James Westwood

The 23-cap England international finds himself at another career crossroads, having dropped into the free agency pool following an underwhelming loan stint at Aston Villa

The Reds will have to shatter the Premier League transfer record again to land their top summer target, but the fleet-footed 23-year-old could pay back that investment tenfold over the coming years

It's been sad to watch a generational talent decline so rapidly, and the veteran forward risks doing irreparable damage to his legacy as his attitude threatens to derail his club

The Red Devils must get moving in the transfer market after a quiet start to the summer, or else they risk falling well behind their main rivals once again

No one could ever accuse Julian Alvarez of not knowing exactly what he wants. It was a surprise when he decided to push for a move away from Manchester City in 2024, after winning a pair of Premier League titles and the Champions League in his first two seasons at the club, but the Argentine forward had grown tired of being in the shadow of Norwegian terminator Erling Haaland.

The 2026 World Cup is over, and so is the race for the prestigious Golden Boot - the award given to the tournament's top scorer. With the expanded 48-nation tournament coming to a close, following a month of thrilling action in North America, which star has taken home the illustrious award? Here, GOAL lists the tournament's most prolific performers.

When Lionel Messi was pushed onto his weaker foot by Nico O'Reilly and Djed Spence on the right side of the box in the 92nd minute of stoppage time, England fans held their breath in unison. The Three Lions had four of their tallest players hovering around the six-yard area, and the Argentina captain needed a perfect delivery to reach Lautaro Martinez at the back post (his only realistic target) - but as we all know, Messi can conjure up perfection at any moment.

Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Neymar is ready to play the full 90 minutes of the Selecao's final World Cup group game against Scotland. Neymar missed his country's opening fixtures against Morocco and Haiti due to a calf injury, but Ancelotti says that the Santos star is finally back to full fitness and eager to make his mark.

Carlos Queiroz has explained his heated exchange with Jude Bellingham during Ghana's 0-0 draw with England at the 2026 World Cup. Bellingham was seen being pulled away from the Ghana boss as tensions threatened to spill over at half-time, though Thomas Tuchel later denied that England's opponents had "got under their skin".

We are now just hours away from the start of the 2026 World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with all 48 teams having made their way to North America with dreams of glory driving them. All of the pre-qualifying favourites made it safely through, including Spain, Brazil, England, France and defending champions Argentina.

After 18 years of protests, controversy, disillusion and division, the Glazer family's time in charge of football operations at Manchester United came to an end after Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS' purchase of a 25 percent stake in the club in early 2024. United had been debt-free until the Glazers invested just £270 million (£346m) of their own money into the £790m ($1 billion) deal that saw them become new owners back in 2005, with the rest borrowed against the club. And the Glazers have been accused of using the Red Devils as a cash cow to fund their business empire in the United States ever since.

Cristiano Ronaldo has finally ended his five-year trophy drought, with Al-Nassr claiming the 2025-26 Saudi Pro League title after a 4-1 win over Damac on Thursday night. Goals from ex-Liverpool winger Sadio Mane and Bayern Munich legend Kingsley Coman put Al-Nassr in control before a stunning Ronaldo brace sealed the win for Jorge Jesus' side, who finished top of the table by two points ahead of arch-rivals Al-Hilal.

This is Legacy, GOAL’s feature and podcast series counting down to the 2026 World Cup. Each week, we explore the stories and the spirit behind the nations that define the world’s game. This week, we explore what England must learn from their failure to claim glory in 2002, and why Thomas Tuchel’s task ahead is not about tactics, but about belief, identity, and courage on the biggest stage.

Jesse Lingard has expressed his belief that ex-Manchester United team-mate Bruno Fernandes should be in the running for the 2026 Ballon d'Or after an "extraordinary" season. The Englishman, who is now playing for Corinthians in Brazil, has also delivered his honest verdict on Michael Carrick's tenure as interim manager at Old Trafford, with a final decision on the permanent role now looming.

Claudio Ranieri has revealed the "unbelievable" reason that Leicester City sacked him in February 2017, just nine months after a miraculous Premier League title run. The Foxes shocked the world by becoming 2015-16 champions of England, having started the season as 1000-1 underdogs, but they suffered a dramatic decline in the following campaign that ultimately cost Ranieri his job.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been told he's "finished" by furious Al-Nassr supporters after a shocking miss from barely three yards out in his latest outing for the Saudi Pro League giants. The 41-year-old scored in Sunday's 4-0 AFC Champions League Two quarter-final win over Al-Wasl, but was left kicking himself after a moment of uncharacteristically poor finishing.

Bayern Munich have retained the Bundesliga title after beating Stuttgart 4-2 at the Allianz Arena on Sunday, giving Harry Kane the third trophy of his career with the German giants. The result saw Vincent Kompany's side move 15 points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund with only four games remaining, and wild scenes of celebration ensued after the final whistle.

From an individual perspective, Kylian Mbappe's free transfer to Real Madrid in 2024 has been a roaring success. The insatiable French forward has hit a staggering 83 goals across his first 97 appearances for Los Blancos, including 39 across all competitions in the current campaign - a total bettered only by Bayern Munich's Harry Kane among all the players in Europe's top five leagues.