Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wanted to block Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's switch from Schalke 04 to Bavarian giants Bayern Munich, according to Royal Blues chairman Clemens Toennies.

Neuer, 25, joined Bayern from arch-rivals Schalke in July for a reported fee of 22 million euros ($30.6m).

Carlos Tevez is considering suing Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini for defamation in the latest twist to the on-going saga involving the Argentinian striker, it was reported on Wednesday.

Several British media outlets reported Tevez was mulling a lawsuit against Mancini after the 27-year-old was hit with an estimated £1 million ($1.6m) fine for his stand-off with the Italian in Munich last month.

India makes its grand debut on the glitzy Formula One circuit this week under pressure to deliver a smooth and safe event after twin deaths rocked the world of motorsports.

The lavish F1 roadshow rolls into Greater Noida, a burgeoning satellite of New Delhi, where India will hope to erase memories of last year's chaotic Commonwealth Games with a seamless first race on Buddh International Circuit.

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted his second-string players are giving him a selection headache following Manchester United’s League Cup victory at Aldershot.

Goals from Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia earned a 3-0 win at the Recreation Ground and a place in the quarter-finals of the competition.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday said billionaire NBA owners and millionaire players should think of their fans, bemoaning the labor dispute which has axed the start of the season.

Obama, a hoops enthusiast, also warned that labor stoppages like the one which shuttered the National Basketball Association could take some time to get over.

Maria Sharapova’s hopes of winning back the WTA Championship title after a seven-year interval suffered a blow when she lost her opening match to U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur on Tuesday.

The Russian was playing her first match in nearly four weeks after injuring an ankle in Tokyo, and her uncertainty showed as she lost 6-1, 7-5 to the Australian whom she had beaten in all of their previous nine encounters.

Real Madrid welcomed Portugal full-back Fabio Coentrao and Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin back to training after injury on Tuesday, on the eve of their home league clash with struggling Villarreal.

Coentrao has been named in the squad for the game at the Santiago Bernabeu after missing the 4-0 wins against Lyon and Malaga with a knee injury.

Aston Villa defender Chris Herd has won his appeal against his red card from last weekend's clash with West Brom, the Football Association confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.

Herd was given his marching orders by referee Phil Dowd for an alleged stamp on Jonas Olsson during Villa's 2-1 defeat to the Baggies on Saturday.

Just days after being forced to flee his burning home after some late-night pyrotechnics that went wrong, Mario Balotelli has emerged as the unlikely face of a firework safety campaign.

The 21-year-old Manchester City star, who scored twice in the 6-1 demolition of Manchester United on Sunday, has denied being responsible for setting off the fireworks which triggered Saturday's blaze.

Maria Sharapova will crown one of tennis's most unlikely comebacks if she regains the title at the $5,000,000 WTA Championships which start on Tuesday.

Sharapova has gradually worked her way back to world number two after an operation in 2008 on a rotator cuff, the kind of shoulder injury from which most players never fully recover.