May 2017 - Soccer Wiretap

49 Stadiums Included In USA, Mexico, Canada 2026 World Cup Bid
The final bid will include 20-25 venues.

Tom Marshall/ESPN

Everton Buys Gylfi Sigurdsson For Club-Record $58M
Ronald Koeman had been pursuing Gylfi Sigurdsson for several weeks.

BBC

Lionel Messi Offered To Help Neymar Win Ballon d'Or To Stay With Barca
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez attempted to convince Neymar to remain with Barcelona before his transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

Ivan San Antonio/Sport

Stoke City Confirms Loan Deal With PSG For Jese Rodriguez
Jese cost Paris Saint-Germain £22 million last summer.

The Guardian

Controlling Interest Of Southampton Sold To Gao Jisheng For $272.3M
The deal ends more than 12 months of talks between the Gao family and the south coast club.

Ben Fisher/The Guardian

Spurs Pursuing $47M Transfer With Ajax For Davinson Sanchez
Davinson Sanchez is viewed as a perfect complement to Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen in Mauricio Pochettino's back three.

Ed Aarons/The Guardian

Chelsea Demands Diego Costa Return To Club
Diego Costa is believed to have been absent without leave from Chelsea since the club flew to China for a pre-season tour in the middle of July.

Paul MacInnes/The Guardian

Cristiano Ronaldo Given Five-Match Ban For Pushing Referee
Cristiano Ronaldo pushed referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea as he left the field.

Press Association

Pep Guardiola Thanks City's Owners For Improving Club
Pep Guardiola thanked the owners of Manchester City for improving their roster in the summer following their 2-0 win over Brighton.

FourFourTwo

Jurgen Klopp: Coutinho's Future Out Of My Hands
Coutinho desperately wants to leave Liverpool to join Barcelona.

Stuart James/The Guardian

Real Madrid Joins Barcelona In Pursuing Ousmane Dembele
Real Madrid has prioritized Kylian Mbappe this summer but Monaco may not sell him until 2018.

Juan Jimenez/As.com

Zinedine Zidane Signs Three-Year, $24M+ Extension With Real Madrid
Zinedine Zidane will double his salary from $5.1 million per season to more than $8 million.

Joaquin Maroto/As.com

Isco, Real Madrid Sign Four-Year Extension With $827M Release Clause
Isco was linked to a transfer to Tottenham Hotspur last summer and then Barcelona earlier this year.

Joaquin Maroto/As.com

Barcelona Buys Paulinho From Guangzhou For $47M
Paulinho spent two seasons with Tottenham Hotspur before going to China.

Daily Mail

Wenger: Olivier Giroud Passed On Opportunity To Leave Arsenal
Olivier Giroud was dropped from Arsenal's starting XI for their Premier League opener in favor of Alexandre Lacazette.

Mattias Karen/ESPN

Roma Won't Increase Bid To Leicester City For Riyad Mahrez
The Foxes have turned down a transfer offer for Riyad Mahrez that would be a record for Roma.

PA Sport

Philippe Coutinho Requests Transfer From Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp and club officials are upset with Philippe Coutinho's efforts to leave Liverpool as their season begins.

Ed Aarons, Andy Hunter/The Guardian

Diego Costa, Chelsea In Legal Battle Over Exit
Diego Costa has remained in Brazil while talks with Atletico Madrid continue.

Liam Twomey/ESPN

Jose Mourinho Confirms United Discussing Deal With Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Romelu Lukaku has already taken the No. 9 shirt with United worn last season by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Rob Dawson/ESPN

Kylian Mbappe Interested In Transfer To Paris Saint-Germain
Kylian Mbappe is interested in a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain but no deal has been reached yet and could be held off until 2018.

Jonathan Johnson/ESPN

Dortmund Rejects Barcelona's Bid For Ousmane Demebele
Ousmane Dembele was suspended by Dortmund on Thursday after failing to turn up for training.

Stephan Uersfeld/ESPN

Glazers To Sell Two Percent Of Manchester United Shares On NYSE
The stake is worth around $73.91 million.

Rob Dawson/ESPN

Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool Won't Sell Coutinho To Barcelona At Any Price
Barcelona returned with their latest bid on Wednesday after having their €80 million offer rejected last month.

The Guardian

Jose Mourinho Calls 'Game Over' On Pursuit Of Gareth Bale
Manchester United has given up on their pursuit of Gareth Bale.

As.com

United Thought Isco's Head Was Too Big For His Body At Malaga
Manchester United scouted Isco several times when he was still at Malaga before his move to Real Madrid.

Andy Mitten/ESPN

Watford Signs Andre Gray For Club-Record $24.1M
Andre Gray scored 10 goals in 36 appearances last season.

Press Association

Premier League Chief Relieved Neymar Wasn't Bought By English Club
Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore is glad Neymar didn't join his league at the type of fee Paris Saint-Germain paid.

FourFourTwo

Alexis Sanchez Could Miss Several Weeks With Abdominal Strain
Alexis Sanchez has been ruled out of Friday's Premier League opener against Leicester City.

Mattias Karen/ESPN

Dortmund Won't Consider Selling Ousmane Dembele For Under $175M
Ousmane Dembele would like a move to Barcelona but knows he may need to stay with Dortmund for another season.

Ed Aarons/The Guardian

Southampton Signs Mario Lemina For Club-Record $20.8M
Mario Lemina spent two seasons with Juventus.

Marcus Christenson/The Guardian