May 2015 - Soccer Wiretap

FIFA Announces 23-Man Ballon d'Or Short List
Barcelona (6), Bayern Munich (5) and Real Madrid (4) represent 65 percent of players on the list.

RealGM Staff Report

Mourinho: I'm A Lonely Guy In This Modern World Of Football
Jose Mourinho had an interview speaking about the issues he's facing during a slump in Chelsea's play of late.

Michael Walker/Daily Mail

Guardiola: Wenger Is Almost Everything For Arsenal
Pep Guardiola remains in awe of Arsene Wenger, admiring how he's become the integral figure of Arsenal since taking over the club in 1996.

FourFourTwo

Yaya Toure 'Sickened' By Media Treatment
Yaya Toure doesn't want his sons to play soccer due to how he feels he's been treated by the media.

Michael Butler/The Guardian

Marotta: Paul Pogba Is The Heritage Of Juventus
Paul Pogba is one of the world's most sought after players and Juventus managed to keep him through the summer transfer window.

Press Association

Carlo Ancelotti Wasn't Contacted By Liverpool
Carlo Ancelotti has interest in returning to the Premier League when his sabbatical ends.

Neil Jones/Liverpool Echo

Neymar: Barcelona Fans Can 'Relax' About Future With Club
Neymar has three years remaining on his contract with Barcelona.

ESPN

Juventus Rejected Offer From Liverpool For Claudio Marchisio
Claudio Marchisio signed a five-year contract in July to remain with Juventus until June 2020.

Press Association

Germany Denies Bribing Officials To Host 2006 World Cup
The DFB said on Friday its own investigation had found no wrongdoing in the process of being awarded the 2006 World Cup.

Reuters

Thomas Muller: United Transfer 'Not Up For Discussion'
Thomas Muller has been linked to a move to United ever since Louis van Gaal became manager in 2014.

ESPN

Jose Mourinho Confident Chelsea Won't Fire Him
Jose Mourinho believes his job as manager of Chelsea is completely safe even if the club finishes mid-table outside the Champions League.

Dominic Fifield/The Guardian

Gerard Deulofeu: Everton Not So English, We Could Play In Spain
Roberto Martinez "pestered" Barcelona for a loan of Gerard Deulofeu in 2013.

Sid Lowe/The Guardian

City Consulting With Supporters On Badge Redesign
City have had three major badges since the 1930s and adopted their current crest in 1997.

PA Sport (via World Soccer Talk)

Gladbach Manager: Fabian Johnson Acted Responsibly
Gladbach manager André Schubert defended Fabian Johnson against accusations from Jurgen Klinsmann that he showed a lack of commitment in asking to be substituted during USA's loss to Mexico.

SBI Soccer

Santos Seeks Six-Month Ban For Neymar
Santos are seeking the six-month ban and €55 million in damages, alleging that Neymar did not keep the conditions of a transfer.

ESPN

Alexis Sanchez Dismisses Links To Real Madrid
Alexis Sanchez joined Arsenal in 2014 from Barcelona.

ESPN

Victor Valdes To Leave United In January
Victor Valdes had a falling out with Louis van Gaal in July before a proposed move to Besiktas fell apart.

BBC

David Villa Could Return To Barcelona On Loan
David Villa most recently played in La Liga for Atletico Madrid.

Sport

City Record First Profit Under Sheikh Mansour
Manchester City have announced a £10.7 million profit as its chairman believes they are now a "self-sustainable club."

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

United States To Rotate Tim Howard, Brad Guzan At Keeper
Tim Howard was in goal for the United States against Costa Rica.

Doug McIntryre/ESPN

Belgium Goes To No. 1 In New FIFA World Rankings
Belgium were as low as 66th in the ranking in 2009.

Dale Johnson/ESPN

Mexico, USA CONCACAF Match Drew 7M Viewers In United States
Fox Sports 1 had 1.6 million viewers, while Univision and Univision Deportes drew 5.1 million.

Ryan Rosenblatt/Stars And Stripes

Fabian Johnson Diagnosed With Thigh Injury
Jurgen Klinsmann could have kept the issue in house, but he instead make it a very public issue with his remarks to the media.

Ryan Rosenblatt/Stars And Stripes

Djibril Cisse Arrested Over Mathieu Valbuena Sex Tape Blackmail
Mathieu Valbuena and Djibril Cisse played together at Marseille between 2006 and 2009 and were also part of the French squad for the 2010 World Cup.

Mark Rodden/ESPN

David De Gea Doesn't Deny Contract Has Release Clause
David De Gea agreed upon a new four-year deal with United that runs until June 2019, but it could have an affordable release clause for Real Madrid to trigger.

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Barcelona Has Long-Term Interest In Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang won't be pursued during the January transfer window as there are pressing needs, but he's considered a viable long-term option to give Barcelona speed in attack.

Renato Goncalves/Barca Blaugranes

Fabian Johnson Sent Home By Klinsmann
Jurgen Klinsmann was unhappy that Fabian Johnson removed himself in extra time of Saturday's 3-2 defeat to Mexico.

ESPN

Carlo Ancelotti Wants To Manage In Premier League
Carlo Ancelotti will be ready to manage again in January.

The Guardian

United Signs Headwear Deal With New Era
With the agreement, United becomes the first soccer team with an official deal in the space.

Footy Headlines

Memphis, Van Persie Have Confrontation On Training Ground
Memphis Depay and Robin van Persie had a confrontation on the training ground before Holland's win over Kazakhstan.

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian