May 2018 - Soccer Wiretap

Real Madrid Hires Julen Lopetegui As Manager
Julen Lopetegui will replace Zinedine Zidane.

ESPN

Atleti Close To $71M Transfer With Monaco For Thomas Lemar
Thomas Lemar is a 22-year-old winger, who also received interest from Arsenal amongst others.

Dermot Corrigan/ESPN

Antoine Griezmann Reveals He's Decided Future Club
Barcelona had hoped to sign Antoine Griezmann on July 1.

Dermot Corrigan/ESPN

United States Will Send Most Visiting Supporters To 2018 World Cup
871,797 tickets had been sold to fans in Russia, but 88,825 ticket sales have been recorded in the U.S.

Mark Ogden/ESPN

Harry Kane: England Will Be Aggressive, Brave In Possession
Harry Kane promises England will be aggressive as they enter the World Cup.

Dominic Fifield/The Guardian

Messi, Neymar, Griezmann Given Best Odds To Win Golden Ball
Lionel Messi enters the 2018 World Cup with the best odds to win the Golden Ball at +700.

RealGM Staff Report

PSG Pursuing Transfer For N'Golo Kante
Chelsea has interest in Tanguy Ndombele as a possible replacement.

James Nalton/Sky Sports

Real Madrid Preparing $177M Offer For Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has emerged as one of the best midfielders int he world at the age of 23.

Richard Fay/Manchester Evening News

Patrick Vieira Leaves NYCFC For Nice
Patrick Vieira had agreed to a three-year contract.

ESPN

Watford Buys Gerard Deulofeu From Barcelona For $15.4M
Gerard Deulofeu spent last season on loan with Watford.

BBC

United, Spurs $33.5M Apart On Toby Alderweireld Valuation
United hoped to sign Toby Alderweireld away from Spurs before the start of the World Cup.

Rob Dawson/ESPN

Video: FIFA World Rankings Of All 32 World Cup Teams
Germany, Brazil, Belgium, Portugal and Argentina comprise the top-five countries in the world entering the 2018 World Cup.

RealGM Staff Report

Big 6 Premier League Clubs Win Battle For More TV Money
Led by Manchester City and Liverpool, supported by Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, the six clubs have pressed the case.

David Conn/The Guardian

Cristiano Ronaldo Has Mad 'Irreversible' Decision To Leave Real Madrid
The front page of Diario Record has a photograph of Cristiano Ronaldo with the headline: "Ronaldo will leave Real - Irreversible decision."

Adrian Garcia/ESPN

City Threaten To Pivot Away From Transfer For Jorginho
Manchester City are threatening to walk away from a transfer for Jorginho unless Napoli lowers their asking price of £60 million.

Jonathan Smith/ESPN

United Buys Diogo Dalot From Porto For $25M
Diogo Dalot can play at right-back and left-back.

Rob Dawson/ESPN

USMNT's Culture Was Decimated By Jurgen Klinsmann's Tenure
The environment around the United States during the past few years could be "toxic" at times.

Andrew Helms, Matt Pentz/The Ringer

Cristiano Ronaldo On Neymar: The Best Players Are Already At Real
Cristiano Ronaldo was asked about the possibility of Neymar signing with Real Madrid and had an unenthusiastic reply showing support for his current teammates.

Tomas Roncero/As.com

Barcelona Trying To Sign Cristian Pavon Upon Messi's Recommendation
Lionel Messi has been impressed by Cristian Pavon.

As.com

United Buys Fred From Shakhtar For $64M
Fred will compete for a place in United's midfield next season with Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera and Scott McTominay.

Rob Dawson/ESPN

Stephan Lichtsteiner Signs With Arsenal On Free Transfer
Stephan Lichtsteiner becomes the first signing of Unai Emery's tenure with Arsenal.

The Guardian

Chelsea Now Optimistic On Keeping Eden Hazard
Real Madrid is unlikely to make Eden Hazard a priority this summer.

Simon Johnson/Evening Standard

Zidane Clashed With Perez Over Transfers Shortly Before Resigning
Zinedine Zidane told Perez he wanted Real Madrid to sign Eden Hazard this summer but was rebuked.

Dan King/The Sun

Loris Karius May Have Suffered Concussion In Champions League Final
Loris Karius made two major errors that led to Real Madrid goals.

Andy Hunter/The Guardian

Leroy Sane Left Off Germany's World Cup Squad
Leroy Sane was expected to make the final squad, but Julian Brandt edged him.

Stephan Uersfeld/ESPN

Yaya Toure Accuses Pep Guardiola Of Bias Against African Players
Yaya Toure has an interview to be published on Tuesday with the title, "Yaya Toure: 'I want to be the one who destroys the Guardiola myth.'"

ESPN

Morocco's 2026 Bid Deemed 'High Risk', North America Scores Well
With the World Cup expanding from 32 to 48 teams in time for the 2026 World Cup, there will be an additional demand on stadiums and facilities to host 80 matches.

Associated Press

Nigeria Sells Out Of World Cup Kits
Three million people pre-ordered replica shirts.

BBC

Mauricio Pochettino Leaves Open Possibility Of Joining Real Madrid
Mauricio Pochettino seems interested in leaving Spurs for Real Madrid if Daniel Levy allows it.

Sid Lowe/The Guardian