Chelsea agreed terms with Paris Saint Germain to re-sign Brazil defender David Luiz on Wednesday (Aug 31), while Manchester City allowed four players to leave on season-long loan deals as the transfer deadline approached across Europe.

Luiz was sold by Chelsea to French side PSG for a world record fee for a defender when he joined the French club for £50 million (US$65 million) in 2014.

But the 29-year-old centre-back was in danger of losing his place to compatriot Marquinhos this season and, with new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte desperate for defensive reinforcements, the Premier League club have agreed to bring him back to Stamford Bridge for a reported £32 million.

“Chelsea Football Club and Paris Saint-Germain have agreed terms for the transfer of David Luiz back to London,” a statement on Chelsea’s website read, similar to PSG’s own statement.

“The move is now subject to him agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.”

Chelsea had already landed Fiorentina’s former Bolton left-back Marcos Alonso for a reported £23 million earlier in the day.

“It’s a step up in my career and I think this is the perfect place for me to continue developing. It’s time for me to win some titles,” Alonso said.

The Blues also allowed Juan Cuadrado to rejoin Italian champions Juventus on a three-year loan for an annual fee of €5 million, with the option for the deal to be made permanent for €25 million.

The 28-year-old winger spent last season on loan with the Turin side.

At Eastlands, a host of players were saying their goodbyes as City boss Pep Guardiola wielded the axe.

England goalkeeper Joe Hart completed his move to Italian side Torino, French midfielder Samir Nasri joined Europa League champions Sevilla, Wilfried Bony pitched up at City’s Premier League rivals Stoke City and French centre-back Eliaquim Mangala signed for Valencia.

“Suddenly (in) my career has been an important turning: it was a sign,” Hart said in a statement on Torino’s English-language website. “Torino’s offer came in the right moment, with the right manner.”

Hart and Nasri are former City stalwarts, while Ivory Coast striker Bony arrived from Swansea City last year at a cost of £25 million.

Mangala, 25, endured a miserable two-year spell with City following his £32 million move from Porto and many of his 64 appearances were marred by costly errors.

Spending by Premier League clubs has broken through the one billion pounds (US$1.3 billion) barrier in one window for the first time and English sides remained busy on deadline day.

Sunderland signed 22-year-old Gabon midfielder Didier Ndong from French side Lorient for a confirmed club-record fee of 16 million euros.

“Maybe the Sunderland fans don’t know me yet, but I promise that they will quickly discover that I will give everything for them and the club,” Ndong said.

WILSHERE SET FOR BOURNEMOUTH

Tottenham signed France Under-21 winger Georges-Kevin Nkoudou from Marseille on a five-year contract for around £11 million and let Clinton Njie move in the opposite direction on a season-long loan.

Burnley broke their transfer record to sign Derby midfielder Jeff Hendrick for a reported £10 million.

Mario Balotelli, Moussa Sissoko and Jack Wilshere were among the other players reportedly set for pastures new.

Balotelli, Liverpool’s wayward Italian striker, was on the verge of joining French club Nice on a season-long loan, having spent last season on loan at former club AC Milan.

Newcastle United midfielder Sissoko, 27, was given permission to leave France’s Clairefontaine training base in order to complete a transfer, with Tottenham and Everton in the hunt.

Arsenal midfielder Wilshere was pictured arriving at Bournemouth, who have agreed to pay a £2 million loan fee as well as his £80,000-per-week wages, after the injury-plagued 24-year-old slipped down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium.

Champions Leicester City were closing in on a deal for Sporting Lisbon striker Islam Slimani, who was allowed to leave Algeria’s training camp in Algiers to undergo a medical.

Middlesbrough signed Adama Traore from Aston Villa, Serge Gnabry swapped Arsenal for Werder Bremen and Liverpool confirmed the sale of Luis Alberto to Lazio.

Analysts predict European spending will easily be the highest yet when the two-month transfer window closes, between 1600 GMT for the Bundesliga and 2200 GMT for the Premier League.

Flush from the proceeds of a new £5.14 billion domestic television rights deal, English clubs have led the way.

Source AFP

Swiss federal prosecutors on Thursday announced that they had opened criminal proceedings against German legend Franz Beckenbauer amid corruption allegations in the awarding of the 2006 World Cup to Germany.

Beckenbauer, 70, is under investigation with three other members of the 2006 World Cup organising committee — Hans-Rudolf Schmidt, Theo Zwanziger and Wolfgang Niersbach — said the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland in Bern.
The Swiss court also announced that searches had taken place on Thursday at eight unnamed locations, in collaboration with German and Austrian authorities.
“The proceedings relate in particular to allegations of fraud, criminal mismanagement, money laundering and misappropriation,” the office said in a statement.
“The suspects were members of the executive board of the organising committee for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.”
When contacted, Beckenbauer’s management would give no comment to SID, an AFP subsidiary, with criminal prosecution now threatening their client for the first time.
Under Swiss law, criminal mismanagement is punishable with a fine or, in special cases, imprisonment of between three to five years.
Niersbach and Zwanziger are both former German Football Association presidents and Schmidt is a former general secretary.
Both Zwanziger and Schmidt said they knew “nothing about” the new developments when contacted by SID.
“I have no further knowledge, but will, however, attempt to get some clarity through my lawyer,” Niersbach told SID.
All four were members of Germany’s World Cup organising committee, with Beckenbauer its president.
Beckenbauer captained Germany to the 1974 World Cup and coached the side that won the trophy in Italy in 1990.
German magazine Der Spiegel claimed in October 2015 a secret fund of 10 million Swiss francs ($10 million) was used to buy the hosting rights of the 2006 World Cup.
The money allegedly came from the late Robert Louis-Dreyfus, ex-boss of Adidas, at Beckenbauer’s request, and was handed over in 2000, just before Germany were awarded the 2006 finals by a narrow vote.
In May, an independent inquiry commissioned by the German Football Association (DFB) said it could not rule out that Germany bought votes to secure the 2006 World Cup.
Beckenbauer has always denied any wrongdoing.