The past week got off to a sensational start as Chelsea target Luka Modric hit out at his employers, Tottenham for refusing to let him make his "dream" move to Stamford Bridge.
The Croatian midfielder claimed that his club's chairman, Daniel Levy, threatend to consign him to the stands if he refused to accept that he would be staying at White Hart Lane. Modric also claimed that Levy had broken a 'gentleman's agreement', that if a bigger club came in with a concrete offer that they would consider it and agree the best way forward.
It has turned out that 2010-2011 Premier League runners-up Chelsea did make a bid for the midfielder, a $35 million bid in fact, but it was rejected by Spurs' chairman, Levy.
In other transfer news, Arsenal manager Arsenal Wenger said he was confident that his two biggest stars Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri will be with the club when the new Premier League season gets underway.
Fabregas of course has been the subject of an ongoing soap opera-like courting from Barcelona, with the Spanish midfielder making it known that he does indeed want the switch to the Catalan club to go through. Nasri, though, has of late been the subject of much speculation after he said that he would like to start winning trophies.
Many have taken this to mean that he is unhappy at the Emirates Stadium and wants to move. While the midfielder has been linked with a possible move to either Manchester United or Manchester City, Wenger is sure that he will start the season with both of his midfielders wearing the Arsenal shirt.
At the Copa America, Argentina finally sparked into life with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica, securing its spot in the quarterfinals with the victory.
After two rather dour draws and much criticism, the Copa America host exploded into life when Sergio Aguero scored in first-half stoppage time and again seven minutes after the restart, with an assist from Lionel Messi. Aguero repaid his manager's decision to start with him instead of Carlos Tevez, and Batista was rewarded with a 3-0 victory as Angel Di Maria chipped in with a goal.
Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi also seemed to come to life with the more attacking setup Argetina employed, providing assists for the second and third goals.
Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton will miss his side's pre-season tour to the United States of America after he was denied a visa.
Barton was denied a visa for spending 74 days in jail in 2008 for assaulting two men outside a McDonalds eatery. Barton will join Newcastle's reserve side on their tour of the Netherlands.
The midfielder though ws not the only Newcastle player to be denied a visa. Forward Nile Ranger was also denied entry to the USA for having a juvenile record and will join Barton on the reserve side's tour.
Newcastle will play three games in the U.S., the first of which will be against Sporting Kansas City. The other two games will be against Orland City and the Columbus Crew respectively.
The U.S. Women's National Team secured it's place in the final of the Women's World Cup for the first time since winning the tournament in 1999 with a hard fought 3-1 win over France.
Lauren Cheney got the USWNT on the scoresheet early, notching in the ninth minute. The French, though, dominated the game but had to wait until the second half for their breakthrough, when Sonia Bompastor floated a cross into forward Gaetane Thiney that U.S. goalkeeper was helpless to stop.
As the game progressed, the USA got stronger and with the scores locked at 1-1 and with ten minutes left to play Abby Wambach rose highest to meet Lauren Cheney's corner kick and give the United States the lead. Alex Morgan sealed the game with a third goal for the USA and a place in the final against Japan.
In South America, Copa America favorite Brazil shook off its lethargy and romped to a 4-2 win over Ecuador and a place in the quarterfinals.
Brazil's much vaunted strike duo of Alexandre Pato and Neymar finally showed what the hype surrounding them was all about with both scoring braces. Felipe Caicedo scored both goals for Ecuador.
The result means that Brazil tops the group and will again play group opponent Paraguay in the quarterfinals while Ecuador's second loss of the tournament sees them eliminated from the tournament.
