The beastly saga of Julio Baptista’s summer move is finally over – and after Arsenal did most of the courting, the Brazilian fell for Real Madrid. The Gunners missed out on the Sevilla forward after he signed a five-year contract with Real. Sevilla announced on their website that they had accepted a fee of £13.8 million (20 million euros) rising to £16.9 million (24.5 million euros). "The only logical decision was to sell him," said Sevilla club president Jose Maria del Nido. Arsenal came close to agreeing a fee for the Brazilian with Sevilla, but he indicated he would prefer to stay in La Liga in order to qualify for Spanish citizenship. Baptista will have been resident in Spain for two years in August and can apply for citizenship then, but it is unlikely to be granted until 2006. He had said: "It’s very important for me for me to become Spanish. "I’m very happy that teams of that calibre are interested in me. But I’ve got until next year to think about it." Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had been keen to bring the player to Highbury. The Gunners made an offer in excess of the £17.5 million fee they paid Sevilla for Jose Antonio Reyes in January 2004. But Baptista’s club resisted Arsenal’s bids, and one from Tottenham. Now the Gunners must look elsewhere for a potential Vieira replacement, while Real must look to see where they can play Baptista and who will warm their expensive bench if the Beast starts.

Milan Baros has admitted he would be interested in a move to Schalke, but the German club have conceded that the Czech striker might be too expensive for them. Baros seems set to leave Liverpool this summer following the arrival of Peter Crouch and a host of clubs across Europe are interested in his signature. "No matter if I leave Liverpool or not, I am delighted at the interest of such a famous club," Baros told Pravo. "Schalke will play in the UEFA Champions League and it is a high-quality club with a great tradition. "It is an early question. I have no information. I only know that there were some contacts with the German club but it is all in my agent Pavel Paska’s hands. "I can’t say anything specific at the moment." However, Schalke general manager Rudi Assauer has since said: "There’s a 95 percent chance that the deal is off."



Song for the day - "Sludge Factory" - ALICE IN CHAINS