The arrest of Mexican druglord JOAQUÍN "CHAPO" GUZMÁN has "uncovered hidden information." Mexican daily Líbero reported that Chapo "had the intention of buying Chelsea." It was reported his businessmen "had started talks with Chelsea Owner ROMAN ABRAMOVICH," and that he was willing to pay €3.8B for the club (LIBERTAD DIGITAL, 1/16). ... Indian cricketer AJIT CHANDILA has been banned for life and HIKEN SHAH for five years after being found guilty of corruption charges. The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the sanctions. Chandila, 32, faced "spot-fixing allegations" while playing for Indian Premier League side Rajasthan Royals in May '13. Mumbai batsman Shah, 31, had been suspended by the BCCI in July (BBC, 1/18). ... Sri Lankan cricketer HISARA PERERA will retire from Test cricket, "but will continue playing one-day international and Twenty20 games" (AFP, 1/18). ... WAYNE ROONEY's record-breaking campaign continues after he "became the highest scoring player for a single team in Premier League history on Sunday."
The England and ManU captain "netted his 176th goal for the Red Devils" (London DAILY MIRROR, 1/17). ... The Board of Control for Cricket in India said that MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI's job as India's limited-overs captain "is safe despite the team's third successive one-day series defeat."
Speculation "has been swirling over the future of the 34-year-old who quit Tests in late 2014 but remains in charge of the team in shorter formats" (REUTERS, 1/18).
SWAN, CLOKE LABELED 'IDIOTS': Australian Football League side Collingwood President EDDIE MCGUIRE has labeled "star players" DANE SWAN and TRAVIS CLOKE "idiots" after explicit videos, photos and texts were "reportedly leaked to the media." Swan allegedly sent "graphic video, sexually-charged texts and full-frontal nude pictures while Cloke sent nude pictures and a video of him performing a sex act, according to a report in Woman's Day." McGuire: "It would seem that somebody's sucked these idiots into sending out photos and as a result they've got them and sold them to the media" (AAP, 1/18).
EARLY RELEASE: Former Bayern Munich President ULI HOENESS is to be released from prison at the end of February. He has been serving a jail sentence "after having been convicted of tax evasion two years ago." The regional court in the Bavarian city of Augsburg confirmed on Monday that the former Bayern Munich boss "would be released from jail on probation" on Feb. 29, when he will have served half of his sentence (DEUTSCHE WELLE, 1/18).
