Sporting briefs...

Kahn Offers: Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn said yesterday he might leave the defending German champions and plans to sit down with club executives to discuss his future. Kahn, 36, told Bild newspaper he had a number of offers. The newspaper said that he has received lucrative offers from Japan but provided no details. Playmaker Michael Ballack, 29, is also mulling offers from abroad. Kahn has been at Bayern since 1994. He signed a three-year contract extension to 2006 in December 2001.

No Deal Yet: Real Madrid and David Beckham issued a joint statement yesterday denying that negotiations over a new contract were taking place. "There have been no conversations between the club and the player regarding an improved contract," the club said. Sports daily AS said on Friday that Beckham was demanding full control of his image rights and a substantial increase in salary for an improved deal at the Bernabeu. The England captain signed a four-year contract with Real in 2003 after leaving Manchester United for a fee of up to 35 million euros.

Barca: Barcelona president Joan Laporta has accepted the resignation of brother-in-law Alejandro Echevarria as a director. At first, Laporta said he would not accept his brother-in-law's resignation despite the fact official documents published in the media last week showed Echevarria was once a member of a foundation honouring former dictator Francisco Franco. The revelations sent shockwaves through a club that has traditionally identified itself with opposition to right-wing dictator Franco who ruled Spain with an iron hand between 1939 and his death in 1975.

Kaladze: Milan's Kakha Kaladze says he has no regrets about not joining Chelsea last season. The defender signed a five-year extension to his contract following the summer approach from the English side, and claims he is happy at Milan. "Last season there were talks regarding a move to Chelsea. I didn't know what to do," he said. "Chelsea are a great English team, but I play with Milan, the strongest team in the world. I am in a team that has won a lot and still has a lot to win."

Belarus Champs: Unfancied Shakhtyor Soligorsk crushed Torpedo Zhodino 4-0 yesterday to clinch their first Belarus league title. The win gave Shakhtyor an insurmountable 15-point lead over second-placed and last year's champions Dynamo Minsk, who have three games remaining after losing to mid-table Gomel 2-1. The club from a small mining town, 120 km south of Minsk, will now enter Champions League qualifiers for the first time in their 42-year history next season.