Transfers: Former Roma skipper De Rossi joins Boca Juniors

Daniele De Rossi has joined Boca Juniors on a free transfer following the Italian midfielder's departure from Serie A side AS Roma after nearly two decades, the Argentine club have announced.

De Rossi, who turned 36 on Wednesday, led Roma for the final time in a 2-1 victory over Parma at the Stadio Olimpico in May and finished his stint in the Italian capital with 616 appearances in 18 years.

Boca confirmed the transfer in a series of social media posts with pictures of De Rossi wearing the club's blue and yellow colours.

World Cup winner De Rossi, behind only Francesco Totti (786) in appearances for Roma, had rejected a director's role at the Italian club last season after his contract was not renewed.

De Rossi won Coppa Italia titles with Roma in 2007 and 2008 and narrowly missed out on a Serie A crown in 2010, when they led the table with four games to go only to be overhauled by Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan.

He played 117 games for Italy, making him their fourth most-capped player, and came on as a second-half substitute in the 2006 World Cup title clash in which they beat France on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Rakitic wants to stay with Barcelona: Iniesta

Vissel Kobe's Andres Iniesta is certain that his former Barcelona teammate Ivan Rakitic wants to stay with Barcelona amid links with Paris Saint-Germain, Inter and Manchester United.

"I don't know if he is untransferable, but I know he is happy and wants to stay at Barca. I hope he can [stay at the club] and continue to perform as before. I would be happy for him," Goal.com quoted Iniesta as saying.

Rakitic is contracted with the club until June 2021 and has made 268 appearances for the club.

Paris Saint-Germain is looking to sell Neymar and the Brazilian is rumoured to be linked with his previous club Barcelona. Neymar has scored 105 goals in 186 appearances for the Blaugrana and has netted 51 goals in 58 games for his current club.

Iniesta praised the 27-year-old and called him 'one of the best'.

"I have said it many times, for me, as a player, he is one of the best there is. If his signing is going well or badly, that is something the club must conclude," he said.

Arsenal sign Real Madrid midfielder Ceballos on loan

Spanish midfielder Dani Ceballos has joined Arsenal on a season-long loan deal from Real Madrid, the clubs said on Thursday.

Ceballos, who helped Spain's Under-21 side win the European Championship title last month, has made 56 appearances for Real Madrid in all competitions since arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium from Real Betis in 2017.

The 22-year-old is expected to fill the void left by Aaron Ramsey in Unai Emery's Arsenal squad following the Welshman's move to Juventus at the end of his contract.

"We're excited to see Dani join us. He is a talented player with big technical ability, creativity and precision," Emery said in a statement https://www.arsenal.com/news/holadani-ceballos-joins-us-loan

British media had reported that Tottenham Hotspur were also interested in signing Ceballos, who made 13 Liga starts for Madrid last season but failed to nail down a first-team spot.

"I knew I had the confidence of the coach, which was very important for me from the start," Ceballos said.

"I was aware of the responsibility that wearing this shirt entails and it was a tremendously proud moment when I decided to join Arsenal."

Arsenal confirm signing teenager Saliba

England's football club Arsenal FC have confirmed signing French defender William Saliba.

The player will be joining the team from Ligue 1 club Saint-Etienne. As part of the deal between the player and club, Saliba will be returning to the Ligue 1 side next season on loan before heading to Arsenal in 2020.

"We're delighted William is joining us. Many teams wanted him but he decided he wanted to come to us and be part of our future. He will stay in France next season for more experience and then we look forward to him joining our group," head coach of Arsenal Unai Emery said in an official statement.

The 18-year-old Saliba signed his first contract at the age of 17. He made his professional debut for Saint-Etienne in 2018.

The player was recently named in France's under 20-squad.

"Well, first of all, it's a massive pleasure to sign for a really, really big English club. This is the biggest club in England for me, so it was an easy decision. I didn't think twice about signing here, so I'm really happy," Saliba said in an official statement.

Earlier, Arsenal also signed Spanish midfielder Dani Ceballos on a season-long loan deal.

Arsenal had finished the Premier League 2018/19 season at the fifth position with 70 points from 38 matches.

The team will take on Newcastle United in their first match of the Premier League 2019/ 20 season on August 8.

Aston Villa sign Brazilian midfielder Luiz

Aston Villa have signed Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz from champions ManchesterCity for an undisclosed fee, the promoted Premier League club have said.

Villa did not give financial details but the BBC reported the deal for the 21-year-old was worth 15 million pounds ($18.66 million) which took their close season spending past 100 million pounds for 10 new players.

"Douglas is an extremely talented young player with an outstanding pedigree who I am sure will fit nicely into our style and system of play," Villa boss Dean Smith said.

Luiz, who came through the ranks at hometown club Vasco da Gama, joined City in 2017 but never played for Pep Guardiola's side, spending the last two seasons on loan in Spain's Girona.

Villa, who are preparing for their first season back in the English top flight since 2016, visit Tottenham Hotspur in their opening league fixture on August 10.