May 2016 - Soccer Wiretap

Arsenal Close To Finishing £25M Transfer For Granit Xhaka
Ottmar Hitzfeld has compared Granit Xhaka to Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Dominic Fifield/The Guardian

Christian Benteke To Hold Talks With Klopp About Future With Liverpool
The general consensus is Christian Benteke does not suit Jurgen Klopp's high-energy, high-pressing style.

Sachin Nakrani/The Guardian

Tony Xia Hopes To Make Aston Villa Into Top-6 Club In Under Five Years
Dr. Tony Xia bought Aston Villa this week from Randy Lerner for £60 million.

The Guardian, BBC Reports

Dortmund Postpone Extension Talks With Ilkay Gundogan
Ilkay Gundogan could be out until October after dislocating his kneecap.

Stephan Uersfeld/ESPN

Leicester Hope To Sign 3-4 Players Who Fit Club Mentality
Leicester will take part in the International Champions Cup tournament this summer and will face the FA Cup winners in the Community Shield before beginning their Premier League title defense and comp

ESPN

La Liga Clubs Have Won 46 Of Past 50 European Ties
La Liga teams have now secured 46 wins from their last 50 European ties against non-Spanish clubs.

Dermot Corrigan/ESPN

Sevilla Wins Third Straight Europa League Title, Beats Liverpool 3-1
Sevilla have won their third straight Europa League title with a 3-1 win over Liverpool.

RealGM Staff Report

Isco: Zidane Has Injected Morale For Real Madrid
Zinedine Zidane helped convince Isco to join Real Madrid instead of Manchester City in 2013.

Sam Morshead/Daily Mail

Wayne Rooney Expects To Play In Midfield For United Next Season
Wayne Rooney has suggested several times that he is likely to move into a deeper role in the final years of his career.

ESPN

James Rodriguez Prefers Move To United If Sold By Real Madrid
Zinedine Zidane likes James Rodriguez as a player but there isn't a place for him in their 4-3-3.

Miguel Delaney/ESPN

Chelsea Agrees Upon £60M Per Year Deal With Nike
Chelsea's deal is worth twice as much as Arsenal's £30 million deal with Puma.

David Pasztor/SB Nation

Barcelona, Nike Close To 10-Year, €1 Billion Contract Extension
At €100 million per season, Barcelona's Nike deal would outpace Manchester United's €96 million per year deal with Adidas.

Renato Goncalves/Barca Blaugranes

Saul Agrees Upon Extension With Atletico Madrid
Saul received interest from several other clubs.

FourFourTwo

John Terry Signs One-Year Deal To Stay With Chelsea
John Terry first joined Chelsea at the age of 14 and it looked like his career with the club was coming to an end this season.

Ed Aarons/The Guardian

Spurs Only Club In EPL To Make Profit From Transfers
While Spurs made a profit and Manchester City had the biggest net spend, eight of the 10 bottom-half side spent more than Arsenal.

Simon Burnton/The Guardian

Giovani Dos Santos Declines Mexico's Invitation For Copa America
Giovani Dos Santos hasn't played for Mexico since last summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Tom Marshall/ESPN

Monchi Explains How Sevilla Consistently Wins Transfers
Sevilla bought one combined group of players for €25 million and sold them for around €170 million.

Sid Lowe/The Guardian

David De Gea To Seek United Transfer If Louis Van Gaal Retained
Jose Mourinho, who is represented by David De Gea's agent Jorge Mendes, reportedly has a pre-contract agreement with United.

Ed Aarons/The Guardian

Spain Leaves Costa, Mata, Torres, Cazorla Off 25-Man Roster
Vicente Del Bosque has offered call-ups to Atletico Madrid's Saul Niguez and Real Madrid's Lucas Vazquez.

Dermot Corrigan/ESPN

Agent: Zlatan Ibrahimovic Hasn't Been Offered Contract By United
Zlatan Ibrahimovic already claims to know where he will play next.

ESPN

Jozy Altidore To Miss Copa America With Hamstring Injury
Jozy Altidore, who has yet to score for Toronto FC in this season, was hurt while taking a penalty that was saved.

ESPN

Carlo Ancelotti: Gareth Bale's Agent Asked Perez To Change Position
Carlo Ancelotti was fired by Real Madrid at the end of the 14-15 season.

Stefan Coerts/Goal.com

Marco Verratti Undergoes Surgery On Groin
Marco Verratti had been troubled by the injury for several months.

AS.com

Philadelphia Places 'Strategic' Discovery Claim On Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Philadelphia isn't a realistic spot for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and their ownership is unlikely to offer him an eight-figure salary.

Doug McIntryre/ESPN

Neymar Admits 15-16 Wasn't His Best Season
Neymar had a great run early in the season when Lionel Messi was out of the lineup due to injury.

ESPN

Mikel Arteta Announces Retirement, Likely To Go Into Coaching
Mikel Arteta has had significant injury issues during his time with Arsenal.

David Hytner/The Guardian

Antonio Conte Cleared Of Wrongdoing In Match-Fixing Scandal
Antonio Conte will manage Italy in Euro 2016 and then join Chelsea in the summer.

The Guardian

Antoine Griezmann Won't Leave Atleti For Real Madrid
Antoine Griezmann has no interest in leaving Atletico Madrid for Real Madrid, even if he's recruited by French legend Zinedine Zidane.

Dom Farrell/Goaal.com

Rayo Vallecano, Getafe Relegated From La Liga
Rayo finished one point behind Sporting in 18th.

Nicholas McGee/Goal.com

Bobby Wood Joins Hamburg On Four-Year Contract
Bobby Wood, 23, scored 17 goals in 30 matches in Germany's second tier.

ESPN