March 2014 - Soccer Wiretap

Dortmund Buys Shinji Kagawa For £6.3M From United

Aug 31, 2014 8:58 PM

Borussia Dortmund have announced the signing of Shinji Kagawa for £6.3 million from Manchester United on a four-year contract.

Kagawa struggled to find a place in the XI ever since arriving from Dortmund in 2012 for around £14 million.

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Tags: Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Chelsea Signs Loïc Rémy From QPR On £10.5M Deal

Aug 31, 2014 8:56 PM

Chelsea have signed the QPR striker Loïc Rémy on a four-year deal. Chelsea triggered a £10.5 million release clause in his contract on Saturday lunchtime and he was subsequently left out of their squad to face Sunderland.

“I feel very happy and very proud. When I heard Chelsea wanted to sign me I said ‘let’s go’ straight away because they are one of the best clubs in the world,” said Rémy. “I remember the amazing atmosphere at Stamford Bridge when I played there for Marseille and I can’t wait to play for the first time in front of my new fans.”

There were reports that Arsenal were also interested in signing the striker but decided not to pursue the deal any further.

The Guardian

Tags: Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Falcao Offered To City, Arsenal At £55M By Monaco

Sep 1, 2014 10:13 AM

Monaco has offered Radamel Falcao to Manchester City and Arsenal at a cost of £55 million.

Arsenal has a need at striker, particularly with Olivier Giroud out until December.

City would need to offset the acquisition of Falcao by selling one or more of their players to comply with Financial Fair Play.

City would need more than to double the money available to them and would be willing to move on Álvaro Negredo, Micah Richards, Matija Nastasic and Scott Sinclair to close the gap.

City could potentially agree upon a loan deal with the option of buying him in January or next summer.

Falcao’s camp have been pushing to get him to Real Madrid but have encountered unexpected resistance from the decision-makers at the Bernabéu.

 

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Tags: Monaco, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Manchester City, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Best Fixtures Of The Weekend: Spurs/Pool, Chelsea/Everton

Aug 29, 2014 8:54 PM

Chelsea at Everton (12:30 PM EST, Saturday): José Mourinho travels to Goodison Park to face a pair of strikers in Romelu Lukaku and Samuel Eto'o that he decided he would not need this season while he manages the neverending hamstring issue of Diego Costa. Chelsea has looked quite impresssive in their first two matches and it will be particularly interesting to see how Cesc Fabregas performs against a more formidable midfield.

Bayern at Schalke (12:30 PM EST, Saturday): Bayern doesn't commonly take on a player of Xabi Alonso's age unless they're despearate, which they are due to an inordinate number of injuries in defensive midfield. Schalke is one of the few clubs in Germany capable of stealing a result from Pep Guardiola.

Liverpool at Tottenham (8:30 AM EST, Sunday): The best match of the weekend means an early Sunday morning for those of us living on Pacific time. Tottenham has outscored their opponents 10-2 across a pair of Premier League matches and a Europa League tie against AEL Limassol. Drawing a Liverpool club ready to work in Mario Balotelli that is coming off a 3-1 loss at City this early on their own pitch will be an intriguing test if Mauricio Pochettino has a Spurs' side worthy of being top-4 material.

RealGM Staff Report

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United Buys Daley Blind From Ajax For €18M

Aug 31, 2014 8:59 PM

Daley Blind has been sold to Manchester United by Ajax for €18 million.

Blind is a 24-year-old defensive midfielder.

Matt Lawton/Daily Mail

Tags: Manchester United, Ajax, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Piqué Left Off Spain's Squad As He Comes Back From Hip Injury

Aug 29, 2014 5:07 PM

Gerard Piqué still has a future with Spain, but he's been dropped by Vincente del Bosque for their two coming matches.

The decision to drop Piqué is somewhat surprising due to Spain's dearth of options at the back.

Although Pique is expected to feature for Barcelona in their La Liga game at Villarreal on Sunday, the veteran coach said at Friday's news conference that the decision had been made on fitness grounds.

"There are eight players from the World Cup who are not coming," Del Bosque said. "We have very fluid contact with [Piqué]. We spoke recently and he was not fully recovered. He had some discomfort from his hip injury. He wants to keep coming with the national team, but at this moment we thought he should not come."

Dermot Corrigan/ESPN

Tags: Barcelona, Spain, Injury

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Diego Costa Cleared For Weekend, Hamstring Injury Not Serious

Aug 29, 2014 5:05 PM

Diego Costa will be available for Chelsea on Saturday in their match at Everton.

Costa suffered a hamstring injury during training this week and there were fears he could miss up to six weeks.

"Yes. It's a better scenario, but what matters now is the match tomorrow, not the match in three or four weeks time," José Mourinho said. "He's a doubt. Everyone else is fit, yes."

Miguel Delaney/ESPN

Tags: Chelsea, Injury

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AC Milan Agrees To Two-Year Loan Deal With Chelsea For Torres

Aug 31, 2014 8:59 PM

Chelsea and AC Milan have agreed to loan striker Fernando Torres to AC Milan.

A statement on the Chelsea website read:" Chelsea Football Club and AC Milan have agreed terms for the two-year loan deal of Fernando Torres to the Italian club.

"The move is now subject to Fernando agreeing personal terms with AC Milan and passing a medical examination."

ESPN

Tags: Chelsea, A.C. Milan, Loan, Misc Rumor

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United Hoping To Sell Fringe Players To Reduce Wage Bill

Aug 29, 2014 10:53 AM

Manchester United are determined to unload several unneeded players before the end of the transfer window with targets such as William Carvalho, Arturo Vidal, Nigel de Jong and Daley Blind in mind.

United’s status as one of the world’s best paying clubs has caused them difficulty all summer to unload players, with the Guardian having learned that salaries are far higher that previously thought.

United has already paid £59.7 million to Real Madrid for Ángel di María.

United could begin by selling Danny Welbeck, who could fetch up to £20 million.

Javier Hernández, the subject of a bidding war between Valencia and Juventus, has two years remaining on a basic salary of up to £88,000, a total of £9.15 million.

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Tags: Manchester United, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Martínez: Lukaku Worth More Than £28M To Everton

Aug 29, 2014 10:22 AM

Roberto Martínez has claimed Romelu Lukaku’s value to Everton cannot be measured by his £28 million fee and denied the price is excessive compared with the £32 million Chelsea spent on Diego Costa.

Everton will face Chelsea on Saturday.

The Everton manager said: “They are different ages [Lukaku 21, Costa 25] and the situation at Atlético Madrid is very different in how they work. Sometimes as a club you have a say and sometimes you have investment groups who have a say. That could be one reason.

“Second, it’s not about the value. I would have paid £100 million for Lukaku if I had the money. The figure is insignificant. It is about the character and type of player you want in the group. Sometimes a player at £3 million can be an expensive buy and sometimes a player at £28 million can be a very cheap buy.”


Andy Hunter/The Guardian

Tags: Everton, Chelsea, IQ

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Xabi Alonso Joins Bayern From Real For £8M
With injuries to Bastian Schweinsteiger, Javi Martínez and Thiago Alcântara in central midfield, Xabi Alonso will be expected to slot straight into Bayern’s starting XI.

The Guardian

Wenger: I Bought Alexis To Play As Striker
Alexis Sánchez played as a central forward on Wednesday against Besiktas and figures to play there repeatedly over the coming months with Olivier Giroud out until at least December.

Jonathan Wilson/Sports Illustrated

Champions League Group Stage Draw Results
Since 99-00, 86 percent of Pot 1 clubs have advanced out of the Group Stage, followed by 63 percent of Pot 2 clubs, 32 percent of Pot 3 and just 21 percent of Pot 4.

RealGM Staff Report

Tottenham Signs Federico Fazio From Sevilla
Tottenham has signed Federico Fazio from Sevilla to a four-year contract.

The Guardian

Juve, Valencia Deliver Bids To United For Chicharito
Both Juventus and Valencia have submitted bids in the region of £12 million to £15 million for Chicharito.

The Guardian

Wayne Rooney Named New Captain Of England
Wayne Rooney has been named England captain by Roy Hodgson.

Press Association

Olivier Giroud Out For Rest Of 2014 Following Surgery
Olivier Giroud underwent surgery on an injured tibia and will be out for the remainder of the calendar year.

ESPN

Chelsea Fears Diego Costa Could Be Out Six Weeks With Hamstring Injury
Diego Costa suffered a hamstring problem in training on Wednesday that has prompted fears he could be out for up to six weeks.

Matt Law/The Telegraph

Bayern Close To Two-Year, £8M Deal For Xabi Alonso
Pep Guardiola turned his attention to Xabi Alonso after the departure of Toni Kroos and the knee-ligament injury suffered by Javi Martínez.

Sid Lowe/The Guardian

Champions League Pots Set For Group Stage Draw
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Chelsea, Benfica, Atlético, Arsenal and Porto are in Pot 1.

RealGM Staff Report

Arsenal Offers Contract To Nikola Zigic
Nikola Zigic, 33, is a free agent after leaving Birmingham City following the expiry of his contract in the summer.

ESPN

Crystal Palace Names Neil Warnock Manager
Neil Warnock succeeds Tony Pulis, who departed Selhurst Park just 36 hours before Palace’s opening fixture of the season.

Dominic Fifield/The Guardian

AC Milan Hopes To Sign Fernando Torres On Loan
AC Milan hopes to sign Fernando Torres and Marco van Ginkel from Chelsea before the end of the summer transfer window.

Press Association

Roma Buys Manolas From Olympiakos For $17M To Replace Benatia
Kostas Manolas has joined Roma on a $17 million transfer from Olympiakos.

AP

Wenger: Oxlade-Chamberlain Can Emulate Zidane, Beckham On Flank
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would prefer to play central midfield, but Arsène Wenger thinks his future is out on the flanks.

Goal.com

Mascherano Signs Extension With Barça Through 2018
Javier Mascherano's contract contains a €100 million buyout.

RealGM Staff Report

Landon Donovan To Make Final U.S. Appearance On Oct. 10
Landon Donovan will play one final match for the United States in a match on Oct. 10 in East Hartford when they play Ecuador.

RealGM Staff Report

Bayern Signs Mehdi Benatia From Roma
Mehdi Benatia will sign a five-year deal with Bayern and help replace Javi Martínez.

The Guardian

Ángel Di María Officially Joins United On £59.7M Transfer
Ángel di María has officially been sold from Real Madrid to Manchester United for £59.7 million.

RealGM Staff Report

Leverkusen Enters Top-20 Of Euro Club Index Rankings
While the top-8 of the Euro Club Index remains unchanged, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain flipped spots at No. 9 and No. 10 and Bayer Leverkusen climbed six spots to No. 18.

Euro Club Index