu on Monday after 16 years of service. He will join Bundesliga club Schalke on a two-year deal

+ The father of Inter full-back Maicon has revealed that his son only wants to move to Real Madrid.

+ Germany World Cup star Mesut Ozil is in advanced talks with Barcelona, according to elmundodeportivo.

+ Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta does not believe the Spanish champions will be able to sign Cesc Fabregas this summer and will instead have to wait 12 months to get their man – and it’s all because of the Arsenal fans.

+ Real Mallorca are set to appeal their expulsion (on financial grounds) from the Europa League next season.

+ Brazilian full-back Filipe Luis has joined Atletico Madrid from Deportivo La Coruna in a deal that is reported to be worth euro 13.5 million.

Italy

+ Sebastian Giovinco’s agent Claudio Pasqualin has hinted that The Atomic Ant’s future may lie with Parma.

+ Palermo have apparently agreed a deal with Boca Juniors to sign highly-rated centre-back Ezequiel Munoz.

+ Genoa full-back Domenico Criscito has been ruled out for three weeks after injuring his left knee.

Germany

+ Hamburger SV have signed Serbian international midfielder Gojko Kacar from Hertha BSC, on a five-year contract through to June 2015.

France

+ Marseille president Jean-Claude Dassier believes a clearer picture will emerge within eight days regarding their bid to lure Bordeaux captain Alou Diarra to Stade Velodrome.

+ An ankle injury has come at the worst possible moment for Lorient star Kevin Gameiro, scuppering the striker’s chances of being named in Laurent Blanc’s France squad for the friendly against Norway on August 11.

+ Brazilian centre-back Cris has signed a contract extension with Lyon that sees him linked to the club until 2013.

Turkey

+ Besiktas look set to complete the signing of Guti, who has officially left Real Madrid after 15 years and 542 matches.

Greece

+ Olympiakos have announced the signing of Liverpool midfielder Albert Riera on a four-year deal.

Scotland

+ Celtic have completed the signing of Mexican international Efrain Juarez, who joins the club on a four-year deal

+ Scotland boss Craig Levein is confident controversy over his pursuit of players such as England Under-21 striker Andy Carroll will be forgotten if he produces a winning team.

Brazil

+ Mano Menezes has been confirmed as the new Brazil coach, replacing Dunga, whose contract was not renewed following Brazil’s disappointing World Cup campaign.

+ Tim Vickery: Brazil job will test Menezes’ inner calm.

Argentina

+ Argentina coach Diego Maradona is keen to sign a new contract – as long as he is allowed to retain his entire backroom staff.