March 2016 - Soccer Wiretap

Victor Valdes Returns To United From Loan Deal With Liege

Apr 30, 2016 11:08 PM

Victor Valdes' loan with Standard Liege has been cut short and he's returned to Manchester United.

Valdes has made just two Premier League appearances for United.

A statement published on standard.be, which also confirmed the early departure of Giannis Maniatis, read: “As we decided to give more playing time to the youth players at the end of the season and because they couldn’t be selected for medical reasons, the Spanish goalkeeper and the Greek midfielder have decided, in agreement with the club, to finish their loans at the end of this week.

“Standard Liège want to thank Giannis and Víctor for everything they did for our club, especially during the successful campaign on the way to winning the Belgian Cup. We also wish them the best in the rest of their professional careers.”

The Guardian

Tags: Manchester United, Loan

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Atleti Wins Despite Only Starting Four Players From Bayern Match

Apr 30, 2016 5:07 PM

Atlético Madrid beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 despite beginning the match with only four players from the starting lineup that defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal on Wednesday.

Antoine Griezmann didn't start but came on and scored almost immediately.

Atleti briefly moved to the top of La Liga on 85 points with the win.

The Guardian

Tags: Atletico Madrid

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Daniel Sturridge Not Ruling Out Leaving Liverpool

Apr 30, 2016 1:33 PM

Daniel Sturridge said he cannot rule out leaving Liverpool in the future.

Sturridge signed for Liverpool from Chelsea in 2013 and he has since scored 43 Premier League goals from 67 appearances. Sturridge has been limited by recurring injuries.

Asked about his future, Sturridge told the Daily Mirror: "There are things I want to achieve with Liverpool. [But] I would never say I am Liverpool until I die, because I would be lying.

"I think any player who says, 'Oh yeah, this is the only team I will play for, for the rest of my life,' they are deluded. In football, every team looks for replacements every single year.

"So for myself all I can do every weekend is go out there, perform as well as I can, perform to the best of my abilities, and then come the end of the season hopefully have the European Championship to look forward to ... and to next year."

ESPN

Tags: Liverpool, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Arsene Wenger Touts His Loyalty In Rejecting Real Madrid, City, Barca

May 1, 2016 10:59 AM

Amid a protest from supporters, Arsene Wenger talked about his own loyalty to Arsenal.

Wenger said he rejected offers from several elite clubs while Arsenal went through their period of servicing debt due to the construction of the Emirates Stadium.

“When we built the stadium the banks demanded I signed for five years,” he said. “I did it. Do you want me to tell you how many clubs I turned down during that period? I have shown I am committed.”

Wenger rejected Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City.

“The banks wanted the technical consistency to guarantee we had a chance to pay back [the loan],” he said. “I did commit and I stayed, under very difficult circumstances. So for me to find [his critics] are reproaching me for not winning the championship during that period I think is a bit overboard. I accept criticism but I think that it is a bit too far.

“When we built the stadium, we knew we’d have five to seven difficult financial years where we had to pay the money back: we had to be three years in the Champions League out of five and have an average of 54,000 people [to meet costs], and we didn’t know we would be capable of that. We had to sell our best players every year to survive but we didn’t do three years out of five in the Champions League. We did five out of five. Now the club is in a stronger position and we can compete again with our main opponents.”

Dominic Fifield/The Guardian

Tags: Arsenal

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Mauricio Pochettino Agrees To Extension With Spurs Through 2021

Apr 30, 2016 1:32 PM

Mauricio Pochettino has agreed upon a contract extension with Tottenham Hotspur until 2021.

Pochettino has three years remaining on his current deal but revealed on Friday that he has verbally agreed a two-year extension and says he will sign in the coming days.

Pochettino has helped guide Spurs during his first two seasons with the club into a force in the Premier League.

Dan Kilpatrick/ESPN

Tags: Tottenham Hotspur, Misc Rumor

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Mauricio Pochettino Admits Dreaming Of Managing PSG

Apr 29, 2016 10:41 AM

Mauricio Pochettino has admitted a return to former club Paris Saint-Germain as manager “is part of my dreams.”

Pochettino spent two years in the French capital between 2001 and 2003, making more than 70 appearances.

Pochettino began his managing his career with Espanyol before moving to Southampton in 2012. Pochettino has Tottenham Hotspur near the top of the EPL in his second season with the club.

“I’ve always said that I would be pleased to join a great club like PSG,” Pochettino, has three years remaining on his Tottenham contract, told French radio station RMC.

“Come to Paris? I hope so. It is true that it would please me. It’s part of my dreams. I try to watch all their matches, especially in the Champions League.

“The [French] championship is not very attractive because PSG is far from the other teams but I look a lot because it is a major source of players. There is talent so I have to follow Ligue 1.”

The Guardian

Tags: Paris Saint-Germain, Tottenham Hotspur, Misc Rumor

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Marouane Fellaini Could Join Roma

Apr 27, 2016 8:42 AM

Marouane Fellaini's agent has said that a move to Roma would be "a possibility to consider."

Fellaini was seen watching Roma play Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico on Monday and Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Roma were interested in signing him.

"He was probably there on holiday," Fellaini's agent Luciano D'Onofrio told Tuttomercatoweb. "For the moment I have no other news. So far I've had no contact with Roma for him.

"Would that move be welcomed? Yes, Roma is a possibility to consider."


ESPN

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

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Bayern Discussing Mats Hummels Deal With Dortmund

Apr 28, 2016 9:04 AM

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are in talks about a transfer of Mats Hummels.

In recent years, both Mario Götze and Robert Lewandowski have left Dortmund for Bayern.

Central defense has been an issue this season for Bayern due to injuries.

On Monday night the Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said that “if Hummels leaves it will be to join Bayern Munich” and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, as Bayern were preparing to fly to Madrid for their Champions League semi-final against Atlético Madrid, said: “I can pretty much confirm what Mr Watzke said last night and that is that Mats is talking to Bayern.

“But these are talks between three parties and please understand that I cannot go into more detail at this moment. We have to respect that he is under contract at the moment [until 2017] and I don’t want to ruin the good relationship we have built up [with Dortmund] with some comments today.”

Marcus Christenson/The Guardian

Tags: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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Riyad Mahrez Not Interested In Move To PSG

Apr 26, 2016 8:24 AM

Riyad Mahrez insists he's happy in England and is not interested in a return to France, this time with Paris Saint-Germain.

Mahrez joined Leicester City from Le Havre.

"I'm not saying it's impossible. But I really didn't like it. I don't want to return to France.

"France doesn't tempt me at all, I like England."

Mahrez added: "PSG has become a very big club. They have strong players and the club is currently building a big project. I loved Marseille when I was a boy. Even today, Paris doesn't make me dream too. this is my town, but I don't see myself returning."

Goal.com

Tags: Leicester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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United Moving Closer To £46M Signing Of Renato Sanches

Apr 27, 2016 8:31 AM

Manchester United are moving closer to a £46 million transfer with Benfica for Renato Sanches.

Sanches is an 18-year-old central midfielder who broke into the club last fall.

Arsenal, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Manchester City are all also interested in Sanches but United believe they are in the best position to sign him.

Alex Ferguson has recommended the signing for United.

Fabrizio Romano, Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

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

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Dele Alli Named PFA Young Player Of The Year
Dele Alli scored 10 goals to go with nine assists after arriving to Tottenham Hotspur from MK Dons last summer.

Pro Soccer Talk

Riyad Mahrez Named PFA Player Of The Year
Riyad Mahrez has scored 17 goals with 11 assists for Leicester City.

Pro Soccer Talk

Mamadou Sakho Fails Drug Test
Mamadou Sakho is under investigation by Uefa for failing a drugs test after the Europa League tie at Manchester United last month.

Andy Hunter/The Guardian

Cristiano Ronaldo May Miss First Leg Of UCL Semi Against City
Cristiano Ronaldo is missing his first La Liga match of the season.

Press Association

Zidane: James Wants To Play More Like Anyone Else
James Rodriguez has been in and out of Zinedine Zidane's lineup and has missed a run of key matches for Real Madrid as they field a more defensive side.

FourFourTwo

Roberto Martinez Not Thinking About His Future With Everton
Roberto Martinez is not thinking about the future of his position as Everton manager.

Andy Hunter/The Guardian

United Paid £10M In Agent Fees During Winter
Contract negotiations involving David De Gea and other players have contributed to the figure.

James Riach/The Guardian

Claudio Ranieri Finally Admits Leicester Can Win EPL
Leicester has qualified for the group stage of the Champions League and own a lead over Spurs.

Stuart James/The Guardian

Divock Origi Expected To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Ankle Ligament Injury
Divock Origi scored his 10th goal of the season in Wednesday's defeat of Everton.

Andy Hunter/The Guardian

Chelsea To Again Pursue John Stones
John Stones was close to joining Chelsea from Barnsley in January of 2013 but he opted instead to move to Everton for £3 million.

Dominic Fifield/The Guardian

Manuel Neuer Agrees To New Five-Year Deal With Bayern
Manuel Neuer's previous deal was set to expire in the summer of 2019.

Press Association

Leicester, Spurs Headline PFA Premier League Team Of Year
Spurs are represented by Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Danny Rose and Toby Alderweireld.

ESPN

Mats Hummels Losing Sleep Over Possible Transfer
Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester United and Liverpool have been linked with Mats Hummels.

Press Association

Cristiano Ronaldo Downplays Severity Of Right Leg Muscle Injury
Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted and limped off with the field with the injury.

The Guardian

Neymar To Skip Copa America, Play For Brazil In Olympics
The Brazilian Football Confederation had been lobbying for Neymar to play in the Copa America and the Olympics.

ESPN

City Want To Move Forward With Signing Aymeric Laporte Despite Injury
Pep Guardiola has identified Aymeric Laporte among the players he wants to bring in this summer.

Daniel Taylor/The Guardian

Barcelona Scores Eight Goals To End La Liga Losing Streak
Luis Suarez scored four goals and assisted on three.

Reuters

Barcelona Not Considering Sale Of Neymar
With Barcelona in a slump, there has been renewed talk in the media of a potential sale of Neymar.

Dermot Corrigan/ESPN

Arsenal Confident Of Signing Gladbach's Granit Xhaka
Granit Xhaka will help Arsenal at defensive midfielder.

Peter O'Rourke/ESPN

Jose Mourinho Continues To Want United Job Despite Links To PSG
Jose Mourinho would only consider a move to another club if the Old Trafford job was 100 percent off the table.

Miguel Delaney/ESPN