For the second day in a row, The Daily Telegraph newspaper is reporting another major transfer news story that may have little to no basis in fact. Yesterday, the paper reported that Manchester United were preparing to bid for Juan Mata. As a result, the other British tabloids and media jumped on the Mata-to-United bandwagon. And now tonight (or Wednesday morning’s Telegraph, to be exact), the paper writes that Real Madrid are lining up a bid for Wayne Rooney to join the Galacticos this summer.

What do both of these transfer gossip stories have in common? Manchester United. The club, despite their league woes, still helps sell tabloid newspapers. And hats off need to go to The Telegraph‘s graphic designers for creating beautifully designed back pages for two days in a row that make the stories seem more believable.

Another interesting facet of the gossip stories this week is the tactic used by The Daily Telegraph of inserting _______ (insert club name) is “preparing a bid for _______” (insert star footballer). By stating that a club is “preparing a bid,” it piques people’s interest but offers a safe “landing” if a bid never materializes.

Meanwhile, does Real Madrid even want or need Rooney??

Based on The Telegraph‘s “X is preparing a bid for Y,” maybe more journalists should try this tactic? Did you know, for example, that World Soccer Talk is preparing a bid for Zonal Marking?

Here are tonight’s world soccer news headlines:

Premier League

International soccer

Football League

La Liga

The Nightly Soccer Report is tomorrow’s news today. It’s often tomorrow morning’s worldwide newspaper headlines that are published the night before. We do all the work for you, combing the Internet and aggregating the news for you. Read The Nightly Soccer Report on World Soccer Talk every night before bed, so you can stay on top of all the news that matters.