MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester United broke the British transfer record Tuesday when it agreed to pay Newcastle United ?7 million ($11.2 million) for striker Andy Cole, 23.


United will pay ?6 million and allow Northern Ireland midfielder Keith Gillespie, 19, valued at ?1 million, to move to St James' Park.


The deal was completed Tuesday when Cole agreed personal terms with United for a 5 1/2 year contract.


The fee easily beats the ?5 million Blackburn paid Norwich for striker Chris Sutton last season.


Cole, who has played for England B, but not yet for England, became a favorite with the Newcastle fans in his two-season spell, helping the club gain promotion to the Premier League in 1992-93 and then scoring a club record 41 goals last season in the top flight.


This season he has been relatively subdued, netting 15 times but then going nine games without scoring. He was sidelined several games by injury.


United, always among the biggest spenders in English soccer, has been quiet in the past three seasons.


Manager Alex Ferguson, whose team completed the league and F.A. Cup double last season for the first time in its history, has been content to field some of his home-grown youngsters, such as Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, Gillespie and David Beckham.


But he also needed to buy some big-name English players to satisfy the regulations enforced by soccer's European governing body, UEFA, that clubs can field only three foreigners in its competitions.


Despite his record transfer fee, Cole may not get on the lineup immediately because Hughes and Cantona are the regular strikers and both scored in United's F.A. Cup victory at Sheffield United Monday.


Manchester United and Newcastle are scheduled to face each other Sunday in a Premier League game but neither Cole nor Gillespie will line up against their old clubs.


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World Cup star Romario will be heading back to Brazil as soon as Barcelona has the cash in hand for his transfer, club officials said.


Romario "is still a Barcelona player and won't stop being one until the money is deposited," Barcelona vice president Joan Gaspart told reporters Monday.


Gaspart negotiated the details of Romario's transfer with Kleber Leite, chairman of Rio de Janeiro club Flamengo.


The transfer deal is complete and will be signed as soon as Flamengo's money arrives in a Spanish bank, expected to be later this week, Leite said.


Leite said that Romario's new contract will be for two years and that the club can't transfer him during this time.


Financial details were not given, but reports suggest Barcelona had been seeking a transfer fee of $7 million for Romario, who still had a year and a half on his contract with the Spanish side. Reports also suggested the Brazilian will pick up part of the fee.


Romario has scored only four goals this season after leading the Spanish league last year with 30. His Barcelona team has also slumped, losing 5-0 Saturday at Real Madrid to trail the league leaders by five points.