Spanish giants Real Madrid recently concluded unique contract renewal negotiations with two of their longest-serving players, Raul Gonzalez and Iker Casillas. Club captain Raul, 30, who has been at Real since 1992, now has a contract until 30 June 2011, guaranteeing him a basic annual salary of EUR 6 million. After that, if he plays at least 30 official matches, his contract will automatically be extended by a further 12 months. Goalkeeper Casillas, meanwhile, has signed up until 2017. According to some reports, the 26-year-old goalkeeper will continue to receive a gross annual salary of EUR 4.5 million, although other reports claim that Casillas, who has been on Real’s books since the age of 8, will also bank EUR 6 million per year. Like Raul, Casillas’ new contract states that should he also play 30 or more domestic or international matches for Real, his contract will also be extended by a further year.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently entered into a partnership with Spanish giants Barcelona. The agreement was signed in Geneva by Barcelona President Joan Laporta and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres. The main objective of the agreement, which will initially run for three years, is to raise awareness of the need to protect refugees as well as to stress the importance of sport in terms of education and integration. The first step will see the UNHCR and Barcelona carry out certain refugee projects together in Ecuador, Nepal and Rwanda. “The UNHCR and Barcelona will combine their efforts to work together in programmes and initiatives to increase the quality of life of child refugees,” said the Catalan club. “This is our next big challenge. We are sending a message to the world, but this is not just a message; we will be taking action as well,” stressed Laporta after signing the agreement.

Philipp Lahm may well be an excellent defender, but Bayem Munich’s left-back is also a person who cares about his fellow human beings. Lahm, 24, who scored the opening goal of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ in the home team’s 4-2 victory over Costa Rica, recently set up the Philipp Lahm Foundation. Not content with allowing the foundation to use his name, Lahm also pumped 150,000 euros of his own money into the project, which aims to help children in particular. “I have had a lot of luck in life,” explained Lahm. “I had a wonderful childhood and today I have a fantastic job that I enjoy very much. That is why I decided it was time to give something back.” Lahm has also been campaigning and helping the less fortunate for the last few years. After being named as Germany’s sole representative in UEFA’s team of the year following his exploits at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™, Lahm donated the EUR 5,000 prize money to SOS Children’s Villages, an institution that FIFA has also been supporting since 1994. Last year, in his role as a “FIFA for SOS Children’s Villages” ambassador, Lahm travelled to South Africa with two of his closest friends, Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United and England) and Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg and Germany), to take a closer look at preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and to visit the SOS Children’s Village in Ennerdale.