Of the €38M ($52M) that Chelsea is paying for its acquisition of DIEGO COSTA, "almost half will not end up in the coffers of Atlético Madrid," which Costa helped become Champions League runner-up in May. Costa's agent, JORGE MENDES, will take 10% of the fee and Portuguese side Braga, "the first European club that Costa played for," will take 20% of the sum. Investment firm Quality, which "owns a percentage of Costa's rights," will also receive part of the fee (MARCA, 7/2). ... The Circuit of the Americas will be the official training partner for driver SIMONA DE SILVESTRO. After recently becoming the first female driver in history to test an F1 car on Ferrari's Fiorano Circuit in northern Italy, Simona will contine her training at COTA in early August (COTA). ... New Zealand Cricket "supports the lifetime ban" handed to former New Zealand cricketer LOU VINCENT, saying it "is appalled by his involvement in match-fixing." NZC CEO David White said in a short statement that "his organisation welcomed the outcome" (AAP, 7/3). ... Italian MotoGP rider VALENTINO ROSSI "is set to see out his career with Yamaha after signing a new two year agreement with the works team taking him through to the end of 2016" (REUTERS, 7/3). ... The Korean Basketball League announced Tuesday that MOON TAE-JONG of the LG Sakers "is this season's highest-paid player."
This is "the second consecutive year for the most valuable player of the last regular season to be the top earner" with an annual salary of 660M won ($653,000) (KOREA TIMES, 7/3).
