Cameroon star Samuel Eto'o was due in Moscow on Thursday after signing a three-year deal with Russia's new big spenders Anzhi Makhachkala that will reportedly be the most valuable contract in football.

"This evening, Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o signed a personal three-year contract with Anzhi Makhachkala," the club said in a statement issued after Eto'o completed a medical on Wednesday evening.

Spain's football league said on Thursday it is "optimistic" of reaching a deal to end a players' strike after marathon talks stretching into the early morning.

The strike over unpaid players' wages delayed the start to the lucrative Liga -- the first delay to the season in 27 years -- and now clubs are trying to stop the action spreading to a second match day.

Real Madrid fans and players have showered down messages of support for coach Jose Mourinho as he faces an inquiry for jabbing his finger into a rival's eye.

Mourinho's eye-poke in the final moments of Real Madrid's Super Cup loss to Barcelona on August 17 made front pages and led the Spanish Football Federation to open a disciplinary inquiry.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho could be suspended up to 12 games for his altercation with Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova during a Spanish Supercup game-ending brawl.

The Spanish football federation opened disciplinary proceedings against the Spanish clubs Tuesday, six days after Barcelona won the trophy in a fight-marred finale.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp insisted unhappy Croatian midfielder Luka Modric will not be allowed to leave for Chelsea and has revealed he will be offered a new contract once the transfer deadline has passed.

Redknapp was speaking in the aftermath of a 3-0 drubbing by champions Manchester United on Monday in what was Spurs's first match of the Premier League campaign.

Having once been the major power in European and world club football, Italy is rapidly becoming the sick man of Europe in footballing terms.

Only 10 years ago, Italy topped the UEFA country rankings but after Schalke 04 beat reigning champions Inter Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals last season, they dropped below Germany to fourth and lost a place in the Champions League.

Second seed Jurgen Melzer and Australian Lleyton Hewitt continued summer hard-court losing streaks, to exit the Winston-Salem Open Monday.

Hewitt, now ranked 165th after standing number one with two Grand Slam titles a decade ago, was defeated by Slovenian Blaz Kavcic 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).

A paradise for outdoor clothing and accessories, Germany hosts a flock of companies specialized in the expanding sector, which has drawn the attention of major sports equipment makers.

Sales of the sector, which has constantly evolving contours, is estimated at 1.8 billion euros ($2.6 billion) in Germany, about 30 percent of the European market according to an estimation by the distributor Intersport.

This time around, the United States is saying no to the Olympics.

Locked in a dispute over millions of dollars, the U.S. Olympic Committee pulled the plug Monday on a bid for the 2020 Summer Games before the International Olympic Committee could say no to the Americans, as it has the last two times. The two sides have been at odds over a revenue-sharing agreement for years.

Barcelona sport director Andoni Zubizarreta says the Spanish Supercup winner will not lodge a formal complaint against Real Madrid following a game-ending brawl between the bitter rivals last week.

Zubizarreta says the decision was taken after discussions with club president Sandro Rosell, coach Pep Guardiola and assistant Tito Vilanova, who was the recipient of an apparent eye poke from Madrid coach Jose Mourinho.