Manchester United Prepares £100m for Di Maria capture

Manchester United are prepared to commit as much as £100million to their pursuit of Angel di Maria as the ailing Barclays Premier League club try to beef up Louis van Gaal’s squad before the end of the summer transfer window.

United manager Van Gaal is desperate for world- class additions and has told chief executive Ed Woodward to do all he can to bring winger Di Maria to the club from Real Madrid.

It is understood United have told the Argentine that, with performance-based incentives, they will pay him around £200,000 a week. Over a five-year deal that would take United’s investment to £100m when a transfer fee of around £50m is included.

A salary that size would put the 26-year-old in the same ballpark as attacking stars Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie. huge-sum

Di Maria is aware of United’s capacity to pay big wages and has told his family of his surprise that the English club’s offer outstrips anything made by other suitors, including mega-rich Paris Saint-Germain of France.

It remains to be seen if United can strike a deal with Madrid. Van Gaal and Woodward know they cannot tempt Di Maria or any other targets with Champions League football so financial offers have to be high.

Van Gaal knows he needs signings and wants to buy a central defender and a holding midfield player. 

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Reconciliation: Pope Francis desire for a united Korea

The Pope has called for reconciliation on the Korean peninsula, on the final day of his visit to South Korea.

Koreans, Pope Francis said, should reject a "mindset of suspicion and confrontation" and find new paths to build peace.

The Pope spoke at a Mass in Seoul's main cathedral attended by President Park Geun-hye and North Korean defectors.

The service coincided with the start of major US-South Korea military exercises.

The annual drills, called Ulchi Freedom Guardian, last for 12 days and involve some 80,000 US and South Korean service personnel.

The exercises always enrage North Korea, which has in recent weeks conducted a series of short-range missile tests - including one as the Pope arrived.

It has threatened a "merciless" retaliatory strike in response to the drills. 

The two Koreas remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice and not a peace treaty.

Speaking at Myeongdong Cathedral, the Pope said all Koreans were "brothers and sisters, members of one family, one people".

"Let us pray for the emergence of new opportunities for dialogue, encounter and the resolution of differences," he said.

He also called for generosity in providing humanitarian assistance to those in need, and urged Koreans to work together as one, "with no victors or vanquished".

Representatives from North Korea's state-run Korean Catholic Association were invited to attend the Mass, but Pyongyang rejected this offer.

Also at the service were seven elderly women forced to work as prostitutes for Japanese troops during World War Two.

One of the women gave the pontiff a gold butterfly pin - a symbol of their continuing struggle for justice - which he wore during the Mass.

Pope Francis, who on Saturday beatified 124 Koreans who died for their faith in the 18th and 19th Centuries, later flew out of Seoul. He will visit the Philippines and Sri Lanka in January.

Enroute to Rome, he sent a telegram to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a follow-up to a message he had sent when he flew over China to South Korea on Thursday.

"Returning to Rome after my visit to Korea, I wish to renew to your excellency and your fellow citizens the assurance of my best wishes, as I invoke divine blessings upon your land," he said.

The Vatican and Beijing have no formal ties, but the decision to let the Pope fly through Chinese airspace is being seen as a possible sign of warmth.

When Pope John Paul II visited Seoul in 1989, he had to fly through Russian airspace to get to South Korea.

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The on/off couple: Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez back together

Justin Bieber allegedly spent weekend together with Selena Gomez after they rekindled romance earlier this week. The on/off couple also allegedly declared their love for each other.

A source told TMZ that the couple "spent the entire weekend together ... and it was filled with lots of 'I Love You' talk on both ends." The site also claimed that Justin and Selena called each other boyfriend and girlfriend again.

Justin fueled speculation that he and Selena had reunited after he posted on Instagram a picture of him being kissed on the cheek by her. The photo was deleted shortly afterwards.

One day before, the pair reportedly attended a Bible study together at City Church. An insider told Mirror at that time, "Justin looked really comfortable with Selena as he still thinks their bond is unbreakable and knows that Selena will always love him."

The insider added, "The pair sat next to each other while partaking in Bible study and seemed very close. They then left together in Bieber's car."

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