Chelsea are the best team in the world, while Real Madrid are the seventh best and Manchester United are 19th.

This is according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, an organisation recognised and supported by, although not affiliated with, FIFA.

Their latest Club World Rankings, accounting for results between March 1 2012 and February 28 2013, have produced some results that seem bizarre.

The Spain-based trio have been named on the shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or award.

Barcelona superstar Messi has enjoyed an incredible year with 82 goals in 2012 to leave him three behind former West Germany and Bayern Munich striker Gerd Muller’s record of 85, set in 1972.

His biggest rival for the award is Ronaldo who scored a phenomenal 60 goals in all competitions last season as Real Madrid edged Barca to La Liga title. He has already bagged another 19 this season.

Third nominee Iniesta also enjoyed an outstanding year for Barca while he was named player of the tournament for Spain at Euro 2012 as he guided his side to victory over Italy in the final.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said: “It shows how strong football in Spain is.

“We have seen again what they did at the Euros and it will be interesting to see what happens in the Confederations Cup.”

There was also a Spanish theme to the FIFA World Coach of the Year award.

Spain boss Vicente Del Bosque is up against former Barca manager Pep Guardiola and current Madrid coach Jose Mourinho for the title.

All the winners will be announced on January 7.

The Premier League has confirmed the creation of a new Under-21 competition to bridge the gap between clubs’ academies and their first team.

The first national showcase for Under-21 players will launch on 17 August when Chelsea host Manchester City and Reading visit West Ham. Teams from 17 Premier League and six Championship clubs – in effect all those who applied for category one status – will be divided into three groups.

From January the sides will then be placed into three pools based on their performance, leading to a knockout stage and final. The emphasis will be on playing Under-21 players with each team limited to three over-age outfield players and one over-age goalkeeper.

“Each stage of a player’s development is tailored to ensuring they have the best possible chance of progressing,” said Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive.

“The new league addresses one of the most critical points – the transition from academy football to the highest standards in the first team.

“We believe this competitive environment, where fans can also come along to watch the next generation of Premier League and international players, will help deliver more talented home grown boys to that next level.”

National Group 1: Arsenal, Blackburn, Bolton, Everton, Norwich, Reading, West Brom, West Ham.

National Group 2: Aston Villa, Manchester United, Newcastle, Southampton, Stoke, Sunderland, Tottenham, Watford.

National Group 3: Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Wolves.

The end-of-season win-bonus package paid to Manchester City’s triumphant squad for securing the club’s first Premier League title in May was a huge £6.2m shared between 24 players, The Independent can reveal.

The English Premier League team, owned by the same American family that owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is ranked on top thanks to lucrative global sponsorship deals.

Second is Real Madrid, at $1.88 billion. The New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys are tied for third at $1.85 billion.

Rounding out the top five are the Washington Redskins at $1.56 billion.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New England Patriots are tied for sixth at $1.40 billion, followed by Barcelona at $1.31 billion, the New York Giants at $1.30 billion, and Arsenal at 1.29 billion. The Dodgers recently were sold for $2 billion, the most for any professional sports team.

All 32 NFL teams make the list of 50 most valuable franchises, with the Jacksonville Jaguars last among the NFL clubs at $725 million.

Seven Major League Baseball teams earned spots, with the Texas Rangers the lowest at $674 million, No. 50 overall.

The highest value for an NBA team belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers at $900 million, 35th overall. Only one other NBA franchise, the New York Knicks, make the list with $780 million, No. 43.

No NHL clubs made the survey, but two from Formula One racing were included: Ferrari at $1.1 billion to rank 15th, and McLaren at $800 million.

Shinji Kagawa has revealed that he turned down Manchester United’s iconic No 7 shirt as he wants to prove himself at Old Trafford before taking such an honour.

The Japan star flew into Manchester on Friday to tie up the loose ends on his £17million transfer from Borussia Dortmund, passing his medical and agreeing a four-year contract with the Red Devils.

He has also now obtained a UK work permit. But the 23-year-old midfielder admitted he wasn’t yet ready to take up the club’s offer of the No 7 shirt, made famous by the likes of George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was awarded with his second ESM Golden shoe for scoring the most goals in Europe – with a record total.

Messi scored an incredible 50 league goals during the 2011-12 season to finish four goals ahead of his closest rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid winger scored six more goals than when winning the award last season but could not rival the prolific Argentinian.

This is the second Golden Shoe award picked up by Messi who also claimed the accolade in the 2009-10 season with 34 goals.

His record haul came from 37 La Liga appearances and included six hat-tricks and two four-goal games.

It was a good season for strikers with Robin van Persie, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney also recording their highest-ever tallies for a league campaign.

ESM Golden Shoe standings
1. Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) 50 x 2 = 100
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF) 46 x 2 = 92
3. Robin van Persie (Arsenal FC) 30 x 2 = 60
4. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (FC Schalke 04) 29 x 2 = 58
5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan) 28 x 2 = 56
6. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United FC) 27 x 2 = 54
7. Mario Gomez (FC Bayern München) 26 x 2 = 52
8. Bas Dost (sc Heerenveen) 32 x 1.5 = 48
8= Falcao (Club Atlético de Madrid) 24 x 2 = 48
8= Diego Milito (FC Internazionale Milano) 24 x 2 = 48
8= Burak Yilmaz (Trabzonspor A?) 32 x 1.5 = 48

Rules
Only the leading five countries – Spain, Italy, Germany, France and England – in the UEFA rankings have two as their multiplier. This is to emphasise the difference in (international) performance level between clubs from those countries and those of other nations.

A player cannot play first in a summer league (e.g. Norway) and then in a winter league (e.g. Spain) and combine the points totals for each season.

Source: Mirror

But Real Madrid’s superstar striker found himself the butt of a German joke when his fancy footwear was nicked in Munich this week.

The Portuguese complained that three pairs of his precious boots were part of a haul thieves made off with from Real’s dressing room before kick-off in their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.

And now a local disc jockey has sent the former Manchester United player a pair of Bavarian brogues – as worn by traditional southern German dancers in the national costume.

Stephan Lehmann, a presenter on radio station Bayern 1 and also the Bayern Munich stadium announcer, appealed to his listeners for a pair of brogues to send to Ronaldo and some were donated by a shoemaker.

“We need Bavarian brogues, size 43, for the most expensive footballer in the world,” Lehmann said. The package also included a personal note to Ronaldo, telling him he would look “really snazzy” in the new footwear.

It read: “Dear Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Hospitable people live here in Bavaria. We may steal maypoles, but not shoes. We therefore wanted to replace what you lost.

“Here are a pair of genuine Bavarian brogues for you. With them you won’t be able to score any goals, but you will look really snazzy.

“Kind regards, Stephan Lehmann and the Bayern 1 team.”

Munich police are looking into the incident after Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Karim Benzema complained they had ­belongings nicked from their changing room.

Jose Mourinho’s side lost the game 2-1. The second leg will take place in the Spanish capital on Wednesday when Bayern may well hope Ronaldo plays in his new shoes.

Source: Mirror