Liverpool sign Pellegrino

LONDON: Liverpool have signed Argentinian defender Mauricio Pellegrino on a free transfer from Valencia. Pellegrino has signed until the end of the season with the option of extending his contract for a further year. With Stephane Henchoz looking likely to leave Liverpool, Pellegrino will provided back up for Sami Hyypia and Jamie Carragher at heart of the club’s defence. — AFP

Maradona returns to Cuba

HAVANA: Argentine soccer hero Diego Maradona returned to Cuba to resume treatment for a cocaine addiction after spending the holidays with his family in Buenos Aires. He was picked up by an official entourage of cars on the Havana airport runway and whisked away without speaking to journalists gathered at the airport. Maradona, 44, has been hospitalised repeatedly over the last four years in his battle with severe health problems brought on by his drug usage. — AP