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Franck Ribéry has rebuffed Bayern Munich’s first attempt to commence negotiations over a new contract and told the club to wait until the end of the season.

The French forward’s contract expires in 2011 but Bayern are keen to commit him to a new deal before the summer transfer window. Ribéry had hinted that a decision would be made in March and Bayern’s progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League by beating Fiorentina last week appeared to increase the likelihood of his opening negotiations.

But he has now made it clear to the Bayern director of sport, Christian Nerlinger, that he wants to wait and see how the rest of the season pans out. @Guardian

David Beckham is determined to make a ’swift and full recovery’ from the achilles tendon injury that has ended his chances of playing in his fourth World Cup this summer.

The England veteran flew from Milan to Helsinki on Monday morning ahead of an operation in nearby Turku by renowned surgeon Dr Sakari Orava.

The 35-year-old picked up the injury to his left foot during AC Milan’s 1-0 win against Chievo on Sunday night.

A brief statement on his official website confirmed: ‘David is on his way to Finland to see a specialist and have a scan on the injury. @Dailymail

The Chelsea winger Florent Malouda has said that José Mourinho’s success at the club is just history, as far as the players are concerned.

Malouda, who was one of the last players to be signed by Mourinho before the coach was sacked, in September 2007, said the current squad, which was largely constructed by the Portuguese, do not care about the past.

Mourinho will return to Stamford Bridge for the second leg of the Champions League last-16 tie against Internazionale tomorrow. The Italian champions lead 2-1 from the first leg.

Malouda, who made two goals and scored one in a 4-1 win over West Ham on Saturday, said: “We are not thinking about the history. We’re trying to make history. @Guardian

Real Madrid have issued a hands off warning to Manchester City in their pursuit of Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain.

The Spanish giants have opened contract talks with the hot shot amid reports in Marca – a newspaper with strong links to Real – that City are prepared to pay £45million for Higuain and Fernando Gago this summer

Higuain believes his return of 21 goals in 27 games this season should earn him a pay hike on the deal he signed when joining from River Plate as a 19-year-old in January 2007. @Dailymail

Hull today relieved manager Phil Brown of his duties and placed him on gardening leave with immediate effect, the Barclays Premier League club have confirmed.

Hull lost 2-1 at home to Arsenal on Saturday with Nicklas Bendtner scoring a last-gasp winner.

The defeat left the Tigers second bottom of the standings, three points from safety.

A statement on the club’s official website said Brian Horton and Steve Parkin would take charge of the first team until further notice.

The statement from chairman Adam Pearson revealed the Hull board felt it had to act in a bid to keep the club in the top flight. @Independent

The most important piece of weekend news pertaining to LA Galaxy’s short-term future arrived well before David Beckham’s World Cup demise at the San Siro.

While Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena will no doubt worry about the state of Beckham’s left Achilles tendon as he waits for further word on the severity of the injury, he probably knows the England international’s health will not make or break his side’s MLS Cup hopes.

Beckham wouldn’t have rejoined the Galaxy until July after his duties with AC Milan and England concluded and wouldn’t have commanded an integral role when he did return to the United States. Even with his earnest industry and tidy passing in midfield and his ability to carve open defenses with long, diagonal services and free kicks, Beckham operates as a important supplemental figure with the Galaxy. @Goal

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Arsenal may yet “mount the biggest challenge” to Manchester United’s aspirations of claiming a fourth consecutive Premier League crown and surpassing Liverpool to record their 19th title win.

Arsenal have been written off on numerous occasions this season but are just two points off United, and level with Chelsea having played a game more than their London rivals, thanks to an dramatic late goal from Nicklas Bendtner against Hull City on Saturday. @ESPN

The surgeon who will operate on David Beckham’s torn achilles tendon has written off the player’s chances of making the World Cup in South Africa.

The 34-year-old suffered the injury in Milan’s 1-0 win over Chievo yesterday. He is due to arrive in Finland for surgery around noon today but has been warned it will take at least four months to fully recover, making it impossible to be fit in time for the finals which start on 11 June.

Dr Sakari Orava said: “To start kicking and playing football [will take] about three months. For maximal performances and maximum kicks and jumps, maybe it takes one month more, three to four months before one is able to do light playing. @Guardian

North Korea has sent around 1,000 workers to South Africa to help build or renovate stadiums hosting the upcoming World Cup football tournament, South Korean media reports said Monday.

The sanctions-hit state has sent the workers ahead of the June opening of the event, in which its own football team will participate, in an apparent attempt to earn much-needed hard currency, the JoongAng Daily newspaper said.

It said the North Koreans are working at four to five stadiums, including Soccer City in Johannesburg, where the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the final will be staged. @Soccerway

Just two Spanish sides remain in the Champions League after Atletico Madrid’s horrendous showing at the start of the season and Real Madrid’s woefully ironic (given the amount of money that went into ensuring European supremacy) elimination last week from the world’s greatest club competition. Left in the mix are, of course, the defending European champions, Barcelona, and the team on the cusp of becoming a perennial power in Spanish football, Sevilla.

While many worldwide fans of La Liga are convinced of the Spanish game’s superiority over the English, Italian, German, and French leagues (just follow the money), Spanish sides have been unable to demonstrate that excellence on the European stage. Whereas at least three English sides have progressed to the Champions League quarterfinals in each of the past three years, only one has progressed from La Liga in each of those three years with the exception of last term (Villarreal). @Goal