According to a report by the Japanese website Sponichi, the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific League are interested in making a move for Ramirez.

Marines manager Tsutomu Ito said that he’d like to add power, and Ramirez has provided plenty of that while playing in Taiwan this year. The 41-year-old is hitting .352 and is second in the league with eight home runs for the Rhinos.

Ramirez reportedly signed a deal that allows him to opt out of his contract to sign with another team, as long as the team is outside of Taiwan. Ramirez probably had a return to the majors in mind, but he’ll have to keep proving himself before that becomes a possibility.

Ramirez, a 12-time MLB All-Star, hit 555 home runs over the course of 19 big league seasons.

Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.

A scout from an unnamed NFL team called Beckham last fall and offered him a chance to try out for the team as a kicker. The former England captain declined the invitation, according to the Mirror.

“A couple of scouts felt that David has the potential to become a kicker in the NFL team, and one actually put a call into him for a trial,” a source told the Mirror.

“It is no secret that David is one of the best in the business when it comes to accuracy and length in his passing. And he has stood on the greatest stages to perform magnificent feats with his feet.

“Major league [NFL] kickers can send the ball 40 yards straight — David has shown for the last 15 years he can do that week in week out.

“It was obvious too that if Becks took up the offer then any NFL franchise would be interested as his international appeal would generate billions in PR and commercial opportunities.

“The offer came in and he politely said that it wasn’t right for him. Perhaps in the next few months he could change his mind.”

At the time, Beckham was mapping out the final stages of his illustrious soccer career. He left the L.A. Galaxy in December and joined French club Paris Saint-German in February. His three-month swansong in European soccer saw him win a Ligue 1 (French first division) title, participate in the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League and bid the game a tearful goodbye in his final appearance as a professional player.

Beckham scored 65 free-kick goals in his career, but that ability wouldn’t necessarily translate to gridiron success. He honed his world-famous technique over the years using soccer balls. How quickly he would adapt to a new ball, target, sport and surroundings is unknown. While NFL teams would love the international exposure and marketing opportunities Beckham’s presence would create, their primary business is winning football games.

Beckham will remain a busy man in his post-playing days. He serves as a global ambassador for China’s Super League (where he created some doubt over his kicking ability). He is in talks to buy a Major League Soccer expansion team, which would play in Miami, and Tom Cruise wants him to consider starring in action movies.

If those activities don’t quench Beckham’s thirst for life then, by all means, he should look into American football. He also should remember Ray Finkle, whose story showed us the dark side of life as an NFL kicker.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

KING 5 News reported Sunday that Seattle mayor Mike McGinn and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman have engaged in talks about relocating the Phoenix Coyotes to the Emerald City. The league-owned club has until June 25 to reach an agreement with the city of Glendale, Ariz., regarding its lease of Jobing.com Arena.

Under the reported plan, the Coyotes would play at least two seasons at Key Arena — the former home of the NBA’s SuperSonics and Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds — while a new arena is constructed. The 51-year-old stadium holds upward of 17,000 spectators for basketball games (the WNBA’s Storm still play there) but would reportedly have a capacity of just 11,000 for hockey — the smallest in the NHL by a wide margin.

“I let [Bettman] know of the situation here, and that we were supportive of bringing the NHL to Seattle,” McGinn said. “We have Key Arena, so we talked about the potential of them being in Key Arena, while we continue to work on a new arena plan.”

Before a subpar 2013 campaign, the Coyotes — who moved to Arizona from Winnipeg in 1996 — had reached the postseason in three consecutive seasons, including a trip the Western Conference finals in 2011-12. Success on the ice has not cured the curse of empty seats, though, as the club has ranked in the bottom three in the league in attendance each of the last six seasons.

Phoenix’s average of 13,923 fans per home game during this lockout-shortened season ranked 29th of the 30 NHL teams, leading only the New York Islanders.

A pair of investors are reportedly “seriously examining” the prospect of buying the team with the intent to move them to Seattle, but in the wake of the city’s near-miss with the Kings, McGinn is not setting his hopes too high.

“I really want to bring down expectations,” he said. “We are very clearly Plan B for the NHL and this team. I feel compelled to say this after the experience we had with Sacramento than the likelihood of us having a team here in a couple of weeks is low.”

The Coyotes finished 21-18-9 this year, missing the playoffs by four points.

Jay-Z

According to FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal, the Dodgers and Kershaw have made progress on a seven-year contract extension. The dollar amount of the deal will reportedly be above the $180 million that the Tigers gave Justin Verlander, thus making it the largest contract for a pitcher in baseball history.

It’s been no secret that Kershaw is going to get paid. The left-hander is a legitimate ace, and he’s still just 25 years old. You’ve got to pay to keep those types of pitchers around, and big extensions for fellow aces Verlander (30 years old) and Felix Hernandez (27 years old) made it clear that Kershaw could be in line for a record-setting deal.

The question has been about how much the deal will be worth. And while Rosenthal reports that the two sides are making progress on a seven-year pact, it apparently isn’t the only contract discussed. According to Rosenthal, the two sides discussed a variety of proposals earlier in the negotiations, including a 10-year, $250 million deal and a 12-year, $300 million deal.

Kershaw, who is 5-4 with a 1.84 ERA this season, won the National League Cy Young in 2011, and he finished second in Cy Young voting in 2012.

Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.

According to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Celtics are having serious conversations with the Los Angeles Clippers working on a deal to trade Celtics coach Doc Rivers and forward Kevin Garnett.

The trade package would send Clippers center DeAndre Jordan to Boston along with two first-round picks in exchange for Garnett and the rights to hire Rivers. Garnett would waive his no-trade clause to head out west and reunite with Rivers. The Clippers would also have to give up guard Eric Bledsoe in the package.

The future of the Celtics team has been hanging in the balance since their first-round exit from the 2013 NBA playoffs. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has repeatedly said that Rivers will be back behind the Celtics bench next season.

But Clippers owner Donald Sterling has said he would be willing to pay Rivers somewhere around $7 million a year, which is pretty close to Rivers’ annual salary with the Celtics. Rivers has three years and $21 million left on his contract in Boston.

It may cost the Clippers even more than that, though, because of the strict non-compete clause in Rivers’ contract with the Celtics, which the team insisted on when they signed Rivers to a five-year extension in 2011. The clause says that Rivers cannot work with another NBA team for the duration of his contract. If Rivers wanted to coach another team, Ainge would gain considerable leverage in his negotiations.

Dwight Howard

But according to a report by ESPN’s Chris Broussard, the two superstars have been in “consistent contact” about the possibility of teaming up for the 2013-14 season.

“They would love to play together if somebody can make it happen,” a source close to the situation told Broussard.

A possible landing spot for the two is Howard’s hometown of Atlanta, though Broussard reports that the Lakers center still has ill will toward the Hawks after they passed on him in the 2005 NBA draft.

“It would be very tough for him to go to Atlanta,” the source said. “He loved Atlanta when they should have drafted him in ’05 but not so much since then. But hey, everybody is an option at this point.”

Broussard also brings up the possibility of Howard staying put in L.A. but suiting up in the red, white and blue of Paul’s Clippers. Paul is said to have mended his relationship with the organization — he had reportedly been unhappy with the public’s perception of him following coach Vinny Del Negro‘s firing — and Broussard’s source claims that both see teaming up on the Clips to be the ideal situation.

Several factors could complicate the intra-city deal, though, namely the Lakers’ reluctance to trade Howard to the team that shares their building and the Clippers’ reported classification of forward Blake Griffin as “untouchable.” Griffin would likely need to be involved in any deal to acquire Howard.

There’s also the fact that Howard seemed to wilt under the bright lights of L.A. Although the Clippers receive significantly less attention in the national media, the big man may be better suited for a smaller market.

According to MassLive.com, the Red Sox remain interested in Devers, who is a 16-year-old Dominican third-base prospect.

Scout.com’s Kiley McDaniel wrote back in March that Devers, who is listed at 6-foot and 195 pounds,  is the best hitter in this class. According to Perfect Game, Devers “has a very mature feel for hitting.”

At just 16, Devers obviously won’t be taking the field at Fenway Park anytime soon. The international free-agent period is still very important, though. Just look at Xander Bogaerts, who signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent in 2009 and has since become the organization’s top prospect.

“There’s no draft, so obviously there’s a little bit more freedom in that to pursue the guys that you want to pursue, but other teams are pursuing them too,” Red Sox GM Ben Cherington said recently. “But we’re in good shape and our international staff has worked hard. We think we’re in a good position and we’ll be able to bring on some talent on that side, too.”

The Red Sox are hoping to land another player with immense potential this year. Perhaps Devers will be that guy — or kid.

Check out Devers in action below.

Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.

On Thursday, the soccer superstar told nearly 19,000,000 Twitter followers that he has not signed a new contract with Real Madrid.

All the news about my renewal with Real Madrid are false.

—
Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) June 13, 2013

Ronaldo’s message flies in the face of recent reports which say he is set to extend his stay in the Spanish capital. His current deal runs until 2015, and club president Florentino Perez promised to make the Portuguese forward the highest-paid player in the world if he signs a contract extension.

Ronaldo shocked Real Madrid (and the soccer world) last summer when he said he was “sad” at the club and reportedly told Perez that he wanted a transfer. Real Madrid refused to sell him, but that didn’t stop potential suitors from stepping forward. Manchester United, PSG and AS Monaco are believed to be willing to spend up to £85 million ($133.4 million) to sign him this summer. If Ronaldo rejects Real Madrid‘s contract offer, the club would have little choice but to sell him, since his transfer value will decrease as 2015 approaches.

Ronaldo recently put his $7 million villa up for sale, suggesting he is ready to end a Real Madrid career that has seen him score 201 goals in 199 games over the last four seasons.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag

It’s tough to get too fired up about signing players who have limited exposure and who may not break into the big leagues for a few years. But the Red Sox reportedly have their eyes on a Venezuelan outfielder.

According to Baseball America’s Ben Badler (via MLBTradeRumors.com), the Red Sox have shown heavy interest in left-handed hitting Venezuelan outfielder Freddy Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who reportedly ran a 60-yard dash in 6.8 seconds, projects as a center fielder. He’s also working out at Carlos Guillen‘s baseball academy in preparation for the signing period.

MLB teams can begin signing international prospects on July 2.

Check out a video of Rodriguez below.

Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.

Fabregas has been linked with Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City in recent weeks, but he only intends to stay at Barcelona as long as the club wants him there, according to Sky Sports.

“I have not opened my mouth once,” Fabregas reportedly told Spanish radio station Onda Cero. ”It has taken a lot for me to get where I am and I am not thinking about throwing it all away for nothing.

“If they [Barcelona] said that they didn’t want me that would be another thing, what I really want is to triumph at Barca, that has been my dream since I was small.”

Fabregas has been a Barcelona regular since returning to the Camp Nou in 2011, but he hasn’t established himself as an automatic starter. He often watches big games from the substitutes’ bench, and his failure to win over manager Tito Vilanova (and many Barcelona fans) has fueled speculation that he’s ready to return to the Premier League. However, the 26-year-old insists he will stay with his boyhood club.

“The important thing in life is to accept the good and also bad moments when they happen,” he added. “If they [the crowd] whistle me I have to accept it. I am the first person that knew it would be the biggest challenge of my life [to play at Barcelona]. I only want to play. Barca is my home, I have always dreamed of triumphing here.

“Up until now everything has gone well. The important thing is to work and work so that you enjoy it more than you don’t.”

Fabregas spent eight seasons with Arsenal, and the Gunners have the first option to buy him back should he decide to leave Barcelona. That hasn’t discouraged both Manchester clubs from monitoring the situation, as they consider bidding around £40 million ($62.6 million) for the midfielder.

Publicly, Barcelona says it wants to keep Fabregas, but that may not be the case behind closed doors. In April, a source close to the club told the Star (newspaper) that it would consider selling him in order to raise funds for defensive reinforcements. Meanwhile, Fabregas says he wants to stay, but his infant daughter, who was born in April, lives with her mother Daniella Semaan in London. Fabregas is believed to be keen on raising the child as a family in England. Playing in Spain for Barcelona would make that difficult.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

On Wednesday, Arsenal made a transfer bid for Marouane Fellaini. The £22 million ($34.2 million) offer leaves the Belgian midfielder free to negotiate personal terms with Arsenal, and Everton is powerless to stop him, according to Goal.com.

“The Gunners have activated the release clause in the Everton midfielder’s contract and are confident of wrapping up a deal for the 25-year-old in the coming weeks,” the report says.

“Goal understands that Arsenal made the club-record bid on Wednesday, the same day that Roberto Martinez was appointed the new Everton manager.”

Fellaini has been one of the Premier League’s standout performers in recent seasons. The 25-year-old combines size, strength, speed, skill and versatility to influence games from the midfield. He joined Everton from Belgium’s Standard Liege in 2008 for a club-record £15 million ($22.8 million). His value has steadily increased over the last five seasons, and so has the level of interest from other clubs.

Fellaini’s contract expires in 2016, but there’s little chance he will stay at Goodison Park until then. In September, he not only went public about his desire to compete in the UEFA Champions League, but also revealed that his contract contained a release clause. Many tipped him to switch clubs during the January transfer window, but the expected bids did not materialize.

The Gunners are reportedly ready to spend as much as £70 million ($109 million) on new players this summer. Fellaini is among Arsenal’s transfer targets, which are thought to include a goalkeeper, central defender and at least one striker.

A host of other teams remain interested in Fellaini’s services. Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City were believed to be leading the race to his signature, but Arsenal appears to have made the first concrete move. It would come as no surprise if the trio of clubs — the top three finishers in the 2012-13 Premier League — also lodge bids which trigger the release clause. Fellaini would then have his choice of clubs from which to choose, and he would most likely base his decision on sporting and financial factors.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

The Red Sox are among seven teams with “serious interest” in the Cuban pitching prospect, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. The Rangers, Cubs and Dodgers reportedly are also among the teams interested.

Gonzalez, who once pitched for Cuba’s national team, defected earlier this year and now lives in Mexico. The 26-year-old missed most of the last two seasons of Cuba’s top baseball league because of a previous attempt to flee the country, but he’s suddenly showing up on major league radars.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Gonzalez could be declared a free agent by Major League Baseball as early as this week, and he could hold a showcase for major league scouts around June 20.

The 6-foot-3 right-hander reportedly boasts a fastball in the mid 90s, a changeup, forkball and curveball, and one big league scout reportedly believes Gonzalez can pitch in the majors this season.

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He failed to reach many Real Madrid stars with that approach, and it seems Cristiano Ronaldo was one of them, according to Football Espana.

Mourinho recently spoke about an issue he had with Ronaldo, saying the Portuguese superstar had trouble accepting criticism.

“Cristiano Ronaldo may think he knows everything and that a coach cannot help him progress,” Mourinho reportedly told Spanish television Punto Pelota.

“We have had a very basic problem with him — I criticized him at a tactical level and at that time he did not take it very well. He did not accept my words.

“He has played three fantastic seasons for me, I do not know if they are the best of his career, but we have found for him a fantastic tactical situation to express his full potential and to express that in goals.”

Ronaldo played under Mourinho from 2010-13, taking his goal-scoring prowess to new heights and becoming a Real Madrid legend in the process. The Portuguese pair helped the club win three major trophies — the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) in 2011, La Liga (Spain’s first division) in 2012 and the Spanish Super Cup later that year.

Mourinho’s ill-fated third season at Real Madrid saw him fall out with a number of senior players, including Pepe, Mezut Ozil, Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas. Rumors of a problem with Ronaldo were never confirmed, but reports of divisions within the dressing room were rife. These tensions caused results to suffer and Mourinho’s reign at the Bernabeu to come to an infamous and premature end.

Ronaldo’s status as one of the game’s leading lights makes Mourinho’s latest revelations unsurprising. Most superstars have big egos and don’t take kindly to criticism — especially if it is delivered in a particular way.

However, Mourinho’s latest words cast doubt on a potential reunion with Ronaldo at Chelsea. The 50-year-old will be presented as Chelsea’s manager on Monday, and it was thought he would try to buy an unhappy Ronaldo from Real Madrid as one of his first orders of business. Comments like these will only grind the gears of the transfer rumor mill. It’s doubtful that Mourinho would try to work his magic on a player who was resistant to his spell in the past.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

On Monday, the Arsenal midfielder posted a photo of his young son, Archie Wilshire, wearing a full FC Barcelona uniform. Transfer rumor junkies naturally took this as a sign that the elder Wilshire is thinking about leaving Arsenal for the Spanish club.

Wilshire joined the Arsenal academy as a nine-year-old. He shot through the club’s youth ranks and made his first-team debut in 2008. The 21-year-old is now a cornerstone of the current Arsenal team, and it won’t be long before he dons the captain’s armband.

His status as a leading Arsenal player naturally makes him the subject of interest from Europe’s richest clubs. He was linked with Bayern Munich and Barcelona at times last season, but Arsenal has made it clear that he is not for sale. The new contract he signed in December runs until 2018, so Bayern and Barcelona have a better shot at signing young Archie, 1, than “Jack the Dad.”

Archie Wilshire appears in Barcelona gear below.

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Photo via Twitter/@JackWilshire
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@JackWilshire

We’re not sure if the soccer superstar is moving to the east side of Madrid, Manchester or elsewhere, but he’s definitely moving after he put his house up for sale.

Ronaldo’s Spanish villa has been listed on the website of Madrid-based property agency Promora. The 27-year-old hopes to fetch a cool €5.4 million ($7.1 million) for the villa, which is located in the suburban Madrid.

His home sits on over an acre of land. It includes a seven-bedroom mansion, two swimming pools and an “enormous garden.”

While it’s possible that Ronaldo is merely looking for a better home with a better garden in the greater-Madrid area, it’s more likely that he is planning on leaving the Spanish capital altogether.

Ronaldo asked to leave Real Madrid last August, but club President Florentino Perez refused to sell him. Ronaldo then reportedly rejected the chance to sign a new contract in December. He is set to resume contract negotiations in the coming weeks. His current deal expires in 2015, and Real Madrid could sell him this summer if he does not pen an extension.

Any club in the world would love to have Ronaldo, but only a select few have a realistic chance of signing him this summer. Manchester United, Chelsea and PSG have all been linked with the Portuguese forward in recent months, and they are among the few clubs in world soccer that can pay the hefty transfer fee Real Madrid would demand and salary Ronaldo would want.

See Ronaldo’s Spanish villa below.

Photo via Twitter/@TweetChelseaFC

Photo via Twitter/@JonnyBo_Ross

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

The Patriots worked out veteran defensive tackle Spencer Johnson on Thursday, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com. Johnson played four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings before heading to Buffalo and spending the past five seasons with the Bills.

Johnson, 31, is a 6-foot-3, 305-pound interior lineman who has racked up more than 300 tackles and 14 sacks in his nine-year career. He’s not much of a pass rusher (which the Patriots may still be looking for), but he could serve as good interior depth behind Vince Wilfork on the Patriots’ defensive line.

The Pats do have a bevy of defensive linemen already on the roster, considering the additions of veteran Tommy Kelly and CFL exiles Armond Armstead and Jason Vega, but they could still use some depth inside after the recent departures of Kyle Love and Brandon Deaderick.

Have a question for Luke Hughes? Send it to him via Twitter at @LukeFHughes or send it here.

Photo via Facebook/Spencer Johnson

Real Madrid is prepared to spend £60 million ($90.7 million) to bring English soccer’s premier player to the Bernabeu by mid-June, the Star reports.

“Real Madrid are confident they will win the battle for Gareth Bale -– and have set a June 15 deadline for the deal to be done with Tottenham,” the report says.

“The Spanish giants raised the stakes by increasing their offer for the double Player of the Year to £60 million.”

Bale was disappointed with Tottenham’s fifth-place finish in the Premier League, but he gave no indication that he wanted to leave in search of UEFA Champions League soccer. Tottenham reportedly offered the free-scoring winger a new contract, but he didn’t sign it before going on vacation.

The Spanish club can offer Bale a salary which dwarfs anything he can earn in North London. His current deal expires in 2016, but Real Madrid wants him as its marquee summer 2013 signing. On Wednesday, the BBC reports Bale’s agent fanned the rumor flames by telling a Spanish television show that his client would consider joining Real Madrid.

“If somebody like Mr. Perez [Real Madrid president Florentino Perez] was interested in Gareth Bale it would be a great honor and we would listen,” Jonathan Barnett reportedly said.

Real Madrid’s interest in Bale dates back to at least last summer. After signing Luca Modric from Tottenham last August, Real Madrid formed a commercial partnership with the Premier League club. Many thought the link-up would give Real Madrid the first option on Tottenham’s stars, but that was never confirmed.

Nevertheless, the Spanish club is stepping up its charm offensive. Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos and director Zinedine Zidane have spoken glowingly of Bale in the last week, and Spanish media outlets (with close ties to Real Madrid) are focusing on the Bale pursuit.  Bale finished first in a poll of Madrid fans who were asked which player they most wanted the club to sign this summer.

Real Madrid is used to getting the players it wants, and it often uses these tactics to get its way. It might be acting quickly to beat the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and PSG to Bale’s signature, as the trio are also thought to be interested in signing Bale this summer.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

He is the latest addition to a star-filled roster that already includes four-time FIFA Player of the Year Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.

The decision came a day after Neymar’s Brazilian club, Santos, said it had accepted offers from Barcelona and Spanish rival Real Madrid, and that it was up to him to pick where he wanted to play.

The 21-year-old striker made the announcement on Twitter and other social media sites.

“I wouldn’t be able to wait until Monday. My friends and my family already know of my decision,” he wrote. ”On Monday I will sign a contract with Barcelona.”

Barcelona confirmed the deal on its own Twitter account.

“FC Barcelona have reached an agreement with Santos for Neymar,” the club said. “The Brazilian player will join FC Barcelona for the next five seasons.”

Messi was quoted as saying earlier this week that Neymar would be “a wonderful signing” for Barcelona.

Neymar didn’t give any details on the offer he and Santos accepted from Barcelona. The club only said the agreement was for five seasons.

Neymar will play his last match with Santos on Sunday in the team’s first match in this year’s Brazilian league.

“I want to thank Santos fans for these nine incredible years. My feelings for the club and the fans will never change,” he said. “I made it sure that I play (this last match) so I can have the opportunity to once again enter the field wearing the team’s jersey and to hear the fans chant my name.”

Neymar led Santos to its greatest run since Pele stopped playing for the club in the 1970s, helping the team win the 2010 Brazilian Cup, the 2011 Copa Libertadores and three straight Sao Paulo state championships. He is the club’s leading scorer in the post-Pele era with 138 goals in 229 matches.

He’s also considered the national team’s key player in the upcoming Confederations Cup and World Cup, which Brazil hosts next year.

Neymar will join Barcelona after the Confederations Cup, as the transfer window in Europe opens in July.

The signing ends years of speculation about which team would be the first to persuade the Brazilian sensation to make the move to Europe. Neymar has never hidden his desire to one day play for Barcelona, but this week Real Madrid also became a front-runner to sign him.

Santos vice president Odilio Rodrigues said Friday that both offers were “similar,” but hinted that Neymar already had a “gentleman’s agreement” with Barcelona.

Neymar learned the details of the offers late Friday and said he would look at both carefully before deciding. He said he was “very proud” the Spanish powerhouses were interested in him, calling it “one of the happiest moments” of his life.

Brazilian media reported that Real Madrid was willing to pay Santos 35 million euros for Neymar, 7 million euros more than Barcelona. Real Madrid also reportedly offered a bigger salary. Spanish media said the total Barcelona would spend on Neymar could reach about 50 million euros.

Santos officially rejected a 35 million-euro offer for Neymar from Chelsea in 2010 and he eventually re-signed with the club until the 2014 World Cup, with a buyout clause of 65 million euros.

Santos was trying to sell Neymar as quickly as possible because in six months the player would be allowed to sign a pre-contract with any other club and the Brazilian team would not get anything in return.

Neymar is an idol on the field and a celebrity off it in Brazil. He appears in dozens of television commercials and his image is plastered on billboards across the country, making him by far the best paid athlete in Brazil. This week, he topped the list of most marketable athletes in the world in a report published by SportsPro magazine, finishing ahead of Messi and golfer Rory McIlroy.

But he is also criticized by some in Europe for his dives and alleged attempts to fake injuries. Pele has repeatedly said that Neymar has the potential to be the best player in the world, even better than Messi, but he is one of the critics who recently said Neymar should try to stop diving so much.

Neymar is also criticized for disappointing performances at decisive moments when he plays for Brazil. His recent lackluster performances with the national team even attracted loud jeers from home fans.

Danny Ainge

Rivers has yet to confirm this, though, and a Boston Herald report indicates that the coach may still be weighing his options.

The Herald’s Steve Bulpett cites a source close to the situation claiming that there is still a possibility that Rivers will choose not to return to Boston for a tenth season. This is reportedly a very slim chance, with the source giving “90-10″ odds of Rivers staying put.

Rivers — currently the highest-paid coach in the NBA — still has three years and $21 million left on his contract, meaning that he would only be able to coach another team if the Celtics fired him or granted him his release. But Bulpett reports that if Rivers does leave, he would not have the desire to coach elsewhere.

The speculation continued to grow after a report Thursday night that Ainge had shut down a request by the Nets to speak to Rivers about their head coaching vacancy, and it is unlikely to die down until Doc publicly addresses the matter. He has not spoken to the media since his postgame news conference after the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs on May 3, during which he did not give any indication of his plans for the fall.

“I don’t know, I mean, I don’t know that right now,” Rivers said after Boston’s 88-80 loss to the Knicks. “I can’t make that decision now. I’m under contract. And we’ll see — honestly, I can’t even think about that right now. So I don’t know.”

The team agreed to a deal with rookie wide receiver Josh Boyce on Friday, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. The contract is reportedly for four years and worth up to $2.6 million with a $477,000 signing  bonus.

Boyce was the Patriots’ fourth-round pick in this year’s draft and the second wide receiver they selected. Fellow rookie wideout Aaron Dobson (second round) and defensive end Michael Buchanan (seventh) are the only two rookies that remain unsigned.

Boyce has yet to practice with the Patriots, neither at rookie minicamp or organized team activities, while he recovers from surgery on his fractured right foot. He did ride the exercise bike during OTAs earlier in the week and should be ready to participate in team drills by mandatory minicamp June 11-13

Have a question for Luke Hughes? Send it to him via Twitter at @LukeFHughes or send it here.