May 2016 - Soccer Wiretap

FIFA Admits To World Cup Hosting Bribes
FIFA seeks a big share in restitution from more than $190 million already forfeited by soccer and marketing officials who pleaded guilty in the sprawling corruption case.

Associated Press

David Alaba Didn't Know He Could Become Central Defender
David Alaba, still just 23, has perhaps become Bayern Munich's most indispensable player.

Raphael Honigstein/The Guardian

Arsenal Board Continues To Support Arsene Wenger
Sources close to Arsene Wenger say he may step down if the negative atmosphere around the Emirates gets worse.

Mattias Karen/ESPN

Timbers Trade For Darren Mattocks, Extend Fanendo Adi
Darren Mattocks is a former No. 2 overall pick who scored three goals in 22 league appearances (nine starts) for Vancouver last season.

ESPN

Diego Costa Considering Return To Atleti
Diego Costa joined Chelsea from Atleti in the summer of 2014.

ESPN

Yaya Toure Interested In Remaining In EPL If He Leaves City
Yaya Touré has a year left on his contract and would be content to play under Pep Guardiola, who managed him at Barcelona.

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Rennes Rejects €35M Offer From Barcelona For Ousmane Dembele
Ousmane Dembele has become one of Ligue 1's best prospects to emerge in some time.

AS.com

Liverpool, City Monitoring Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Arsenal are planning to begin talks over a new contract with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is entering the final two years of his current deal, and are determined to keep him.

Peter O'Rourke/ESPN

Real Madrid To Pursue Transfer For N'Golo Kante
N'Golo Kante turns 25 this month and was acquired by Leicester from Caen €8 million.

Fichajes.net

Jose Mourinho Claims To Have Had 'Good Options' Since Dismissal
Jose Mourinho has been most strongly linked to Manchester United.

Chris Davie/Goal.com

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Confirms He'll Leave PSG In Summer
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's contract expires at the end of the season and he also said he would stay "if they replace the Eiffel Tower with a statue of me."

ESPN

Dortmund Insists Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Not For Sale
Reports in Spain have claimed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has signed a pre-contract deal with Real Madrid, with Dortmund expected to demand a transfer fee of €100 million.

Ed Aarons/The Guardian

Claudio Ranieri Warns Players About Leaving Leicester
Claudio Ranieri said his players could end up "carrying the bags" at another club if they are tempted to leave in the summer.

Ed Aarons/The Guardian

Zidane: Too Early To Think About Pursuing David De Gea Again
Real Madrid and Manchester United had a transfer of David De Gea in place last August but were unable to get a deal done in time.

Dermot Corrigan/ESPN

Hiddink: Eden Hazard Can Recapture Form With Chelsea
Guus Hiddink believes Eden Hazard can recapture his form with Chelsea and believes the issues are psychological.

Dominic Fifield/The Guardian

Antoine Griezmann Has No Plans Of Leaving Atletico Madrid
Antoine Griezmann's current deal runs until 2020 and includes an €80 million release clause.

ESPN

Timbers Sign GM Gavin Wilkinson To Long-Term Deal
Gavin Wilkinson joined the Timbers in 2001 as a player when the team was with USL's A-League.

AP

Louis Van Gaal Insists Three-Year Plan Working
Louis Van Gaal was surprised by his side's display against Liverpool.

Paul Wilson/The Guardian

Rafa Benitez Named Newcastle United Manager On Three-Year Deal
Newcastle United is battling to prevent relegation.

The Guardian

Thierry Henry Completes Uefa A License
The A licence means Thierry Henry can now manage in the professional game below Premier League level or at an academy.

Press Association

Sergio Aguero To Leave City In 2019 When Contract Expires
Sergio Aguero will return to Independiente when his City contract ends.

The Guardian

Antonio Conte Building Backroom Staff With Chelsea
Antonio Conte has yet to meet Roman Abramovich in person and expects to do so within the next week.

Fabrizio Romano, Marcus Christenson/The Guardian

Barcelona Confident Of Signing Neymar To Extension
Barcelona sporting director Robert Fernandez is confident Neymar will extend his contract with the club.

Peter McVitie/Goal.com

Louis Van Gaal: United Dominance In The Past
United was eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage.

FourFourTwo

Newcastle Confident Of Deal With Rafa Benitez
Newcastle are unwilling to dismiss Steve McClaren until they are confident of announcing a replacement.

Louise Taylor/The Guardian

Real Sociedad Investigating Training Absence Of Carlos Vela
Spanish media reports say Carlos Vela skipped training to attend a Chris Brown concert in Madrid.

ESPN

Arsenal Holds Players Only Meeting Before Hull City Win
Per Mertesacker, Petr Cech, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky called the meeting.

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Barcelona Selects Architects For Camp Nou Renovation (Picture)
Work is scheduled to start in the 2017-18 season and to be completed during the 2021-22 season.

Dermot Corrigan/ESPN

Brazil Prefers Neymar To Play In Olympics Over Copa America
Barcelona are not obliged to release players for the Olympic tournament, where only three players above the age of 23 can play in each squad.

AP

Wenger On Mertesacker: Not Serious, Just A Little Concussion
Arsene Wenger dismissed the seriousness of a head injury suffered by Per Mertesacker.

BT Sport