Doncaster confident of sponsorship

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has declared Kaka is staying at the club next season and believes the former Ballon d'Or winner can return to his best.

In the four years the Brazilian has spent at Madrid, Kaka has failed to meet the expectations which stemmed from his 62million euro (£53.5million) transfer from AC Milan in 2009.

He started just 14 games in all competitions last season and further question marks about his future have been raised since the club signed attacking midfielder Isco.

Speaking during an interview with Gol Caracol de Colombia, Perez defended the signing of Kaka, pointing to the player's marketing appeal. He also highlighted the difficult circumstances he has had to cope with at Madrid, and said he hopes he will experience a resurgence in form next season, when he will get the chance to work again with Carlo Ancelotti, his former coach at Milan.

He said: "Kaka is a phenomenon, but he got injured in the last World Cup and had to have an operation on his knee.

"Then [Mesut] Ozil arrived and took his place in the team from him, but he is still one of the greats of the game. He is the second most followed footballer on Twitter, after Cristiano Ronaldo.

"He is charming and excites the fans. I'm optimistic that, under Ancelotti, who knows him very well, he can be the same magical Kaka again that we signed."

On Friday, Madrid completed the signing of 23-year-old Asier Illarramendi from Real Sociedad, the fourth player under the age of 24 that Madrid have bought this summer.

The president explained why Madrid have looked to youth.

"We have signed young players that are hungry to achieve and that's vital so that our established players don't get too comfortable. That mix of youth and experience will raise the team's quality," Perez said.

And he looked forward to the new season with Ancelotti in charge, adding: "We are beginning a new era after Mourinho's departure. We have another coach, who is also very demanding, and we are very excited."

The Foundation of Hearts, an alliance of supporters groups, was the first to submit its bid 24 hours before the deadline and another two groups followed them on Friday.

Joint administrator Bryan Jackson said: "We can confirm that we have received three bids for Heart of Midlothian FC.

"To preserve confidentiality, unless disclosed by the bidder themselves we will not be naming the parties."

A potential rival to the Hearts fans emerged earlier this week in the shape of a group headed by Borders businessman Bob Jamieson and backed by American investment firm Club 9 Sports.

Last year Club 9 advised Bill Miller, who withdrew as preferred bidder for Rangers, on his offer for the Glasgow club when they were in administration.

Former Livingston owner Angelo Massone is also reported to have made another offer for the club.

Hearts rebuffed a bid from the Italian in November last year, stating they felt he "may not be the right person to take the club forward".

The Italian led Livi into administration and ultimately demotion to the Third Division in a disastrous year-long spell in 2008-09.

The Foundation of Hearts bid is backed by more than 5,500 supporters, who have set up direct debits to fund their offer.

Jackson urged fans to be patient as events in Lithuania are complicating the process.

Hearts owe about £25million to their two major shareholders, Ukio Bankas and UBIG, both of which are insolvent, but the latter has not had an administrator appointed.

Jackson said: "Further discussions will now take place with the bidders and also with the legal representatives of the administrators of Ukio Bankas. We would then hope to be in a position to name a preferred bidder.

"At this stage we cannot say how long that process will take.

"The CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement) will need the support of the other major creditor and shareholders, and there may be a delay in securing that support while administrators are appointed to those entities.

"Therefore the sale process may take some time before a deal can be concluded and the club exits administration.

"Under the right guidance, the club has the potential to be successful both on and off the pitch, and it is encouraging to see that a number of prospective owners have clearly recognised this.

"In the meantime, we will continue to run the club and support the manager in his preparations for the forthcoming season.

"We all want the club to exit administration as quickly as possible but it's important not to get carried away: we're still much closer to the start of the process of concluding a sale rather than the end. We ask fans, players and staff for their continued support and patience."

Hearts revealed they had broken through the 10,000 season-ticket barrier earlier this week, with the financial boost allowing them to reject an improved offer for midfielder Jason Holt.

The club confirmed they had turned down a "second bid from a Championship club" following reports Nottingham Forest had renewed attempts to sign the 20-year-old, who scored three goals in 23 first-team appearances last season.

Hearts managing director David Southern told the club's official website: "It's thanks to the fantastic fundraising efforts of the supporters that we are in a position where we do not have to sell our best talent for below market value.

"Gary Locke has a small squad and will face a challenging season so to rid him of another player, and such a talented one as Jason Holt, would not benefit him or the club as a whole."

The Scottish Professional Football League chief executive says talks are under way with a number of companies who are interested in backing the competitions.

The newly-created SPFL is seeking sponsorship after deals with Clydesdale Bank and Irn-Bru for the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League respectively came to an end, while what was previously known as the Scottish Communities League Cup was backed by the Scottish government.

Speaking at Friday's League Cup draw at Hampden, Doncaster said: "We have now inherited the League Cup within the SPFL and we will talk to people who are interested in partnering with us.

"We've had a number of good sponsors over the years and we are confident, with the excitement that's generated through the Scottish League Cup, that it will be appealing.

"Particularly given the unpredictability of the competition, with St Mirren and Kilmarnock winning it in recent years, we certainly hope that we will be engaging with companies who want to be part of the excitement of the Scottish League Cup.

"We are talking to a lot of different companies who are interested in being part of Scottish football, whether that means title sponsorship, whether it means League Cup or whether it means some other form of partnership with the organisation.

"We are interested in talking to as many people as possible who want to be part of the great story that is Scottish football."

On the issue of naming the leagues within the merged SPFL, Doncaster added: "Re-branding of the whole competition and what it means, aside from the names, that's something that really started in earnest as soon as the reconstruction was complete.

"We are hopeful of announcing something soon."

Today was the deadline for first offers for Hearts to be submitted with the club's administrators BDO, with three bids received for the crisis-hit club.

Doncaster said: "My hope is that there is as much stability as possible at all 42 member clubs.

"It's important for supporters, it's important that they know their clubs are going to be around.

"There are a number of clubs going through difficult times at the moment.

"Our job at the SPFL is to offer as much support as we can, concentrate on bringing as much money in as we can and engaging supporters about their teams and the football they like to watch."