May 2016 - Soccer Wiretap

Pep Guardiola Would Prefer To Quit Than Change Style
Pep Guardiola has no plan of changing his style of play in the wake of Manchester City's 4-0 loss to Barcelona.

Jonathan Smith/ESPN

Marseille Hire Rudi Garcia As Manager
Marseille have started the Ligue 1 campaign slowly and currently find themselves in 12th place after nine matches.

Ian Holyman/ESPN

Ozil Waiting On Wenger's Future To Be Determined Before Extension
Mesut Ozil is reportedly waiting on assurances over the future of Arsene Wenger before committing to Arsenal long-term with an extension.

Chris Wheatley/Goal.com

Luis Suarez Hopes To Retire With Barcelona
Luis Suarez joined Barcelona in 2014 from Liverpool and has since scored 93 goals in 108 appearances.

Samuel Marsden/ESPN

Premier League Ratings Down In England By 19 Percent
The decline mirrors and even surpasses what is being experienced by the NFL where ratings are down by about 11 percent.

Matt Bonesteel/Washington Post

United Planning To Pursue Antoine Griezmann In Summer
Manchester United are prepared to break the world transfer record again next summer in pursuit of Antoine Griezmann.

The Mirror

Chelsea Interested In Alessio Romagnoli, Pepe
Chelsea has been linked with another £49 million offer to AC Milan for Alessio Romagnoli.

Jack Rathborn/ESPN

Robin Van Persie Believes Ferguson's Retirement Led To United Exit
Robin Van Persie struggled under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.

Press Association

Jose Mourinho: United Has No 'Untouchables'
Jose Mourinho previously said in December of 2006 that Chelsea had nine players who were undroppable.

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Zinedine Zidane Pushing For Real Madrid To Hire Sporting Director
Florentino Perez is currently seen as the de facto sporting director of Real Madrid.

As.com

Jose Mourinho Claims 35 Percent Possession At Liverpool Stat Incorrect
Manchester United had just 35 percent of the possession in their 0-0 draw on Monday at Liverpool, which is the lowest figure for the club since 2003 when it began to be reported.

As.com

Luka Modric Signs Extension With Real Madrid Through 2020
Luka Modric recently turned 31 years old.

As.com

Gerard Pique Not Surprised By Barcelona Players Linked To City
Pep Guardiola managed Barcelona for four seasons and is in his first season with City after three with Bayern Munich.

Samuel Marsden/ESPN

Mesut Ozil Seeking Substantial Raise In Extension Talks With Arsenal
Mesut Ozil earns a reported basic wage of £140,000 per week.

David Hytner/The Guardian

Dortmund Rules Out Bringing Back Henrikh Mkhitaryan In Future
Nuri Sahin, Shinji Kagawa and Mario Gotze have returned to Dortmund in recent years.

Stephan Uersfeld/ESPN

Neymar To Finally Sign Barcelona Extension
Neymar's new net salary will be €16 million per season, below the totals earned annually by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Samuel Mardsen/ESPN

Gareth Bale Seeks Equal Compensation As Cristiano Ronaldo
Gareth Bale is currently earning €580,000 per week before tax compared to Cristiano Ronaldo's €830,000 per week.

As.com

Alex Ferguson Pushed Cristiano Ronaldo To Join Barca Instead Of Madrid
When Cristiano Ronaldo insisted on leaving Manchester United for Spain, Alex Ferguson tried to get Barcelona involved in the bidding process to compete with Real Madrid.

Guillem Balague/AS.com

Son Heung-Min Named EPL Player Of The Month
Son Heung-Min scored four goals last month to help unbeaten Tottenham to their current position of second in the table.

ESPN

North America Now Considered Leading Candidate For 2026 World Cup
FIFA has targeted 2020 for its member federations to choose the 2026 host.

Associated Press

Source Denies Antonio Conte Could Soon Be Fired By Chelsea
Roman Abramovich was a regular visitor to Cobham training centre in the week after losses to Liverpool and Arsenal.

Liam Twomey/ESPN

Decision To Expand World Cup To 48 Teams To Be Decided In January
Gianni Infantino pledged during his campaign for the presidency to expand the World Cup to 40 nations, but he suggested in a speech in Colombia this month that the number rise to 48.

Rory Smith/New York Times

Spurs To Again Pursue Move For Isco
A loan deal in January that includes the option of a permanent deal next summer is a possible scenario for Isco to join Tottenham.

Dan Kilpatrick/ESPN

Chelsea Signs $73M Annual Deal With Nike Through 2032
Adidas and Chelsea announced in May they would be parting ways.

Ed Aarons/The Guardian

Lionel Messi Set For Return From Groin Injury
Lionel Messi has been sidelined since injuring his groin for a second time this season in the 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid last month.

Samuel Marsden/ESPN

La Liga Sets Clasico Start Time To Rival EPL In Far East TV Market
La Liga has scheduled the first Clasico of 16-17 between Real Madrid and Barcelona on Dec. 3rd for 4:15 CET to compete directly against the Premier League in the Far East television market.

Adriana Garcia/ESPN

Toni Kroos Doubles Real Madrid Salary To $22M Per Year With Extension
Toni Kroos has signed a new two-year extension with Real Madrid through June of 2022.

Dermot Corrigan/ESPN

Aston Villa Replaces Roberto Di Matteo With Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce said on Sunday that managing Villa would be a “terrific job” and was quietly confident he would land the position.

Stuart James/The Guardian

Michael Bradley To Discuss Future With Toronto FC After Season
Michael Bradley has been linked with a return back to Serie A.

ESPN

Wayne Rooney Has No Plans To Quit England
Jordan Henderson will take over the captaincy for England’s latest World Cup qualifier but Wayne Rooney maintains that he can still return.

Daniel Taylor/The Guardian