Lists

Chelsea restored some of the pride they lost in their Champions League thumping at the hands of Barcelona last season with a creditable 1-1 draw with the Spanish giants. After a chastening 8-2 semi-final aggregate loss to Barca, the Blues had a point to prove and were on track to do that with Ellie Carpenter's piledriver. But Ewa Pajor's strike ensured the spoils were shared on Thursday.

Lionel Messi will forever be held in the highest regard at Barcelona, but that does not mean that the Liga giants will be changing the branding of their stadium in order to pay homage to the Argentine icon. Messi, who is currently in MLS with Inter Miami, has admitted that he intends to return to Catalunya at some stage. There are, however, no plans for Camp Nou to take his name.

League Two side Newport have confirmed the appointment of Premier League winner Christian Fuchs as their new manager. The Exiles relieved David Hughes of his duties over the weekend after a 1-0 loss to Shrewsbury left the club four points from safety at the foot of England's fourth tier. The appointment marks Leicester City legend Fuchs' first managerial job since calling time on his playing career in January 2023.

Former Real Madrid and Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele has stepped down from the Miss Universe judging panel just days before the event in Thailand amid allegations that the competition is rigged. The ex-France international was named as a judge for the event last month as he swapped the football pitch for the runway, but has now decided to quit the position.

Wayne Rooney has compared Harry Kane’s “incredible evolution” into England’s GOAT with the development that Cristiano Ronaldo once enjoyed at Manchester United. Kane is already his country’s all-time leading goalscorer and appears set to smash records on the appearance front as well. If he could win an international trophy, then it would be difficult to argue against him being the greatest.

Mauricio Pochettino was left fuming after being quizzed on his apparent penchant for rotating the USMNT, with the angry Argentine suggesting that said press conference should be restarted as he is “not the janitor” in North America and stands by every decision that he makes. The former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain coach was stunned by the line of questioning after a statement win over Uruguay.

In a new interview, Todd Boehly has taken aim at the English media as the Chelsea co-owner fires back at criticism. The American businessman, along with Mark Walter, Hansjorg Wyss and Clearlake Capital, launched a successful bid to buy the Blues in March 2022. Roman Abramovich had put the club up for sale after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Italy block the qualification path for Wales and Northern Ireland when it comes to reaching the 2026 World Cup, while the Republic of Ireland will face Czechia in the play-off semi-finals. There are four more places at FIFA’s flagship event up for grabs in the UEFA section, with routes to the United States, Canada and Mexico being mapped out for all of the hopefuls.

Arsenal and England star Eberechi Eze has revealed his toughest ever Premier League opponent. Speaking exclusively with Adebayo Akinfenwa on GOAL's Beast Mode On podcast, Eze admitted how difficult it was to play Kevin De Bruyne whenever Crystal Palace faced Manchester City, before their respective summer 2025 moves. The Belgian midfielder is widely considered to be one of the best overseas players to ever grace the English top flight.

Turkey’s national team reported over €300,000 worth of jewellery missing from their dressing room after the 2-2 draw against Spain in Seville, triggering a police investigation. A luxury watch and two rings vanished from La Cartuja before being recovered. At least one arrest has been made as authorities work to uncover how the theft took place.

Manchester United have been warned that a stunning return to Old Trafford for Scott McTominay is unlikely to happen. The Scotland international has been starring for Serie A champions Napoli, earning comparisons to Frank Lampard with his goal scoring exploits, but Wes Brown has told GOAL in an exclusive interview why another transfer agreement with the Red Devils is not in the pipeline.

Eberechi Eze has revealed his reaction to receiving an England call-up just moments after suffering a serious Achilles injury in training. Speaking exclusively to Adebayo Akinfenwa on GOAL's Beast Mode On podcast, the Arsenal star admitted he was in tears when he saw a message that stated he was part of the initial pool of players that can be selected for international duty.

Arsenal star Eberechi Eze has revealed that Marcus Rashford was the one player who stood out most to him during his first England training session. Speaking exclusively with Adebayo Akinfenwa on the latest episode of the Beast Mode On Podcast, Eze praised the way the versatile forward strikes and runs with the ball and explained how Thomas Tuchel has England set up to "achieve something incredible" at the World Cup.

Maya Jama is reportedly set to shake up her Love Island schedule in 2026 as she cannot bear to be away from Manchester City star boyfriend Ruben Dias. The TV presenter is due to film the latest All Stars edition of Love Island in the new year, but will not be setting up camp in Cape Town as she intends to jet back to England for regular reunions with Dias.

Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke doesn't expect Arsenal to win the Premier League this season. The Gunners hold a four-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table following their 2-2 draw with Sunderland prior to the international break, while Mikel Arteta's men currently sit eight points clear of defending champions Liverpool after the opening 11 games of the season.

Manchester City are being “left in the dark” when it comes to a final ruling in their long-running Financial Fair Play (FFP) saga. With at least 115 charges hanging over the Premier League heavyweights, a verdict was “definitely expected by now”. No decision has been revealed, though, and that is keeping everybody guessing on what could be an explosive outcome.

England boss Thomas Tuchel is expected to offer Liam Delap a World Cup lifeline as he plans to discuss what the Chelsea striker needs to do in order to earn a first international call-up. Delap moved to Stamford Bridge from Ipswich for £30m over the summer after the young forward impressed for the relegated Tractor Boys. The Blues beat Manchester United to the signing of the 22-year-old.

Thibaut Courtois admits that Cristiano Ronaldo has “more of a winning mentality” than current Real Madrid talisman Kylian Mbappe. The Blancos’ free-scoring No.10 is, however, considered to be working on that side of his game. In time, the French forward could go on to enjoy a similar standing at Santiago Bernabeu to that which Portuguese GOAT Ronaldo continues to boast.

Dominic Solanke has opened up on his injury hell as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury. The Tottenham striker has been restricted to just three competitive club appearances this season owing to an ankle problem sustained in pre-season. Solanke's last outing for Spurs came from the bench in the 2-0 win at Manchester City back in August.

Jordi Alba has rubbished comparisons between Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal, claiming that Barcelona’s all-time leading goalscorer “has no rival”. Teenage wonderkid Yamal has been thrust into an obvious debate ever since he stepped out of the La Masia academy system. He has become a global superstar in his own right, but there will never be another Messi.

Thibaut Courtois admits that Lamine Yamal “lit a bit of a fire” under the latest Clasico clash between arch-rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona. Said contest took place at Santiago Bernabeu on October 26. Ugly scenes unfolded at the end of a 2-1 victory for the hosts, with teenage wonderkid Yamal attracting plenty of attention during the post-match skirmishes.

Lionel Messi has sent another “we’ll be back” message to Barcelona after being crowned the “most beloved player” in the club’s history. The Argentine superstar has been awarded that honour following a supporter vote. He feels proud to have received such a title, given the calibre of talent that he was up against, and remains determined to head back to Catalunya at some stage.

At one point during the international break, it appeared as if both Napoli and Atalanta would have new coaches in place for this weekend's meeting between the two sides at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. However, while the Bergamaschi inevitably sacked Ivan Juric the day after their shocking 3-0 defeat at home to Sassuolo, Antonio Conte remains in charge of the Partenopei - which is actually something of a surprise.

Born just outside Marseille to Algerian parents, it was always going to be hard for a footballer as silky as Samir Nasri to avoid comparisons with the great Zinedine Zidane. When he was snapped up by Arsenal in the peak of the 'Wenger-ball' years, it made complete sense. Here was this uber-talented attacking midfielder who could glide past opponents for fun, why wouldn't he be the Gunners' next marquee player?

There's been a lot of talk lately about the Premier League as a product. Is modern football actually boring? Are teams now too reliant on set pieces to score goals? Are the mavericks and the willing protagonists being silenced just to preserve their manager's tactics? Have we gone too far in pursuit of sporting perfection?

Neymar issued a public apology after conceding a controversial penalty in a game that has kept Santos in a relegation dogfight. The Brazilian superstar was in action on Wednesday evening against Mirassol. An eventful outing saw him open the scoring inside four minutes, before being responsible for presenting Serie A rivals with an opportunity to level the scores.

Ruben Amorim has been told he already has the perfect replacement for an injured Benjamin Sesko in the Manchester United squad. The Red Devils endured an anxious wait after the striker limped off late in the dramatic 2-2 draw against Tottenham, sparking fears of a potentially devastating knee injury for their marquee summer signing. He is now expected to miss around a month of action for Amorim's side.

He’s following in his father’s illustrious footballing footsteps, and making a big splash on the international football scene, but not in the position, or for the country, many would imagine. Louis Thomas Buffon, son of the legendary former Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi, scored two hat-tricks during the November break in Under-19 European Championship qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Northern Ireland.

Struggling Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo has been told that Arsenal is the perfect place for him to get his career back on track. Mainoo established himself as a regular starter at Old Trafford under former Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag, but he has fallen out of favour since the arrival of Ruben Amorim, and serious questions are being asked of his future.