March 2015 - Soccer Wiretap

Real Madrid VP Reveals Rafael Benitez To Become Next Manager

May 31, 2015 10:55 PM

Real Madrid vice-president Eduardo Fernandez de Blas has dropped the clearest indication yet that Rafael Benitez will be confirmed as the club's new head coach in the coming days.

Benitez has already confirmed that he will leave Napoli.

AS reported that De Blas, speaking at a club event on Saturday evening, said: "I'll tell you one thing, Carlo Ancelotti is a real phenomenon. We give our thanks to him.

"Until three days ago, he was, for me, the best coach in the world, just as two years ago it was Jose Mourinho, and as from this week it will be Rafa Benitez."

AS.com

Tags: Real Madrid, Misc Rumor

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Arsenal Rules Out Expensive Transfer This Summer

Jun 1, 2015 12:31 PM

Arsene Wenger has admitted Arsenal will not be buying any of the most expensive players in the world this summer as he looks for value for the club's money.

Arsenal has never been linked for the likes of Paul Pogba and Gareth Bale.

In the past two summers, Wenger has been able to purchase high-priced talents like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.

"We have not spent that kind of money," Wenger said. "People forget that for years we had to sell our best players and that was a very difficult period. That is the reality.

"Since we buy again, we slowly come back to a more competitive level. You speak maybe about stratospheric numbers where we will not be involved."

Richard Jolly/ESPN

Tags: Arsenal, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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United Ranked As Top Seeded Club In UCL Qualifying Round

May 31, 2015 10:51 PM

Manchester United could face a challenging Champions League playoff against the likes of CSKA Moscow, Lazio, Monaco or Sporting Lisbon in August.

Manchester United, ranked 10th by UEFA, will be the top seeded club in the final qualifying round -- joined by Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Shakhtar Donetsk and Ajax. These five clubs cannot face each other, though Shakhtar and Ajax must navigate through the third qualifying round first.

Dale Johnson/ESPN

Tags: Manchester United

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Paul Clement Leaves Real Madrid

May 29, 2015 2:26 PM

Paul Clement has announced he is leaving Real Madrid following the firing of Carlo Ancelotti this week.

It was widely expected that Clement would follow the Italian out of the Bernabéu after his sacking on Monday and the Englishman took to Twitter on Friday to confirm his departure.

“It has been an honour to have worked with Carlo at the Number 1 Club in the World,” he wrote. “Thank you to all the Players, Staff and Fans. Hala Madrid.”

The Guardian

Tags: Real Madrid

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Sepp Blatter Re-Elected For 5th Term As FIFA President

May 31, 2015 10:49 PM

Sepp Blatter has been re-elected for a fifth term as president of FIFA.

The 79-year-old defeated his rival, the Jordanian Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein, to cheers from his supporters. Blatter polled 133 votes to Prince Ali’s 73, which would have been enough to take the contest to a potential second round but his 39-year-old challenger withdrew.

Blatter has weathered the storm in the short term but the result leaves him presiding over a split Fifa as he faces the biggest self-inflicted crisis in its 111-year history. “For the next four years I will be in command of this boat called Fifa and we will bring it back ashore, we will bring it back to the beach,” he said, again promising to make this four year term his last. “The age is no problem. You have people that are 50 who look old.”

European football’s governing body Uefa will again loudly demand reform.

Its executives meet in Berlin next weekend before the Champions League final and were in militant mood after Blatter triumphed over his younger rival, who had promised to repair Fifa’s battered reputation and serve for only one four-year term.

“Those who voted for Prince Ali, I congratulate you, he is a good candidate. But I am now the president of everybody.”

Owen Gibson/The Guardian

Tags: World Cup

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Carlo Ancelotti Discusses Return With AC Milan

May 31, 2015 10:53 PM

Carlo Ancelotti and AC Milan have held talks about him returning to the club this summer.

Ancelotti was fired by Real Madrid this week and met with Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani on Wednesday.

Current manager Filippo Inzaghi, who took over last summer, has been told he will not continue in his role.

Ancelotti said he was considering taking a year's sabbatical and having surgery on a back problem following his dismissal.
"I must have an operation because of spinal stenosis that for some time creates a tingle in my hands," he was quoted as telling Il Giornale.

"I don't know how long the period of recovery will be," he added. "I can assure you that I've had plenty of offers from Italy, England, Germany. I'm sure they will not be lacking from here until next year."

The 55-year-old coached AC Milan from 2001 to 2009, winning the Italian league title in 2004 and two Champions League titles in 2003 and 2007.

Saj Chowdhury/BBC

Tags: A.C. Milan, Real Madrid, Misc Rumor

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England, UEFA Considering Boycott Of 2018 World Cup

May 29, 2015 12:13 PM

England and their UEFA counterparts are considering pulling out of the 2018 World Cup if Sepp Blatter is re-elected as FIFA president.

Blatter will discover if he is to stay on as FIFA president for a fifth, four-year term as Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein goes up against the Swiss when the governing body holds its voting for the role on Friday.

ESPN

Tags: World Cup

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Sherwood: Christian Benteke Should Aim Higher Than Liverpool

May 29, 2015 11:57 AM

Christian Benteke could be sold this summer due to his £32.5 million buyout clause in his contract with Aston Villa. The clause had never previously been disclosed.

Tim Sherwood told Benteke he should set his sights higher than Liverpool.

Liverpool have identified Benteke as one of the players who could help to re-establish them as a top-four club next season and Sherwood said he was powerless to do anything about a deal that was agreed before he became manager. “There’s a buyout clause in his contract so it will be impossible for us to stop him if he wants to go,” Sherwood said. “Someone’s got to meet that buyout clause and if they don’t it won’t be considered because we don’t want to lose him.”

Daniel Taylor/The Guardian

Tags: Aston Villa, Liverpool, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Arsenal Closing In On Jackson Martinez

May 29, 2015 2:09 PM

Arsenal are closing in on triggering a £24.7 million deal for Jackson Martinez of Porto.

Arsene Wenger has singled out Martinez to reinforce Arsenal's attacking force.

Arsenal have already been in talks with Porto over Martinez, but Liverpool are also interested in a player who scored 21 goals this season.

Porto president Nuno Pinto da Costa said: “He’s a player we want to keep, but we cannot stop someone paying the clause."

Tony Banks/Express

Tags: Arsenal, Liverpool, Porto, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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United, Bayern Could Swap Di Maria For Dante

May 29, 2015 12:27 PM

Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have interest in a transfer for Angel di Maria.

Di Maria started the season strong after Manchester United bought him from Real Madrid for nearly £60 million. But his form dropped following a home burglary.

United has interest in Danta, which could help the two clubs make a swap.

Ben Jefferson/Daily Express

Tags: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Porto Makes Deal For Casemiro From Real Madrid Permanent
Casemiro spent the 14-15 season on loan from Real Madrid and made 41 appearances.

Sky Sports

Real Madrid Interested In Sevilla's Monchi
Florentino Perez has long been known to be an admirer of Monchi, who has built an outstanding team on a limited budget at Sevilla.

Jose Felix Diaz/Marca.com

Mourinho: Most Important Thing For Champion Is Not To Lose Players
Jose Mourinho expects to add two or three new players to Chelsea's roster this offseason, but he's prioritizing keeping their existing key contributors.

Kevin Palmer/ESPN

Philipp Lahm Has No Regrets Rejecting Bids From United, Barça
Philipp Lahm said he was wanted at both Old Trafford and Barcelona but has no regrets about remaining in his homeland.

Richard Jolly/ESPN

Suarez's FIFA Suspension Could Be Appealed After Corruption Charges
The suspension means Luis Suarez will miss this summer's Copa America tournament in Chile, although the MUFP could appeal the sanction.

ESPN

Real Madrid Deny Reports Of Offer For Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba's future at Juventus is uncertain heading into the summer.

ESPN

Sepp Blatter Resolves To Continue With Fifth Bid For FIFA President
UEFA will instead back Blatter’s challenger, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan.

Owen Gibson/The Guardian

Sevilla Wins Europa League For 2nd Straight Season
Sevilla won the Europa League for the second straight season, beating Dnipro 3-2 in Warsaw.

Jonathan Wilson/The Guardian

Steve Gerrard Pledges Return To Liverpool In Future
Steven Gerrard has been captain of Liverpool for more than a decade.

Press Association

Ghostwriter Admits Inventing Quotes In 'I Am Zlatan'
David Lagercrantz said that rather than faithfully documenting Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s thoughts, he simply invented many of the quotes in the book.

The Guardian

Agent: Mario Balotelli Won't Leave Liverpool This Summer
Mario Balotelli scored just one Premier League goal and rarely featured for Brendan Rodgers' side.

ESPN

FIFA Officials Arrested On Corruption Charges
US authorities suspect the officials of having received of paid bribes totalling millions of dollars.

Claire Phipps/The Guardian

Ronaldinho: Coutinho Would Be Perfect Fit For Barcelona
Ronaldinho believes Coutinho has all of the qualities Barcelona looks for in a player.

Tom Webber/Goal.com

Report: Arsenal To Buy Arturo Vidal From Juve For $49M
Argentine journalist Hernan Feler reports that Juventus will sell Arturo Vidal to Arsenal for $49 million following the Copa America.

Hernan Feler/DIRECTV Sports

Valencia Sets €50M Transfer Fee For Nicolas Otamendi
Nicolas Otamendi cost Valencia just €12 million when he arrived in 2014.

Richard Jolly/ESPN

John Terry Has Interest In Eventually Going To MLS
John Terry's friend and former Chelsea teammate Frank Lampard will now join New York City FC.

PA Sport

Suarez: My Game Is About Capitalizing On Getting Ball At Right Time
Luis Suarez recently spoke about how his style fits in at Barcelona.

Ashley Birch/Squawka

Sami Khedira Agrees To Join Juventus On Free Transfer
Sami Khedira joined Real from Stuttgart in 2010, but has suffered from injuries this season and barely featured for the first team.

Marcus Christenson/The Guardian

Manchester United Targeting Karim Benzema
Arsenal would also likely bid on Karim Benzema if he becomes available with the cost approaching £40 million.

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Rafa Benitez '99 Percent' Real Madrid' Next Manager
Current Napoli and former Valencia, Liverpool and Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez is widely seen as the frontrunner.

Dermot Corrigan/ESPN