April 2018 - Soccer Wiretap

Brazil Opens As Favorites For 2022 World Cup
Brazil are 6-1 favorites, followed by France at +650 and Germany at 7-1.

ESPN

Argentina Parts Ways With Jorge Sampaoli
Jorge Sampaoli was previously manager of Chile and Sevilla.

RealGM Staff Report

France Wins 2018 World Cup With 4-2 Victory Over Croatia
France received goals from Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe.

RealGM Staff Report

Luka Modric Wins Golden Ball Of 2018 World Cup
Luka Modric beat out Eden Hazard and Antoine Griezmann to win the award for the best player of the tournament.

RealGM Staff Report

Daley Blind Leaves United For Ajax
Daley Blind will leave Manchester United for Ajax on a £14.1 million transfer.

The Guardian

Gareth Southgate Advocates For Clubs To Give Young Players More Time
Gareth Southgate advocated for clubs to give younger players more of a chance as he did with England in the World Cup.

Niall McVeigh/The Guardian

Eden Hazard Suggests He's Ready To Leave Chelsea For Real Madrid
Eden Hazard has long been linked with Real Madrid, who have lost Cristiano Ronaldo this summer.

Kristof Terreur/HLN

Liverpool Buys Xherdan Shaqiri From Stoke For $17M
Xherdan Shaqiri will give Jurgen Klopp another option in the final third.

Glenn Price/ESPN

Kylian Mbappe, Luka Modric Have Highest Ratings Of WC Finalists
The 2018 World Cup is now through the semifinals and here is how the players rank in terms of the WhoScored player rating.

RealGM Staff Report

West Ham Signs Felipe Anderson From Lazio For $44.4M
Felipe Anderson was one of Manuel Pellegrini's main targets.

Ben Fisher/The Guardian

Agent: Cristiano Ronaldo Will Finish Career With Juventus
Jorge Mendes said Cristiano Ronaldo won't make another move in his career.

ESPN

Chelsea Fires Antonio Conte, Will Hire Maurizio Sarri
Antonio Conte refused to walk away from Chelsea until the final year of his contract was paid in full.

Liam Twomey/ESPN

Croatia To Play France In World Cup Final
Ivan Perisic equalized in the 68th minute and Mario Mandzukic scored the winner in the 109th minute to give Croatia the win.

RealGM Staff Report

Dortmund Signs Achraf Hakimi On Two-Year Loan From Real Madrid
Achraf Hakimi is a 19-year-old full-back who started all three of Morocco's World Cup matches.

RealGM Staff Report

Fox, Telemundo To Lose Money With World Cup Coverage
Fox will spend some $900 million on soccer rights through the 2026 World Cup.

Joe Flint, Suzanne Vranica/Wall Street Journal

Chelsea Likely To Beat City To Sign Jorginho
Jorginho reportedly prefers a move from Napoli to London over Manchester.

Dominic Fifield/The Guardian

Manchester City Seals $79.6M Transfer For Riyad Mahrez
Leicester was previously seeking £80 million for Riyad Mahrez.

ESPN

Cristiano Ronaldo Officially Joins Juventus On $117.4M Transfer
Real Madrid bought Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 for €94 million and sold him for €100 million.

Fabrizio Romano/The Guardian

Juve President Meets With Cristiano Ronaldo In Greece
Cristiano Ronaldo's $110 million transfer from Real Madrid to Juventus nears completion.

Gabrielle Marcotti/ESPN

City Close To $79.5M Transfer With Leicester For Riyad Mahrez
Pep Guardiola turned to Riyad Mahrez last January after a deal for Alexis Sanchez fell through as he went to Manchester United.

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Jack Wilshere Agrees Upon Three-Year Deal With West Ham
Jack Wilshere left Arsenal this summer.

RealGM Staff Report

Spain To Hire Luis Enrique As Manager
Luis Enrique left Barcelona in May of 2017.

Adriana Garcia/ESPN

Paulinho Leaves Barcelona To Return To Guangzhou Evergrande
Paulinho becomes Barcelona's third major departure of the summer.

Michael Butler/The Guardian

Fernando Hierro Won't Continue As Manager Of Spain
Fernando Hierro took over as manager after Julen Lopetegui was fired on the eve of the World Cup.

The Guardian

Eden Hazard, Yerry Mina, Isco Lead World Cup In WhoScored Rating
The 2018 World Cup is now through the quarterfinals and here is how the players rank in terms of the WhoScored player rating.

WhoScored

Juventus Increasingly Confident Of Signing Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo would earn €30 million per season with Juventus.

Ed Aarons, Fabrizio Romano/The Guardian

Edinson Cavani Likely To Miss Match Against France
Edinson Cavani suffered a calf injury in the round of 16 against Portugal.

Diego Munoz/ESPN

Jack Wilshere Discussing Contract With West Ham
Jack Wilshere is leaving Arsenal this summer at the age of 26.

Jacob Steinberg/The Guardian

Cristiano Ronaldo Agrees To Contract With Juventus
Cristiano Ronaldo sees Juventus as the ideal club to enhance his reputation worldwide.

Alberto Pinero & Romeo Agresti/Goal.com

Report: Real Madrid To Accept $116M From Juve For Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has sought an exit this summer from Real Madrid due to issues with Florentino Perez.

Jugones (via ESPN)