Soccer Wiretap

Middlesbrough is finalizing a deal to sign U.S. national team midfielder Sebastian Berhalter from the Vancouver Whitecaps. Boro will pay a fee of roughly $2 million for Berhalter, who is out of contract this winter, rather than risk losing him for free.

Sources said between six and 10 clubs seriously pursued Berhalter this summer before Middlesbrough emerged as the frontrunner. He was held out of Vancouver's 4-3 loss to FC Cincinnati on Wednesday as the deal progressed.

Berhalter, 25, featured for the United States at this summer's World Cup, appearing in all five American matches with one start. He scored a powerful strike against Turkey in the group stage and added an assist during the tournament. He earned MLS Best XI honors in 2025 and has continued performing at a high level this season, earning All-Star recognition.

Berhalter posted five goals and 13 assists across all competitions last season from a box-to-box midfield role, helping lead Vancouver to the Canadian Championship title while also guiding the club to both the MLS Cup final and the Concacaf Champions Cup final.

The son of former USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter, Sebastian made his national team debut under Mauricio Pochettino in the summer of 2025 and earned a spot on this year's World Cup roster. He has since made 18 appearances for the national team.

Berhalter will join fellow American midfielder Aidan Morris at Middlesbrough. The two are close friends and former youth teammates from their time together at the Columbus Crew. Boro has been active in the American transfer market this offseason, also signing former Charlotte FC defender Adilson Malanda after a previous bid for Crew wingback Max Arfsten was rejected last year.

Berhalter's development has been one of MLS's more notable success stories in recent years. Vancouver originally acquired him for a nominal fee of $50,000 in general allocation money in 2022, the smallest denomination tradable under the league's salary cap mechanism. He has since grown into one of MLS's top midfielders and a full World Cup participant, and is now set to make his move to the English Championship.

Italian Football Federation technical director Paolo Maldini confirmed the organization has held talks with both Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti regarding the national team's vacant head coach position. Maldini addressed the situation Thursday following an FIGC visit to Serie A headquarters.

The vacancy opened after Gennaro Gattuso left the role in April following Italy's failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. FIGC president Giovanni Malago confirmed earlier this week that the federation had approached Guardiola, but Maldini revealed Thursday that Ancelotti, Brazil's current head coach, was also contacted as part of the search.

"Guardiola? We can't confirm anything yet, you've identified one of our targets, but we've also spoken with Ancelotti," said Maldini. "It seemed right to start with the best in the world, but we need to verify their overall availability."

Maldini, appointed technical director this month, described Italy's approach as beginning with the sport's most accomplished coaches before narrowing the search based on their availability. He did not disclose how those conversations have progressed.

"I feel a great sense of responsibility and pressure; there's an ambitious project here," said Maldini. "It's a call to arms, when Italy calls, it's hard to say no. I wasn't aware of the initial challenges, but I sensed the potential to make a difference and everyone's willingness to be part of the renewal. That was a key factor in my decision, as was President Malago's persuasive ability."

Ancelotti, 67, has managed Brazil since May 2025 and led the team to the round of 16 at this year's World Cup before elimination by Norway. He signed a new four-year contract with Brazil before the tournament, running through 2030. Ancelotti has won the Champions League a record five times across his club career, most recently with Real Madrid in 2024.

Guardiola left Manchester City at the end of the 2025-26 season after a decade with the club, winning six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups and the 2023 Champions League. He was succeeded at City by former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.

Italy's coaching search follows a turbulent period for the federation. Gattuso and former FIGC president Gabriele Gravina both departed after Italy's playoff elimination to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties, while former captain Gianluigi Buffon also left his role as head of delegation. The failure marked Italy's third consecutive missed World Cup, extending a stretch in which the three-time champions have not advanced past the group stage since their 2006 title, aside from winning Euro 2020 under Roberto Mancini.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri will undergo surgery for a back injury, though a timeline for his return remains uncertain. The Spain captain won the Golden Ball at this summer's World Cup after leading his country to its first title since 2010, starting all eight matches at the tournament.

Rodri's future at City remains unresolved, with just one year left on his contract. Talks between the club and the 30-year-old are expected with the World Cup now over, though sources indicate he has shown little willingness to commit to an extension so far.

Rodri has been repeatedly linked with a move to Real Madrid and has previously expressed a desire to return to Spain at some point in his career, though sources told The Athletic that Madrid currently has no plans to pursue him.

The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner has struggled with injuries since rupturing his ACL in September 2024, an injury that sidelined him for nearly all of the 2024-25 season. Fitness issues continued into last season, with hamstring and groin problems limiting him to 33 total appearances and just 17 Premier League starts.

Rodri was central to City's treble-winning campaign in 2022-23, scoring the winning goal in the Champions League final against Inter Milan while making 56 appearances across all competitions that season, a year that also included Premier League and FA Cup titles.

City has already taken steps to offset Rodri's continued absence, signing Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest this summer in a $155.4 million deal. The Athletic also reported July 21 that Mateo Kovacic and Nico Gonzalez are considered likely departures, while Bernardo Silva has already left the club following the expiration of his contract as he will join Real Madrid.

Arsenal confirmed that defender William Saliba will not require surgery for a back injury sustained during the World Cup, though the 25-year-old faces an extended period on the sidelines. Saliba was substituted after 30 minutes of France's 2-0 semifinal loss to Spain, having started all but one of France's matches at the tournament.

Saliba went down in what appeared to be a routine moment, kicking the ball out of play and immediately calling for medical attention. Arsenal addressed the injury in a club statement.

"William Saliba has returned to us from World Cup duty," Arsenal said. "Subsequent specialist reviews on William's return to London this week have confirmed that he has suffered a back injury which will require a period of rehabilitation. Extensive assessments have concluded that surgery is not recommended, but William should now commence a managed recovery programme. William's rehabilitation will commence immediately, with continual management of his injury, and he is expected to be out of action for an extended period. Everyone is fully focused on supporting William to ensure he is back to full fitness as soon as possible."

Saliba made 50 appearances for Arsenal last season, ranking third among the club's outfield players in total minutes played. He had been managing back discomfort even before the tournament began, addressing the issue publicly ahead of France's group match against Iraq.

"I've had some minor niggles for several months," said Saliba. "I've been gritting my teeth because there was the Champions League and the Premier League. But the coaching staff are handling it very well."

Saliba's injury has added urgency to Arsenal's pursuit of a new central defender this summer. England international John Stones, who left Manchester City last month after his contract expired, is among the club's targets. Stones previously worked alongside Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for three seasons during Arteta's tenure as a City assistant coach, having joined the club the same summer as Arteta in 2016. Stones made five appearances for England at this year's World Cup, starting three matches.

Arsenal also holds interest in Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, though a significant gap remains between the two clubs' valuations of the player.

Andoni Iraola said signing a new winger remains Liverpool's top priority in the transfer market, addressing the club's ongoing rebuild during a press conference in Chicago at the start of preseason. Liverpool has yet to replace Mohamed Salah, who departed at the end of last season, despite completing a $46.2 million signing of World Cup winner Victor Munoz from Osasuna last month.

Iraola addressed the club's broader transfer priorities when asked how many new signings he hopes to add.

"It is difficult to say a number when the market is open," said Iraola. "You have to be always open to new options to improve the squad. There are obvious situations where we know we need to sign players. Winger, for example. We definitely need to sign a winger. The other situations, we will have to analyse what the market gives you, what the cost is, how we also see the players we have. We have some tricky positions where we have injured players that we trust that are not in the ideal situation."

Liverpool has also lost Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate this offseason, leaving the squad thin defensively according to Iraola. Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has drawn interest from Spain, though Iraola made clear he intends to keep his key players rather than lose them.

"Alexis has been one of the best players in the club in the last years," said Iraola. "He had a very good World Cup so it is normal that other clubs want our best players. It always happens in the market. I want to keep my good players. I am looking more to sign new players than losing the ones we have."

Goalkeeper Alisson, who drew earlier interest from Juventus, will also remain with the club, according to Iraola.

"Alisson is someone important for us in the changing room in terms of his experience," said Iraola. "He will help us in the process of adaptation for the new players and the young players. You need references like Virgil (van Dijk), Alisson and Joe Gomez."

Right-back remains a significant concern for Liverpool, with Conor Bradley expected to miss the opening months of the season as he continues recovering from a serious knee injury.

"I think it depends on the Conor situation," said Iraola. "If you have a fully fit, healthy Conor Bradley, we are very happy, ready to go, and we would not be asking ourselves these questions. It's a situation that is tricky because we trust Conor in the long term, we want him to be our right-back, but right now he is still a little bit far from returning, so with the centre back, with the right back situation, in terms of defensive depth, we are very thin right now. We have three serious injuries. The closest one to return is Giovanni Leoni. Then Conor and Hugo (Ekitike), but the last two are way off, we're talking about months."

Liverpool will train in Chicago before traveling to Nashville for Saturday's preseason opener against Sunderland. Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Ryan Gravenberch, all of whom exited the World Cup at the round-of-32 stage, are set to join the squad ahead of the second match against Wrexham in New York. Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Alisson will instead begin preseason training at Liverpool's Kirkby facility rather than travel with the squad to the United States.

Iraola explained the reasoning behind those decisions, particularly regarding players who competed deep into the World Cup.

"With Virgil, he was the player who played the most minutes in Europe I'd say last season," said Iraola. "Instead of making them come here we decided it was sensible for them to start as part of a small group at the AXA. The most difficult situations logically will be Alexis and Victor because they played until the end of the tournament. I think they deserve their holidays and some rest, and I hope they have time at least to train with us a little bit. But it is true that it will probably affect a little bit the beginning of the season, but we cannot only think in the short term in terms of the first game against Newcastle."

Iraola also praised Dominik Szoboszlai's new five-year contract as the best news since his arrival at the club, though he has not yet named a replacement for Robertson as vice-captain.

Inter Miami has signed Brazilian midfielder Casemiro on a free transfer, but MLS is investigating the club for a potential tampering violation tied to the deal. The league addressed the situation in a statement Tuesday.

"Major League Soccer is reviewing a tampering allegation against Inter Miami CF," MLS said. "The league is gathering all relevant information and will refrain from further comment until the review is complete. While Inter Miami CF and the LA Galaxy have reached a settlement for the Discovery Priority to sign Casemiro, the terms will be released upon conclusion of the tampering investigation."

The LA Galaxy previously held discovery rights to Casemiro, a mechanism intended to prevent MLS clubs from competing against one another for the same target before formally securing negotiating rights. Miami will compensate the Galaxy for those rights, though the final amount remains pending until the investigation concludes.

This marks the latest disciplinary issue for Inter Miami. In 2021, MLS suspended chief operating officer and sporting director Paul McDonough for a year and fined the club $2 million, plus an additional $250,000 fine for managing owner Jorge Mas, after an investigation found Miami circumvented salary cap rules. The club falsely reported Blaise Matuidi's salary below the designated player threshold while paying him several million dollars beyond what was disclosed. MLS also found similar underreporting involving Andres Reyes, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Nicolas Figal and Julian Carranza, resulting in more than $2.27 million in allocation money penalties across 2022 and 2023.

Miami also clashed with the league last summer when Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba were each suspended a game for skipping the MLS All-Star Game without a documented injury. Mas publicly criticized the rule as "draconian" while defending both players.

Casemiro, 34, joins Miami on a non-designated player deal for now, signing a short-term contract through summer 2027 with an option to extend through summer 2029. Mas addressed the signing in a club statement.

"Casemiro's arrival reflects the vision and ambition that define Inter Miami," said Mas. "We never settle. We're always looking to grow, improve, and raise our standards every season. We've built a global club with the vision of becoming not only the best club in the United States, but also a benchmark globally."

Casemiro enjoyed a strong season at Manchester United, scoring nine goals while starting 33 matches and helping the club secure a third-place league finish and Champions League qualification for next season. He also started for Brazil at this summer's World Cup and has earned 91 caps for his national team.

Casemiro joined Manchester United from Real Madrid in 2022 following a decorated run in Spain that included five Champions League titles and three La Liga championships. MLS has resumed play following a nearly two-month World Cup break, with Miami set to open its schedule Wednesday against the Chicago Fire. Messi and Rodrigo De Paul, both of whom helped Argentina reach the World Cup final, will not be available for that match, which is expected to feature the MLS debut of Robert Lewandowski for Chicago.

Erling Haaland has broken his own record as the most expensive player in Fantasy Premier League history, with a starting price of £15.5 million for the 2026-27 season. The figure surpasses the £15 million mark he set during the 2024-25 campaign and eclipses Mohamed Salah's £14.5 million price last season, the third-highest in FPL history.

Haaland, 26, finished as the Premier League's top scorer last season with 27 goals and eight assists across 35 league appearances, totaling 38 goals in 52 matches across all competitions. It marked his third Golden Boot in four seasons and helped him accumulate 239 FPL points over the campaign.

According to the Premier League, which operates FPL, Haaland was both the most-owned and most-captained player in every gameweek last season. Captaining a player doubles their point total for that week.

His new price represents a £1.5 million increase over last season's £14 million starting figure, which followed a 22-goal campaign in 2024-25. Haaland's price peaked at £15.1 million at one point during last season.

Haaland carried his club form into his first World Cup appearance this summer, scoring seven goals in five matches as Norway advanced to the quarterfinals. That total included a match-winning brace against Brazil in the round of 16, along with two-goal performances in wins over Iraq and Senegal.

Haaland has scored 162 goals in 198 appearances for Manchester City and reached 100 Premier League goals in record time in December 2025, achieving the milestone in just 111 top-flight appearances.

FPL managers build a 15-player squad under a £100 million budget, meaning Haaland's price typically requires balancing with more affordable selections elsewhere on the roster.

The Premier League also announced Wednesday that Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes will carry a £12 million price tag for the upcoming season, a £3 million increase from last year. Fernandes recorded nine goals and 21 assists in 35 league appearances last season, breaking the Premier League record for most assists in a single campaign.

Haaland and Fernandes are currently the only two players with confirmed prices for the 2026-27 season, which begins August 21.

Phil Foden has signed a new four-year contract with Manchester City that will keep him at the club through 2030, with an option for an additional year. The Athletic first reported the extension talks in early May, with Foden enlisting agent Rafaela Pimenta, who also represents teammate Erling Haaland, to negotiate the new terms.

Foden, 26, addressed the significance of the deal in a statement.

"Committing my future to City means everything to me," said Foden. "Playing for this club is all I've ever wanted to do and it's always an honour to wear the shirt. It's not lost on me that I've been lucky enough to be part of a historic period with so many titles won, but we're always looking to the future and trying to win more."

His previous contract had been set to expire next summer, and questions had surrounded whether City would commit to a new deal given Foden's reduced role over the past two seasons. He has dealt with physical setbacks and previously discussed the mental toll of a difficult stretch, and he was left off Thomas Tuchel's England squad for this summer's World Cup following another disappointing campaign.

Despite those struggles, City has maintained faith in the academy product, who began training with the club at age six. Foden made 50 appearances across all competitions for City last season and featured four times for England across two World Cup qualifiers and two March friendlies.

Foden's form peaked during the final months of the 2023-24 season, a stretch strong enough to earn him the club's Footballer of the Year award. He has struggled to consistently replicate that level since, with a brief resurgence in November and December of last year giving way to a difficult stretch through the rest of the season.

The extension arrives as City prepares for preseason, with the club set to travel to Hong Kong and Seoul for exhibition matches against Inter, K-League All Stars and Atletico Madrid. Because City sent more players to the World Cup than any other club, Foden will be among a smaller group of available first-team players for that tour, giving him an early opportunity to work with new manager Enzo Maresca ahead of several higher-profile teammates.

The World Cup final between Spain and Argentina drew a combined audience of more than 60 million viewers across English- and Spanish-language broadcasts in the United States, according to figures released Tuesday. Fox reported 38.937 million viewers for its English-language broadcast, peaking at 51.685 million, a new record for the most-watched English-language soccer telecast in U.S. history.

Telemundo's preliminary numbers showed an additional 22.6 million viewers for its Spanish-language coverage, pushing the total figure well past the previous high-water marks for soccer broadcasts in the country.

The numbers cap what proved to be a largely successful tournament logistically, with the United States, Canada and Mexico hosting nearly six weeks of matches across 16 stadiums without major off-field controversy. Fox broadcast all 104 matches across its platforms and averaged 7.737 million viewers across Fox, FS1 and Tubi throughout the tournament, a sharp increase from 3.588 million in 2022 and 2.77 million in 2018. Viewership remained strong even after the United States was eliminated by Belgium in the round of 16.

Star players including Argentina's Lionel Messi, France's Kylian Mbappe and Norway's Erling Haaland became widely recognized figures across North America during the tournament. Stadium attendance also remained strong throughout the event, despite high ticket prices in many markets.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino praised the tournament's overall reach following Sunday's final.

"We have had a record number of spectators in the stadiums, almost 7 million," said Infantino. "We will have had, I mean the official figures will come out soon, but probably over 6 billion people watching it from home."

This year's 48-team field marked the largest in World Cup history. Nielsen's out-of-home measurement system, expanded in 2025, aims to provide a more complete picture of total viewership, though capturing figures from group settings such as watch parties remains a persistent challenge for official audience counts.

Aston Villa are in advanced talks to sign Chelsea winger Alejandro Garnacho on a season-long loan with a conditional obligation to buy.

Villa manager Unai Emery has long admired Garnacho, 22, having shown interest in him last summer before he moved to Chelsea from Manchester United. Emery has pushed for the move again this time around, working to fend off competition from Roma, which has also expressed interest in the winger.

The proposed deal would be separate from the club-record $156.8 million transfer set to bring Morgan Rogers to Chelsea. Villa completed the signing of Johan Manzambi from Freiburg earlier this month as a direct replacement for Rogers, shifting the club's focus toward adding a wide attacking option. Garnacho has emerged as the leading candidate among several names under consideration, including Paris Saint-Germain's Ibrahim Mbaye and West Ham's Crysencio Summerville.

New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso allowed Garnacho to stay away from the start of preseason training in order to facilitate a potential exit. Garnacho joined Chelsea from Manchester United last summer for $53.6 million but struggled to secure regular playing time, starting just 22 matches across all competitions, 14 in the Premier League, while scoring eight goals.

A product of Atletico Madrid's youth academy, Garnacho scored 26 goals in 144 appearances during his time at Manchester United. He acknowledged in April that his exit from the club was difficult, admitting he made mistakes toward the end of his tenure after falling out of favor under manager Ruben Amorim. Garnacho has earned eight senior caps for Argentina and was included in the nation's preliminary 55-man World Cup squad before being left off the final roster.

Rogers is set to sign a six-year contract with Chelsea, with an option for an additional year, in a deal that will surpass the $141.7 million Chelsea paid Benfica for Enzo Fernandez in 2023 as the club's transfer record.

The structure of the Garnacho deal carries financial implications tied to UEFA regulations. Any permanent transfer completed within 45 days of the Rogers deal would be classified by UEFA as a "player exchange transaction," reducing the net profit Villa could otherwise report on the Rogers sale. Structuring the Garnacho move as an initial loan with a conditional path to a permanent transfer would allow both clubs to preserve their respective profits under existing UEFA settlement agreements, provided the conditions attached to the deal are not considered "virtually certain" at the outset. UEFA maintains scrutiny over such arrangements to prevent clubs from using loan structures purely as a workaround.