Baptista wants to stay at Real Madrid

Real Madrid's Brazilian striker Julio Baptista, who has sparked interest from AC Milan after spending last season on loan at Arsenal, said Thursday he wants to stay at the reigning Spanish champions.

"I am strongly determined to stay here to help the team win titles," he said in comments published on the club's Web site.

"It is nice to have received offers from big clubs like Milan, but I am currently at Real Madrid, who are also a great club, and I want to win titles with them," he added.

The 25-year-old player, who scored in Brazil's Copa America final win over Argentina this month, said he became determined to stay at Real after talking to the club's new German coach Bernd Schuster about his future.

"We both said what's on our minds and all I want to do now is work. He told me he counts on me," he said.

Baptista joined Real from Sevilla in July 2005 in a five year-year deal reportedly worth 20 million euros (27 million US dollars) but has struggled to find his place in the team's attacking line-up.

Tevez saga set for Friday finish

Argentina striker Carlos Tevez should be free to finalise his move to Manchester United on Friday after West Ham agreed to release him from his contract, it was reported here on Thursday.

An agreement with the player's representatives, which still needs to be ratified by the Premier League and Football Association, will see the Hammers paid between one million and three million pounds in compensation, the Press Association reported.

The deal will also mean the settlement of the 30-million-pound lawsuit brought against West Ham by Tevez's agent Kia Joorabchian.

Manchester United have already indicated a desire to take the 23-year-old Tevez on the same sort of loan package that saw Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano move to Liverpool last season.

That deal took some weeks before it was signed off by the Premier League but with that transfer having already been picked over by the lawyers, a similar deal for Tevez should go through much quicker.

The agreement with West Ham brings an end to a long-running and painful saga for the club that began when former chairman Terry Brown signed Tevez and Mascherano under banned third-party agreements last summer.

The club were fined 5.5 million pounds as a result by a disciplinary commission in April and that led to an unsuccessful legal challenge by relegated Sheffield United, who claimed they should have been docked points.

Earlier Thursday, Tevez said he feared that the protracted transfer saga could damage his chances of making an immediate impact at Old Trafford.

"We need a solution quickly so that I can get on with my career," he told the Sun.

"My hope was I'd be involved in the Community Shield against Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday. That I'm not is very painful.

"I desire a swift solution and demand now that all parties arrive at an agreement because I just want to play. I am not responsible for all this bureaucracy.

"To play for a super club like Manchester United without any pre-season work behind me is going to be a real handicap.

"I am a fighter and am prepared for any challenge. But this is going to be very difficult.

"Mentally I am prepared to play for United at any moment, but physically it may be more difficult the longer it goes on."

Brazil's Juninho signs with Sydney FC

Brazilian midfielder Juninho Paulista was Friday named as Australian A-League side Sydney FC's marquee player for the upcoming season, in a deal reportedly worth one million dollars (859,000 US).

The signing of Juninho, an integral member of Brazil's 2002 World Cup winning team, ends the club's long search for a marquee player after Dwight Yorke returned to England 11 months ago.

"I think it's a new experience for me and a great opportunity for me to go to Australia," Juninho said at a press conference at Sydney Football Stadium.

"I came because the club was interested in Juninho and that made me make my head up to sign with them."

Sydney FC chief executive officer George Perry said that Juninho was the A-League's biggest-ever signing.

"Juninho is a true superstar of the world game, a household name to football fans around the globe," Perry said in a statement. "We're thrilled to welcome him aboard."

Coach Branko Culina said it was a relief to have secured the 34-year-old ahead of the A-League season opener on August 24.

Juninho's signing came after former Liverpool ace Robbie Fowler rejected an offer from the club.

"As a World Cup winner, Juninho brings a wealth of experience at the highest possible level to Sydney FC," Culina said. "It's not often that you get to work with someone of his phenomenal footballing ability.

"Not only is Juninho's signing great news for Sydney FC but also for Australian football in general. It demonstrates how the far the game has come in this country over the past few years," he added.

Under A-League rules, clubs can sign a marquee player whose wages are exempted from the team's salary cap as a means of raising the sport's profile in Australia.

Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke filled the role in 2006, helping Sydney FC to the inaugural A-League title before moving back to Britain with Sunderland.

Juninho, who made 50 appearances for Brazil between 1995 and 2003, has also played for Sao Paulo, Middlesbrough, Atletico Madrid, Vasco da Gama, Flamengo, Celtic and Palmeiras.