Chris Burton

Birmingham City have been outlining their exciting vision for the future of the club, and that could include bringing home-grown superstar Jude Bellingham back to his roots. England international Bellingham left his boyhood team in 2020 when joining Borussia Dortmund, and is now on the books of Real Madrid. He could retrace steps to the West Midlands at some stage.

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is reportedly in line to make a "superhero" return to action in the north London derby. The Norwegian midfielder has sat out the Gunners' last seven games through injury, having endured a disrupted start to the 2025-26 campaign. He is, however, poised to hand manager Mikel Arteta a timely boost ahead of a home date with Tottenham.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Lionel Messi and Argentina have been told that they were “lucky” to savour World Cup glory at Qatar 2022. All-time great Messi completed his medal collection at that event, as he inspired the Albiceleste to a global title. Wesley Sneijder has suggested that the South Americans were fortunate to claim that crown, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal considered to have a better chance of landing the same prize in 2026.

Birmingham City players are being urged to take advantage of the fact that Tom Brady is on the other end of a phone line, with the NFL legend knowing what it takes to win it all. Former Blues striker Clinton Morrison has told GOAL, in an exclusive interview, why “big plans” for the future at St Andrew’s can see ambitious dreams turned into reality.

Carlo Ancelotti has issued a final warning to Neymar when it comes to 2026 World Cup selection, with the Italian tactician eager to ensure that he does not make any “mistakes” when naming his final squad. Ancelotti has yet to call upon Neymar since becoming Selecao boss, but insists that the door remains open to the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain superstar.

England manager Sarina Wiegman has broken her silence on comments made by Mary Earps in her explosive autobiography. In that, the former Lionesses goalkeeper questioned some of the selection calls made by the Dutch coach. Wiegman feels no need to explain any of the decisions that she has made down the years, with every one of those intended to help deliver collective success.

It remains a possibility that Liverpool could sell Mohamed Salah at some stage, David James has told GOAL, despite the Egyptian superstar signing a new contract at Anfield. Those terms are intended to take the prolific forward through to the summer of 2027, but the odd question has been asked of his output this season and interest from the Saudi Pro League remains.