Latest from FourFourTwo in Champions-league

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“I think sometimes the media will create different opinions about different things,” Vidic now tells FourFourTwo about the rivalry with Torres.

“I think Torres was a fantastic player, but I never feared playing against him. Liverpool was always the derby match, and the only thing people can say is, ‘Yeah, you had a few red cards against Liverpool.’

Nemanja Vidic was speaking to FourFourTwo courtesy of Heineken (Image credit: Heineken)

“But I think two or three of them were in the last minutes of the game, the 89th minute, so to be fair, it's not something that affected the outcome of the match. If you look at the games played against Torres, I think he scored a few goals, but if you look at the total games he played, it was not that many.”

Interestingly, Vidic now says that there were other players who gave him more trouble than the Liverpool star.

“Liverpool vs United is the game fans have to talk about and the media has to create narratives around, which I like,” the centre-back continues. “In certain times I get maybe more praise than actually I should; this is life.

“But I think overall there are players that I found more difficult playing against – Drogba, Aguero I would say as well, and of course Messi. Those are the players where you find yourself thinking, ‘Oh, OK.’

“Torres was fantastic; for one or two years he played fantastically for Liverpool. He was amazing and he lifted Liverpool a lot.”

Fernando Torres' battles with Vidic are the stuff of legend (Image credit: Getty Images)

Looking back on that fixture, too, Vidic says that the early kick-offs were particularly tough against the Reds.

“Yeah, it's great to watch that game, Liverpool, especially going to Anfield,” he says, ”That's a tough game, especially playing at 12:30.

“I always find it difficult playing those games. At 12:30 you're still sleeping!”

Nemanja Vidic reveals his best friends in football - including Manchester United hero

Mark White — Sat, 30 May 2026 12:22:00 +0000

Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic has revealed his greatest friends in football.

The iconic Serbian defender named two former Manchester United team-mates among his closest mates in the game, along with a colleague from Inter Milan.

Nemanja Vidic: 'You want to trust your partner - and Rio Ferdinand is a great friend'

“Obviously, from Inter, where I played, Samir Handanovic, the goalkeeper, we are still good friends and actually our families get on well together as well,” Vidic began.

“And Rio [Ferdinand], always, you know. Even if you don't see each other for a long time, when you see each other, it's great to catch up with each other, to talk about the game, to enjoy football.

Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand formed a formidable partnership for United (Image credit: Heineken)

“We didn't have time to enjoy it when we were football players because we were travelling, preparing for games, under a lot of tension and pressure to perform well.”

“Berba, too, I'm close with – so yeah, there are quite a few players. I'm in touch with some Serbian guys too.”

Vidic and Ferdinand famously formed the base of the Red Devils' defence the last time that United won the Champions League – and now, the Serbian says that it was integral to their relationship that the pair had a closeness off the pitch.

“I think it's very important to have a good spirit in the team in general, but especially if you play at the back,” he explains. “You want to trust your partner, you know?

Vidic was a serial winner on the pitch (Image credit: Getty Images)

“I obviously played with him for nine years and we worked on our relationship on the pitch and off the pitch to understand each other. I think I've talked about that many times, but definitely, I believe that it is very important.

“The way that Rio plays and the way I play complement each other. We are kind of different, but we understand each other – what I will do in certain situations, what he will do, and that's it. To understand your friend, that's friendship.”

Kasper Schmeichel interview: "Sometimes the body makes the decisions that the heart can't read, it's definitely not how I wanted it, my career's finished"

Henry Winter — Sat, 30 May 2026 11:05:44 +0000

Kasper Schmeichel is sitting on the balcony at the Leicester City Performance Centre, looking out wistfully at the inviting pitches where he once trained. “People talk about my drive. I never saw it as drive. I saw it as love. Because I love playing football. It is the best feeling in the world. I'm looking at this pitch here now, and I'm itching to be on that pitch.”

But he can’t. A shoulder injury has sadly forced the Celtic keeper’s retirement at 39. He looks away from the pitches and inside. Leicester’s boys of 2016 are gathering—his old teammates, those he shared the 5,000-1 fairytale with. They’re back for a charity fundraiser at the King Power today.

Schmeichel can’t get involved on the field, but he can with all the reminiscing and revelry. He's understandably in a reflective mood, thinking back to the love of the game that drove him through difficult times, the trophies won, and the friendships and memories made. It’s his first visit back to Seagrave since leaving Leicester four years ago.

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Band of brothers

“It's very strange in some ways because it genuinely feels like yesterday. There's all the staff behind the scenes here, it's great to see everyone again. I've missed them. This club will always be special to me.”

Leicester’s 2015-16 champions will always be special, not only locally and nationally but around the world, and for all time. They were a band of brothers, mates as well as teammates.

Kasper Schmeichel, Wilfred Ndidi and Wes Morgan celebrate at the final whistle after securing a historic victory over Sevilla FC in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16

“It was a great time! It really was! At the old Belvoir Drive training ground, there were these big ice baths and hot baths, and you could hide in them. You'd see people coming in, and lads would be hiding in these baths with rolled-up socks, two pairs of wet socks bunched up, wet and heavy, and just launch them. And they hurt! I had a couple of direct hits! I also got hit a few times! It was a fun time. You were going out to battle with your brothers on the pitch, but off the pitch, we had a great time.”

Jamie Vardy summed the spirit up. “Vards always jokes we were the best pub team in the world. That's pretty accurate! The whole point of that team was a collective. With each person, there'll be a story - rejection, someone telling them they weren't good enough, being forced out of a club. There were lots of subplots that gave everyone that edge, that gave everyone that fire that ‘this is going to happen for me’. And when you put those things into a dressing room, throw those into the fire, that fire becomes big and we smell blood straight away.” They went for the big beasts of the Premier League and won. I ask whether 2016 will ever be repeated. “Potentially! The great thing about sport is the hope. Any underdog story is a great story. Because of the Premier League, ours is a very, very big underdog story, and it gave hope to many people that sport is still a very competitive thing. It's not just about finance.”

Vards always jokes we were the best pub team in the world. That's pretty accurate!

It's about persistence, too. Schmeichel needed time to develop. His first club, Manchester City, where his father Peter spent a season, sent him off on loan to Darlington, Bury, and Falkirk. Sven-Goran Eriksson then gave the young keeper a chance at the start of 07/08. “I played the first seven games, four clean sheets, and then it was taken away from me, and I had to restart.” He dropped back into the EFL, this time down to the Championship on loan at Cardiff City and Coventry City. “Having had that taste of Premier League football, I’m getting back there, no matter what. I am going to show to myself that all the hours, all the sacrifices, if you do them, it will happen. That was always my driving force, my love of playing football. I was going to make damn sure that when I got that chance again, I was 100% ready. I'd spend the hours studying goalkeeping. I'd spend the hours on the pitch. The one thing I'm probably happiest about in my career, when I look back now, is that I can say I gave everything I had.”

Schmeichel memorably gave everything in that epic 5,000-1 season, keeping 15 clean sheets in the 38 games, as Leicester upset the odds and the established order. “When I look back, what can I compare it to? Greece winning Euro 2004? Maybe. Denmark 92?” His father played in that Danish side that won Euro 92, having been invited in late following Yugoslavia’s disqualification. “92 was the reason that I never thought anything was impossible. That was instilled in me from five years old. Denmark can win the Euros. And instilled into me from six: why couldn't I win the Premier League?” He’d seen Peter win it with Manchester United in 1993, eventually winning it five times in the 1990s.

Kasper was invited back to his old school in Copenhagen, in 2013, to talk about his career. “I was sitting, writing my notes, getting ready to do it, and I read it for my dad. He said, ‘you've always said this thing about you want to win the Premier League, and you're going to win the Premier League. But have you ever actually said it publicly? Have you ever actually dared to put your head on the chopping block and actually just say it?’ And I hadn't. So I thought, ‘OK! Right!’ I found a picture of me with the trophy from when my dad won it. And I put it up on the big screen, and in front of the people at the school, I said, ‘Right, the next time I come here, I will have won this.’ That was nerve-wracking to say. I'm really putting myself under pressure, I can’t come back if I don’t win it. But when my dad said it to me, it made me think actually, if I really do believe it, I do need to put it out there and put that pressure on myself to say, ‘this has to happen’.”

Kasper Schmeichel training with his dad Peter in the early 90s

The fairytale happened in May 2016 and, the following November, Leicester played away at FC Copenhagen in the Champions League. “We had the trophy with us because we planned after the game that I was going to bring the trophy back to school. But I broke my hand in the game. And I had to travel back in and have surgery.” But the story reflected his drive. That culture of seizing responsibility defined that Leicester side. “Culture is the single most important thing in a football club. I listened to a podcast on the way here with Mikel Arteta talking about culture, having just won the Premier League. The essence of a successful club is building that culture. Having that core dressing room and support staff around, that builds that culture. That is the key ingredient to having success.” It’s a bond.

He looks through the window again. "There's a lot of these lads I haven't seen for years, Nathan Dyer, Christian Fuchs. There is a WhatsApp group. We all keep in contact through that. And once you see people, you're straight back into how it always was. That bond will never change, whether it's 10, 20, or 30 years. Football promotes feelings. Being on the pitch, that adrenaline does something to you. People are in a heightened state of emotion. You spend so much time together.” And the bond intensifies. “Sometimes, one of you will make a transfer, you won't see each other for four years and then when you see each other again, it's like you haven't been away.”

The essence of a successful club is building that culture. Having that core dressing room and support staff around, that builds that culture. That is the key ingredient to having success.

In pre-season, Celtic played Riyad Mahrez’s Al Ahli in a tournament hosted by Como. “Straight away, me and Riyad find each other and are chatting away, taking pictures and sending it to the group. We did something together that will forever bond us. Riyad! What a guy, love him. As a player, wow! Magician! One of the best I've ever played with, one of the best I've ever seen.” Mahrez arrived in January 2014 for £560,000 from Le Havre and was immediately thrown into training at Belvoir Drive. “We’re looking at him physically, and thinking, ‘Oh, he's walking out here next to Wes (Morgan). What's going to happen when Wes tackles him?’ Riyad started juggling the ball in the warm-up, and we were like, ‘OK, this boy’s got something!’ Then you see him in possession, and he starts chopping, sending people the wrong way, and I’m like, ‘Oh, OK, this guy's got something, but we've seen this before’. But every year he stepped it up and up and became one of the best wingers I've ever seen.”

Mahrez was snapped up by Manchester City for £60m in 2018. “I was so happy for him that he got to work with Pep (Guardiola) because the only thing me and Riyad ever disagreed on was his defensive work! It didn't exist when he played here! He was lucky he had Simmo behind him.” Danny Simpson, the tenacious right-back. “Simmo did the work for him. But when he went to City, he learned the defensive side as well. So now he’s not just the top player going forward. He's the top player going back, and he's working really hard. So now he genuinely is one of the best players in the world.”

The turning point? Mahrez and Schmeichel celebrate a win in the league at Manchester City in February 2016 which made many believe the famous title win could be on (Image credit: Getty Images)

N’Golo Kante can also claim such an accolade, although he would be too humble to. “N’Golo probably owned three sets of clothes and just rotated them,” Schmeichel recalls of the modest, brilliant, defensive French midfielder. “He came in every morning with a big smile on his face, very polite, shook everyone's hand, didn't say a lot. Riyad and him sat next to each other. Riyad spoke to him. N’Golo never really spoke. He'd sit there, smile, put his boots on, go out and be the best player on the pitch and go home. You wouldn't hear him being out or doing anything else. He'd come in again and do the same. He’s had an incredible career. I don't think there's anybody that's ever done that role as well as him, not in my time, at least. I know people talk about (Claude) Makelele. N’Golo’s won the World Cup, won the Champions League, and he's the most polite human you'll ever meet.”

From Kante to Vardy, Leicester’s band of brothers had a range of characters. “Vards very quickly understood that he couldn't train like he played. That would cost too much. I know he has this persona of Skittles and vodka, but he’s extremely professional. He’ll hate me saying that because it goes against the narrative! He was very, very good at managing himself, managing his body, knowing when he needed to peak. He knew when not to train, and I say this as a compliment. He would listen to himself, know how he was feeling, and ‘if I'm playing Saturday at 3 o'clock, I need to peak at that time’. So on a Wednesday or Thursday, he’ll go, ‘I'll go in the pool today. I'll do massage.’ He’s very, very astute and that is why he's still playing at 39.”

Vards has this persona of Skittles and vodka, but he’s extremely professional. He’ll hate me saying that because it goes against the narrative!

Schmeichel looks out again at the pristine pitches of Seagrave, 14 of them full-sized. He thinks of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, Leicester’s late benefactor, whose name and images adorn the training ground. Vichai’s ideas and largesse underpinned the training centre project, which opened in 2020. Tragically, Vichai passed away in that horrendous helicopter crash at the King Power Stadium in 2018. “There's a massive sculpture (of Vichai), pictures, and his name is on the building. He never got to see it, which is such a shame. But it's his legacy. I was sat with Sean St Ledger, a good friend of mine, and we were saying, what a privilege it is to actually come to work here.”

He thinks of Vichai, the man and the chairman. “In this world, a lot of things are measured by the amount in your bank account. When you become as successful and as wealthy as that (Vichai), it's very easy to lose your footing. No one's ever going to say ‘no’ to you. It takes a special determination and personality to stay grounded as he did, and be very personal with people, to actually walk around the stadium, and Belvoir Drive, taking time to speak to people and showing them the respect they deserve for whatever role they're playing in the organisation.”

Flowers and gifts left in tribute to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha

On that terrible night of October 27, 2018, Schmeichel ran towards the burning helicopter. “I sometimes look back and think I've got kids myself, that's reckless to do. You don't know what's going to happen running over to that. I wasn't the only one. Jay the security guard was right behind me. He was the one that pulled me away. I think most people would have done the same. Unfortunately, it was very clear quite quickly that nobody could survive that.”

Schmeichel and his Leicester teammates showed their character in the days that followed. They helped the families, the staff, and the city in mourning. “It's very easy to look united when things are going well but when bad stuff happens, that is when true character does show. It didn't surprise me, because I knew the character within the dressing room. As hard as the period was, and as terrible as it was, and how much we wish it hadn't happened, one of my favourite photos is when we played Cardiff away in the next game. I was adamant that when we did the minute silence, I wanted everybody on the pitch, all the staff, everyone. There's a picture taken from the Cardiff end, looking down on us, there's 11 of them (Cardiff players), 50 of us plus our fans in the background. I vividly remember standing there with Mike Stowell (goalkeeping coach). Demarai Gray was holding on to me. He could feel I was about to go. I looked up and looked at their 11 players and I thought ‘there's no way we're not winning today’. That photo is one of my favourite photos because it embodied the culture of this club, and the reason that we had the success through the years.” The bond.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's minute silence at Cardiff City in November 2018 (Image credit: Getty Images)

He loves his sport’s power to bond disparate groups. “Football is special because it has the ability to unite people regardless of where they come from, what they believe in, how they grew up, what they have, what they don't have. It has the ability to unite, to inspire, to create everlasting memories. Having grown up in England, they still talk about '66. In Denmark, we still talk about '92. All these years after. Football evokes passions and emotions that not many things in this world can. You can be on opposing sides politically, opposing sides in all sorts of things, but you can also support the same football team. Once that whistle goes, we're all together. It's the same when Denmark play, we’re all Denmark fans. Or when England play, you're all England fans. It doesn't matter what's going on in our lives. For that time, we are all united. We want our team to win. Football can be an escape for people. It can provide so much joy."

"Football has a responsibility to take care of people," he continues. "We have the Foxes Foundation here. Celtic have the Celtic Foundation. Denmark, too. Footballers have a responsibility to buy into these things. As a young player, you don’t really understand, maybe until the day you have kids, and your own kids become fans, and you see what an autograph means. You see what a picture means. That’s what football does. People will queue up for hours, spend their money on shirts and season tickets, spend money on travel, just to watch their team.” That love.

Schmeichel is understandably in a contemplative mood. He announced his retirement on Wednesday after 935 games for clubs and country. So how was he feeling? “Just trying to get used to it. Pre-season is probably when it really hits, the fact that you're not going back and playing. It's strange because it's been out of my control. The surgeon says that it’s not going to be able to be fixed to play at the level that I want to play. I thought with this 10-year anniversary, OK, it's a nice way to finish it off. The decision has been taken for me. It's definitely not how I wanted it, my career's finished. But I've had some time to reflect. I've been lucky enough to experience a lot of things, play over 900 games, be part of the teams I've been part of, win the trophies I have.”

Kasper Schmeichel made 58 appearances for Celtic, winning two leagues and a Scottish Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

The injury was not through wear and tear. “It was a specific injury, it happened in the Stuttgart game,” Celtic’s keeper recalls of the February 19 Europa League tie. He played three days later, against Hibs. “It was actually fine and it was right at the end, I felt that I need to get this checked. It was pretty damaged.” He consulted experts while also supporting Celtic in a rollercoaster end to the Scottish season. “The conversation with the doctors became more not about actually playing again but about quality of life. I'm one operation into potentially three more. They'll fix it gradually. I still have probably 60% range of motion of what I did. I can play with the kids in the garden as long as there's no contact, nothing goes near my shoulder. I've played tennis, I've played padel with obviously my other arm. So I'm still reasonably mobile. But once the bigger surgery starts, then I'm going to have to be very, very careful and make sure that it heals properly to give myself the best chance of having a comfortable life without any impediment. Being able to lift your kids, lift your dog."

“It's been really strange in the sense of I've still been under contract at Celtic and I've been in and around the team while going to see the experts. I played 39 games this season. We were going for a Double, which we ended up getting. I was still very much trying to be a part of that, even though you can't be. Martin (O’Neill) was great. He knows me. He knows I tried everything to see if I could get back from this. Sometimes the body makes the decisions that the heart can't read.” Did all the Celtic fans fully understand why their best keeper was missing? “Whether they knew the truth or not, people will inevitably make their own minds up. I know the truth. Martin knows the truth. I gave everything for Celtic. I wanted desperately to win trophies for Celtic. And ultimately, we did, and I look back on my time at Celtic with nothing but great memories. It's a club that got under my skin very, very quickly. It's just a special club. It's the whole intensity of it, how much it means, the responsibility you feel being a Celtic player. When you live in Glasgow, it's all anyone talks about. There are Celtic fans everywhere around the world. You have to win every single game and not just win it, win it well. I just love that.”

He thinks of the journey into Celtic Park, one he will never make as a player again. “It's everything about the place, driving up to the stadium, this monumental stadium, you see the (Jock Stein) statue, you walk in, all the pictures, all the history of the club everywhere. You go in the dressing room and it's got a lovely blend of refurbs but still a lot of the old school stuff there. You walk through the tunnel, there's all the plaques and all the names, and then being on the pitch and the noise. It's deafening. It's just the passion. All of it just grips you. In terms of actual intensity, I'd struggle to find anywhere louder. One of my favourite things always was Champions League games, when the song (the CL anthem) starts, then this massive roar. I always used to love when we lined up to look at the opposition. See their faces. They're like, ‘wow, this is incredible’. Any opposition player you may have known from the national team or somewhere else and you're talking after the game, in the tunnel, in the changing room areas, they're all like, ‘wow, this is immense’.”

He wishes that the final whistle on his career had blown in a game, rather than in a consultant’s room. “Every footballer dreams he will bow out on the pitch. That's what I would have liked: to be able to say thank you, to show my appreciation for the support and the love I received through the years. But it was more important to finish the year with the trophy. And we did finish with two, and that was, for me, the most satisfying part through a lot of adversity. That we got over the line in the end was massive.”

Punditry, coaching, management and even directorship are all on the table for Kasper Schmeichel in retirement (Image credit: Getty Images)

And so to the next stage. Pundit? Coach? Sports director? “The honest answer is, for the first time in my life, I actually don't know. That can be really scary and also really exciting. I flip between both (emotions). Football will without question be at the heart of it. I'm going to try a lot of things. I'm starting the Director of Football course.” Management? “I wouldn't rule it out at all. I love being out there. I really have enjoyed some of the coaching and the punditry. I'd love to run a club. I'd love to own a club, but I think that's going to be difficult.”

He has more time to devote to his family. “I have three kids. I have a wife. I've been away and missed a lot. So just getting a chance to spend some time with them. This little period, particularly after the first operation, you're not in the best frame of mind and in pain. But the last few weeks, it’s been nice being home, being able to collect them from school. Being there on birthdays — I've missed so many birthdays. But I also think it's important to teach kids that if you want to reach your dreams, there are sacrifices, there is a cost to everything. I've been lucky enough to live a dream, and football doesn't last forever. There's a long life after playing where I can be there. Football has given me and my family opportunities, experiences and advantages that people could only dream of. If you love something, if you want to be elite, there are going to be some drawbacks. But I don’t see sacrifice.”

Just intense, enduring love for the game Kasper Schmeichel serves so well.

How to watch Champions League Final 2026 for FREE: Live stream details for PSG vs Arsenal, team news

James Roberts — Sat, 30 May 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Watch the Champions League Final 2026 today as Arsenal aim to lift the trophy for the first time against holders Paris Saint-Germain, with FourFourTwo bringing you all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Champions League Final 2026: key information

Kick-off time: 5:00pm BST / 12:00pm ET / 2:00am AEST (Sun)
FREE Stream: RTE (Ireland) / 9Now (Australia) / Tabii (Turkey)
TV & Streaming: TNT Sports (UK), Paramount+ (USA)
Watch from anywhere: Get 75% off with NordVPN

The Gunners have already enjoyed a season to remember after ending their 22-year wait to win the Premier League, but clinching Europe's top domestic prize would make 2025/26 arguably the greatest campaign in their history.

Standing in their way are holders PSG, who will bid to follow up their maiden Champions League title last season by retaining their crown - thereby securing their status among the all-time greats.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Paris Saint-Germain vs Arsenal in the Champions League Final 2026 online, on TV, and from anywhere.

Watch Champions League Final 2026 for free

Yes! You can watch the Champions League Final for free in several countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and Turkey:

Australia: 9Now (English commentary)
Austria: ZDF
Belgium: RTBF Auvio
Germany: ZDF
Ireland: RTE Player (English Commentary)
Switzerland: RSI / SRF
Turkey: TRT1 via Tabii

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Watch Champions League Final 2026 from anywhere

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How to watch Champions League Final 2026 in the UK

PSG vs Arsenal will be shown exclusively live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK and subscribers can also stream the game on the HBO Max platform.

TNT Sports is the home of European football in the UK, with almost every Champions League and Europa League live stream. You can add TNT Sports to your TV package or watch through the HBO Max streaming platform for £25.99 a month. HBO Max are also offering this game with their standard plan (£4.99/month).View Deal

How to watch Champions League Final 2026 in the US

Viewers in the United States can watch Paris Saint-Germain vs Arsenal on CBS and its streaming service Paramount+.

Watch the Champions League Final 2026 on Paramount+

CBS is the exclusive Champions League rights-holder in the US, and every single game is live-streamed on their online platform Paramount+. You need only the Essential package, which costs $8.99 per month. If you want to watch the CBS simulcast you will need the $13.99 Premium plan.View Deal

How to watch Champions League Final 2026 in Australia

Fans in Australia can watch the Champions League Final live through 9Now and on Stan Sport.

You will need an account for 9Now and an Australian postcode (E.g. 2000).

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How to watch Champions League Final 2026 in Canada

DAZN will broadcast the Champions League final in Canada with access available via Fubo.

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Champions League Final Preview

After years of taunts about bridesmaids, bottles, and broken dreams, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal have finally proved their critics wrong. Since winning the FA Cup in 2020, the Spaniard's first season as manager, the Gunners had been perpetual nearly-men, but no longer.

A cathartic first Premier League title in 22 years laid the ghosts of past disappointments to rest, and now Arteta's side can complete a campaign that might even trump the Invincibles of 2004 if they claim the club's maiden Champions League crown.

The Gunners' reliance on set-pieces and defensive resilience could prove vital against a Paris Saint-Germain side built on attacking flair, with their nine clean sheets in this season's competition comfortably the most of any club.

Having sealed the Premier League title 11 days ago, Arsenal have had plenty of time to concentrate on their biggest Champions League game since they reached their only previous final back in 2006. A victory would not only be momentous for the Gunners, but it would also complete an English clean sweep after Aston Villa and Crystal Palace lifted the Europa League and Conference League respectively.

There is arguably no tougher test Arsenal could face in Budapest than PSG, the free-scoring holders who clinched their first Champions League title in style with a 5-0 thumping of Inter Milan 12 months ago.

Blessed with the attacking talents of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele, Désiré Doué, and more, Luis Enrique's men have scored a whopping 43 goals in 16 games in this competition, including five in their thrill-a-minute 5-4 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their semi-final.

PSG wrapped up their fifth successive French title on May 13, so they have had even longer to prepare than Arsenal, while the comparative freshness of their stars, with the Gunners' starting XI having collectively played almost 7,000 minutes more than their counterparts this season, could give them an edge.

If they triumph, the Parisians will follow Real Madrid as only the second club in the Champions League era to win the competition in back-to-back years, while Enrique will surely stand among the greats, having also lifted the trophy with Barcelona in 2015.

Champions League Final: Team News

PSG XI: Safonov; Nuno Mendes, Pacho, Marquinhos, Hakimi; João Neves, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz; Doué, Dembélé, Kvaratskhelia.

Arsenal XI: Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapié; Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.

Champions League: Road to the Final 2026

Stage	Arsenal	PSG
League Phase	Finished 1st	Finished 11th
Knockout Play-off	—	Beat Monaco (5-4 agg)
Round of 16	Beat Bayer Leverkusen (3–1 agg)	Beat Chelsea (8-2 agg)
Quarter-final	Beat Sporting CP (1-0 agg)	Beat Liverpool (4-0 agg)
Semi-final	Beat Atlético Madrid (2-1 agg)	Beat Bayern Munich (6-5 agg)

FourFourTwo's prediction

Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Arsenal

The Gunners should have the resilience to make it a cagey final, but will PSG's attacking firepower prove too much?

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‘Lionel Messi plus Neymar plus Kylian Mbappe made everyone anticipate an enhanced version of all three, but you need a structure behind them. They were all born to be number one’ Mauricio Pochettino on his key Paris Saint-Germain challenge

Joe Mewis — Sat, 30 May 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Signing three of the planet’s best attackers for a run at the Champions League sounds like the stuff of Football Manager, but for Mauricio Pochettino, that was the reality during his stint at Paris Saint-Germain.

The French side’s frontline of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe was - on paper, at least - one of the most potent attacking tridents to ever be placed together, but the reality of the situation was something different.

Under Pochettino, PSG were not able to get over their Champions League hump despite this lavish outlay. With the Argentine now preparing for the World Cup as USA boss, he has opened up on the balancing act he faced during his time in the French capital.

Pochettino on the challenges of his Mbappe-Messi-Neymar frontline

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“You have to look at the management of expectations,” Pochettino explains to FourFourTwo. “Messi plus Neymar plus Mbappe made everyone anticipate an enhanced version of all three, but you need a structure behind them.

“Those players were born to be number one, not to share the assists, penalties, goals and headlines. Managing that isn’t easy."

The attacking trio failed to land the Champions League (Image credit: Getty Images)

Pochettino was appointed as PSG boss in January 2021 and would spend two-and-a-half years in charge of the club, winning the 2021/22 Ligue 1 title, plus the 2021 Coupe de France.

And while he was unable to steer the side to the Champions League title, he enjoyed the challenge of coaching three of the world’s best attackers.

“Coaching them was a pleasure,” he continues. “The thing is that they were all special, and having to divide that spotlight required humility. They did it. They behaved brilliantly and knew how to share space and the stage, privately and publicly.

“But as a staff, we suffered because after every game, the praise wasn’t always shared equally. That touches on a player’s ego. Without ego, none of them would have become what they are.

“Ego isn’t a negative trait. Without it, you don’t survive. You can’t become number one without that touch of selfishness. In their case, it meant combining three different moments in their careers – Mbappe needed a high tempo with space and verticality, Messi needed time to manage the play, and Neymar was a blend of everything but suffered numerous injuries.

Pochettino spent two-and-a-half years in charge in Paris (Image credit: Getty Images)

“Bringing that together twice a week was complicated.”

One criticism aimed at PSG’s superstar attack was their work off the ball, but Pochettino insists that he never asked the trio to press more.

“That conversation never took place – it would have been inappropriate,” he insists. “You can’t have Messi, Mbappe and Neymar and demand they press like Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue or Bradley Barcola. They’re different profiles.”

Eberechi Eze interview exclusive: 'I think if Bukayo Saka took the time to actually practice, he could be a great chess player. He's methodical and a great decision-maker'

Mark White — Sat, 30 May 2026 07:31:47 +0000

Arsenal star and New Balance athlete Eberechi Eze has been speaking to FourFourTwo exclusively ahead of the Champions League final.

Eze has enjoyed a phenomenal first season back at his boyhood club, winning the Premier League at Arsenal and getting called up to Thomas Tuchel's England squad for World Cup 2026.

But with the midfielder famously into chess – and having squared off against grandmaster Magnus Carlsen for a game courtesy of a New Balance campaign – we asked him which of his team-mates would have the skills to move from the pitch to the board.

Eberechi Eze exclusive: 'Bukayo Saka would make a great chess player'

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“It was very cool playing against Magnus Carlsen,” Eze says now. “Obviously, I had one real game with him off-camera, which was over so quick. I thought I would put up a better fight, but when you realise the type of level that these guys are playing at, it's actually not even close, it's not even comparable.

“I learned a lot, though. He gave me some good tips that I'm using to kill my friends!”

Eze says Saka (second from right) could hack it at chess (Image credit: New Balance)

Chess isn't widely played at Arsenal's base in London Colney, but the England international has nominated Bukayo Saka as having the best potential of any of his team-mates to become a chess master.

“I think if he took the time to actually practice, Bukayo would be tough because he's intelligent and competitive,” Eze tells us.

“Noni Madueke as well, but I think B more: he's got that type of temperament to play chess. He’s quite methodical when he's on the pitch, he's a good decision-maker. I reckon he'd be good.”

Eze tells us now that working with New Balance simply “felt like a new opportunity”, and with the brand focusing on community campaigns, Eze's pathway of working his way up the lower leagues to becoming a Premier League champion feels particularly apt for the collaboration.

“Yeah, I'd say it's very fitting with my story, my journey, where I've come from,” the Gunners star says.

Eze has enjoyed a storming first season in N5 (Image credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images)

“I just think that we were very aligned from the start. From the picture that they had of me, the plans they had, it was clear it was gonna be a fit that would work and something that would be long-lasting as well.

“Yeah, it's been a special journey for sure.”

Who are TNT Sports' presenters, commentators and pundits for the Champions League final?

Steven Chicken — Sat, 30 May 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The season will come to a close with the Champions League final on Saturday, May 30, live and direct from Budapest.

Defending champions PSG will be looking to hold onto the famous trophy as they take on Arsenal, who are playing in just their second Champions League final and have never been crowned champions of Europe before.

Here's who you can expect to see among the presenters, pundits and commentators on the night

Who are the presenters, commentators and pundits on TNT Sport for the Champions League final?

Who are the commentators and pundits for PSG vs Arsenal?

Arsenal saw off Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals (Image credit: Getty Images)

Laura Woods is at the helm as TNT's main presenter for the evening, and will be joined in the studio by a trio of decorated former England stars.

Former Arsenal favourite Martin Keown will be there to represent the Gunners, with the centre-back's accolades at Highbury including lifting the Cup Winners' Cup in 1994.

Steven Gerrard is no stranger to success in this competition having skippered Liverpool to their sensational 2005 Champions League league victory.

Martin Keown at Arsenal in 1996 (Image credit: Alamy)

Rounding out the pundits is Owen Hargreaves, who collected winners' medals with Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

Darren Fletcher will be the lead commentator for the occasion, joined on co-comms by Rangers icon Ally McCoist.

'It's 50/50, maybe 55/45 for PSG because they're the holders - but Arsenal are the toughest opponent possible in the final for PSG' ESPN journalist Julien Laurens on how Arsenal can beat Paris Saint-Germain

Mark White — Sat, 30 May 2026 04:00:00 +0000

French football expert and ESPN journalist Julien Laurens has told FourFourTwo why the Champions League final will be closer than a lot of people think.

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Holders Paris Saint-Germain won last year's showpiece 5-0 in Munich to pick up their first trophy, with newly crowned Premier League champions Arsenal standing in their way in Saturday's final.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Laurens said that he believes Mikel Arteta has been given a blueprint of how to beat the Parisiens by a match played earlier on in the competition, and the match in Budapest will be an intriguing battle where possession will be key.

“Everybody saying Arsenal or PSG are huge favourites is wrong,” says Julien Laurens

“I think they are the two best teams in Europe right now: Bayern Munich could have been there, but Arsenal beat Bayern, and PSG knocked them out,” Laurens says. “For me, this is the toughest opponent possible in the final for PSG.

“You look at Bayern, or before that, Liverpool and Chelsea: those teams are attacking sides, right? They play open. They're very good at attacking, so they will put you under pressure, but you also know that there will be space for you, and you can play your game if you're PSG, especially at home.

Monaco gave PSG a run for their money in Europe (Image credit: Valery HACHE / AFP via Getty Images)

“Over one game, Arsenal will be far closer to what Monaco did to PSG when Monaco played PSG in the playoffs, which are the two most difficult matches that PSG have had in the Champions League this season in the knockout stages.

“Arsenal are like Monaco – and Monaco are not as good as Arsenal – but in what they do, there are similarities in terms of controlling the tempo of the game, being very aggressive, very much on you, and very physical, but within a defensive structure mindset. Bayern are a physical attacking side, whereas Arsenal are a physical, controlling, defensive structure team, and that's difficult to play against, even with Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, Neves, or Vitinha.

I'm wondering if Luis Enrique sees this and thinks, ‘You know what, Arsenal would rather not have the ball against us than have the ball, for sure.’ Despite what Mikel Arteta might say about wanting to control the ball, I don't think that's true, not against a team like PSG. So why don't PSG leave them the ball a bit more?”

With PSG huge favourites heading into the final, Laurens says that he thinks that the game will be closer than many expect – and that the Gunners' recent Premier League triumph has lifted some of the pressure from Arteta's side.

“I think it's going to be fascinating and much tighter than a lot of people say: everybody saying Arsenal or PSG are huge favourites is wrong,” he says. “I also think that Arsenal winning the Premier League title takes a massive weight off their shoulders, and that will give them an advantage in the final.

Arsenal lifting the title may relieve some of the pressure on the team to win the Champions League (Image credit: Michael Regan/Getty Images For Premier League)

“I'm not saying the final is a bonus, but at the start of this season, the main objective for Arsenal was to win the Premier League. If they win the Champions League and do this incredible Double, it will be amazing, and they have a chance. It's 50/50, maybe 55/45 for PSG because they're the holders.

“I also think that playing in that final last year is a massive psychological advantage for PSG. There are a lot of boys in the Arsenal team who have never played in a final like this before – Saka played in the Euros final, but in terms of the Champions League, apart from Kai Havertz, this is it.

“That's an advantage for PSG, but I think it's a good thing for Arsenal that they've already won the league before the last game of the season.”

How many teams have done the league and Champions League double?

Steven Chicken — Fri, 29 May 2026 16:07:24 +0000

Saturday's Champions League final comes with one certainty: the winning side will be adding the trophy to their collection as part of a league and continental double.

The feat is difficult enough that in 70 years of the European Cup and Champions League, only 17 different clubs have managed to get their hands on that trophy in the same season they also won their domestic league title.

There's a few that have done it more than once, of course. Here's the complete run-down of the list that Arsenal are trying to join and PSG are trying to go back-to-back on.

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One-time league and European title double winners

Celtic are the only Scottish side to have done this particular double (Image credit: Getty Images)

Benfica (1961)
Celtic (1967)*
Hamburger SV (1983)
Steaua Bucharest (1986)
PSV (1988*)
Red Star (1991)
Milan (1994)
Porto (2004)
Manchester City (2023*)
Paris Saint-Germain (2025*)

*as part of a treble

There's no shame at all, then, in being part of this section of double winners. Celtic, in particular, hold the distinction of becoming European football's first treble winners back in 1966/67.

Both of the most recent additions were treble winners, with Manchester City pulling it off in 2023 and PSG doing likewise two years later.

Arsenal would become just the fourth English side to do the European and domestic double if they can see off PSG.

Two-time league and European title double winners

Liverpool were the first side to do a European and English double (Image credit: Getty Images)

Inter (1965, 2010*)
Liverpool (1977, 1984)
Manchester United (1999*, 2008)

For 22 years, Liverpool had the claim of being the only English side to have done this particular double - and they had done it twice.

Manchester United joined the party with their treble win in 1999, with Sir Alex Ferguson doing it again nine years later.

It was a much longer wait for Inter - the longest gap of any two-time winners, in fact, with some 45 years passing between Helenio Herrera's Grande Inter and Jose Mourinho's treble winners.

Three-time league and European double winners

Ajax (1972*, 1973, 1995)

Ajax did the double two years in a row (Image credit: Getty Images)

A special mention needs to go to Ajax, who are one of just two sides to have done the double in back-to-back years...though PSG could yet make that three.

That came in 1972 and 1973, when Johan Cruyff and co dominated Europe, with their first double actually being a treble.

Then there's Louis van Gaal's side of 1994/95, who went unbeaten in both the league and Champions League - the only side ever to do so.

Four-time league and European title double winners

Bayern Munich (1974, 2001, 2013*, 2020*)

Bayern Munich's last double was completed behind closed doors (Image credit: Getty Images)

The first and most recent German side to pull off the feat, unsurprisingly, are Bayern Munich.

We are honestly at a loss for anything particularly interesting to say about that, because...yeah, that feels about right to us.

Take it as a compliment, Bayern fans.

Five-time league and European title double winners

Barcelona have done five doubles (Image credit: Alamy)

Real Madrid (1957, 1958, 2017, 2022, 2024)
Barcelona (1992, 2006, 2009*, 2011, 2015*)

There's another indicator of just how difficult the double is for you: 15-time winners Real Madrid have just five doubles to their name.

Not to take anything away from Real, but that serves to make Barcelona's decade-long dominance even more remarkable, with two doubles and two trebles delivered between 2006 and 2015. Even more ridiculous: every single one of Barca's European triumphs has came as part of a double.

Credit Real, then, for catching up to Barcelona so quickly. Having been 5-2 down on bragging rights in 2015, they have got themselves back level with a further three doubles in the past ten years.

Is Achraf Hakimi injured? Champions League final injury update on Paris Saint-Germain right-back

Chris Nee — Fri, 29 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000

There's yet more English opposition in the way for the European champions as they aim to retain their crown in Budapest on Saturday.

Paris Saint-Germain will play in the Champions League final for the second season in a row and have become used to seeing off Premier League opponents in those runs to the final two.

Luis Enrique's French champions knocked Arsenal out in last season's semi-final but the Gunners, now league champions too, stand in their way of back-to back final wins in Hungary.

Is Achraf Hakimi available for the Champions League final?

Hakimi has been sidelined by a hamstring injury (Image credit: Getty Images)

Attacking right-back Achraf Hakimi has been key to PSG's success. The 27-year-old scored the last goal of last season's semi-final against Arsenal and the first of PSG's emphatic final victory over Inter Milan.

Both his club and international managerMohamed Ouahbi have been keeping a close eye on the progress of the Morocco captain, who has been out with a hamstring injury with the Champions League final and World Cup 2026 drawing ever nearer.

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Hakimi picked up the injury in the first leg of PSG's bonkers Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, missing the second leg as well as the Parisians' last four games in Ligue 1.

PSG in particular have been boosted by the latest update on the eve of the Champions League final against Arsenal at Puskas Arena.

"Although PSG haven’t confirmed that Hakimi will definitely be fit to play, he resumed group training on Tuesday and has been named in the squad for the game," reports AS.

"Hakimi’s presence would be a huge boost for PSG, given his impact at both ends of the field.

"Although nominally a full-back, the Madrid-born star is a key attacking outlet for Luis Enrique’s team, often popping up in positions other right-backs wouldn’t even dream of venturing into."

PSG boss Luis Enrique (Image credit: Getty Images)

Having missed three of the last four group stage fixtures, Hakimi had played in all of PSG's Champions League knock-out fixtures before the extraordinary 5-4 at the Allianz Arena last month.

Ousmane Dembele is expected to be fit after a minor injury of his own in advance of the Champions League final, which will not be broadcast free-to-air in the United Kingdom for the first time since its rebrand in 1992.

"We have made all three UEFA finals this year available from just £4.99, the price for a month-long subscription to HBO Max that also includes the great entertainment on the service. This represents exceptional value for fans to watch the conclusion of the competitions," said TNT Sports.

Will key Arsenal figure miss Champions League Final after touchline fracas?

Kedar Bayley — Thu, 28 May 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The North London club, crowned Premier League victors last week for their 2025/26 English top-flight campaign, still have work to do this season.

Arsenal will play their first Champions League final since 2006 against holders Paris Saint-Germain this weekend.

Arsenal have never won Europe’s most prestigious club tournament, having lost the previous final 2-1 to Barcelona, and they could be without a key figure in their pursuit of the trophy this weekend.

Will Andrea Berta receive a stadium ban for the Champions League final?

Their clash against PSG is also a grudge match of sorts for Mikel Arteta’s men, having faced off against the Ligue 1 champions last year en route to PSG’s eventual victory.

The French side prevailed in the Champions League semi-finals by an aggregate score of 3-1, with goals from Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi and Fabian Ruiz across the two games.

Ballon D'or winner Ousmane Dembele was the difference against Arsenal last year. (Image credit: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

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Arsenal won their last semi-final clash against Atletico Madrid by an aggregate score of 2-1, however, sporting director Andrea Berta appeared to butt heads with Diego Simeone in the fixture’s second leg.

Arsenal prevailed 1-0, with the event capped by a Berta and Simeone fight on the touchline, in which the Atletico Madrid boss left his technical area to push the Gunners director.

Berta attempted to get the referee’s attention, pleading him to blow the whistle as Arsenal were winding down the clock in a tense 1-0 victory.

This behaviour caught Simeone’s eye, who stormed over and appeared to push Berta, leading to the two men requiring separation.

Team staff intervened quickly, meaning the altercation did not physically escalate, however, Berta could be seen yelling and waving his arms animatedly in Simeone’s direction while being backed away.

Arsenal's sporting director has quickly become a fan favourite. (Image credit: Getty Images)

As a result, this behaviour is highly unlikely to meet the threshold for a stadium ban, meaning the Gunners favourite will be present to see his side face off against PSG.

Stadium bans are exceedingly rare for team staff, with one notable exception being Jose Mourinho, who received one in 2015 for an abusive rant directed at referee Jon Moss.

Unless Berta’s words are revealed to be similarly abusive, or Simeone makes an official complaint, then the Italian director will be in Budapest to hopefully see his team lift the Champions League trophy, which has continually evaded the Gunners.

Quiz! Can you name Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan side that held off Barcelona in 2010?

Mark White — Wed, 27 May 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Jose Mourinho may never have been more Jose Mourinho than when his side successfully held off Pep Guardiola's brilliant Barcelona in the 2010 Champions League semi-final second leg.

Inter had claimed a 3-1 lead in the first leg but were reduced to ten men just 28 minutes into the return trip to the Nou Camp.

The away goals rule meant a 2-0 victory for Barcelona would have put them through, but Inter stood their ground magnificently and limited a star-studded Barca to just a single goal... or a single legitimate goal, anyway.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Inter, of course, went on to lift the trophy by beating Bayern Munich.

Our question for you is... how many of Inter's starting line-up from that game in Barcelona can you name? And how quickly can you do it?

Remember, you can sign into Kwizly for a clue, too. Just press the 'hint' button and we'll give you the first letter of the next name you're looking for.

Remember to tweet your scores @FourFourTwo and share with your mates.

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Just tested your knowledge of Inter Milan? Why not continue your exploration of Milanese football by seeing if you can name whether a selection of players featured for AC Milan, Inter Milan, both, or neither?

If your interests extend beyond Italy, why not challenge yourself to name every Ballon d'Or top-three finisher from 2007 to 2023, excluding the legendary duo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo? For a focus on English football heritage, see if you can name every club to have ever won an English league title.

If you enjoy testing your knowledge of big transfer deals, why not try to name Barcelona's 40 most expensive players of all time? Or, for a Premier League focus, see if you can name the 50 overseas players with the most appearances in the competition's history?

Finally, for a deep dive into German football, why not aim for a perfect score in our big quiz on German footballers? Good luck!

Joe Hart reveals lasting Pep Guardiola impression and Manchester City 'grudge' stance

Kedar Bayley — Tue, 26 May 2026 17:30:00 +0000

The ex-England international played just one game for Manchester City under the Spaniard, before a series of loan moves saw him bounce around.

Joe Hart has now revealed his lasting impression of Pep Guardiola, and whether he holds a grudge over being pushed out of Manchester City.

The Spaniard, who managed his last game for the Cityzens on Sunday, previously revealed to Sky Sports that he had one regret he’d “hid deep inside for many years.”

Joe Hart reveals opinion on Pep and 'grudge' stance

The 55-year-old revealed: “I didn’t give Joe Hart a chance to be with me, to prove himself [and] how good a keeper he was. And I should have done.

You know, life is sometimes — I have to take decisions, and sometimes I am not fair enough,” confessed Guardiola.

Joe Hart won three successive Golden Glove awards with Manchester City.

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Hart, a three-peat Golden Glove winner from 2010 to 2013, previously revealed in an Instagram Live in 2020 that he felt as though Pep was pushing him out of the club.

“Pep was making it very clear that I had to leave Manchester City. [The fans] made it very clear that it wasn’t their decision that I was leaving,” said the ex-England international.

Hart’s first and final game under Guardiola came in a Champions League qualifier, in which the goalkeeper had an opportunity to say goodbye to his adoring fans before loan moves to Torino, West Ham, then a permanent transfer to Burnley.

In light of Guardiola’s recent comments, Hart offered kind words for his ex-coach, stating plainly that he doesn’t hold grudges.

“I don't hold grudges. I gave my reasons, he gave his and he's the one with power. I liked him before, I like him now,” said the Manchester City legend.

Pep Guardiola and Joe Hart share a love of the same club, and a deep mutual respect. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Joe Hart on Pep's comment about regretting not giving him a chance at City: “I don't hold grudges. I gave my reasons, he gave his and he's the one with power. I liked him before, I like him now.”Love Joe, man. Brilliant human being. Proper blue. 🩵 pic.twitter.com/9Bs6qqZ8PgMay 24, 2026

“He’s a superb manager”, Hart continued. “I felt like I was good enough to certainly be given a chance, but that is football, that is life.

“I didn’t expect [Pep’s comments]. It meant more to me than I expected… my world kept spinning [after I left Manchester City] — I’ve had some amazing opportunities.

Hart concluded by expressing his gratitude for the Cityzens, then confessed he was excited to shake Guardiola’s hand and thank him for his service to their club.

Liverpool report: Alisson to Juventus saga takes dramatic twist

Kedar Bayley — Tue, 26 May 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Alisson Becker may have played his final Anfield game last Sunday, during the Reds’ 1-1 draw with Brentford.

Liverpool, who saw off icons Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson in the same game, have struggled to keep Alisson away from the allure of Serie A giants Juventus, since tentative links emerged earlier this year.

The Brazilian shot-stopper, two-time Golden Glove winner and Premier League champion, endured an injury-ridden season, with Giorgi Mamardashvili stepping up in his absence throughout Liverpool’s 2025/26 campaign.

Liverpool have now asked Alisson directly to stay

The Georgian deputy, once perceived as an ideal Alisson successor, struggled to impress in the many opportunities he received this latest top-flight season.

Mamardashvili kept just two clean sheets in 10 Premier League games for Liverpool, conceding 18 goals in that time, as the Reds marched to the lowest points tally for Champions League qualification in a 38-game Premier League season ever.

Alisson Becker's Liverpool career might not be over just yet. (Image credit: Getty Images)

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According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool have reportedly told Alisson, who FourFourTwo proclaimed the best in Premier League history, directly that they want him at the club heading into the 2026/27 season.

Romano said: “Liverpool told Alisson ‘we want you to stay, we want you to be our goalkeeper, we believe in you.’”

“Now it’s on Alisson. He was tempted by Juventus, for sure, but Alisson was probably considering an exit only in case Liverpool said ‘okay, you can go.’”

“He never wanted to break his relationship or legacy with Liverpool as a [club] legend. So that’s (Alisson leaving despite Liverpool still wanting him) never been the case,” he continued.

Alisson, who was offered a multi-year deal by Juventus in April and even agreed personal terms with the Italian giants, now appears set to remain on Merseyside barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Even if Alisson still wanted to leave, perhaps Cesc Fabregas' Como put the final nail in the Juventus coffin. (Image credit: Alamy)

Juventus failed to secure Champions League football in the 2025/26 Serie A campaign, falling on the final day to Torino in a 2-2 draw.

Cesc Fabregas’ Como secured the final Champions League spot following a 4-1 victory against Cremonese, with Roma, Napoli and Inter Milan in positions one through three.

If Liverpool’s prized shot-stopper still wants to leave Anfield, perhaps the prospect of playing Europa League football at the tail-end of his career could keep him a Red instead.

Liverpool face HUGE threat in race for Mo Salah successor: report

Kedar Bayley — Tue, 26 May 2026 09:58:36 +0000

Liverpool saw off two departing legends in Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson on Sunday in their final Premier League match of the season against Brentford, which ended 1-1.

Liverpool now reportedly face a huge threat in their race to secure the signature of Mo Salah’s prospective successor, with a far better-performing European giant firmly in the mix.

Salah ended his Liverpool career with one last flourish on Saturday, finding Curtis Jones for the first goal of the afternoon and topping the Reds’ charts for most Premier League assists.

Liverpool will rival PSG for the signature of Yan Diomande

Yan Diomande of RB Leipzig, long-rumoured to be Liverpool’s successor to Salah, is being pursued by current Champions League holders and finalists PSG.

PSG have knocked Liverpool out of the competition in consecutive seasons, winning their latest quarter-final clash by an aggregate score of 4-0.

Yan Diomande has ripped the German top-flight to shreds this season. (Image credit: Getty Images)

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According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the 19-year-old is at the top of PSG’s summer shortlist, with firm enough interest to leave the decision in Diomande’s hands.

Romano said: “Get ready because Liverpool want him, PSG want him, player and Leipzig will dictate the conditions.

“Let me start by telling you that Yan Diomande is absolutely in the shortlist, on top of their shortlist at Paris Saint-Germain and at Liverpool.

“The player is considering his options… in terms of project, in terms of contract, in terms of development, in terms of manager, so, there will be conversations with Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain to decide the best option possible,” he continued.

The 19-year-old, who has recorded 21 goal involvements in 36 games this season, is also considering a Leipzig stay, with the German side preparing a lucrative offer.

A winger as technical as Diomande would fit perfectly into Enrique's system. (Image credit: Getty Images)

This would include a salary raise for another season until 2027, offering Diomande more time to make the optimal decision, with a release clause also included in the contract.

The Leipzig star, who featured in FourFourTwo’s ‘The Boy’s A Bit Special’ series, topped the Bundesliga’s dribbling charts in 2025/26 by a remarkable distance.

The 19-year-old averaged 3.6 successful dribbles per game at a 60% completion rate, with Antonio Nusa on 2.2 and 53% in second, and Michael Olise on 2.0 and 47% in third.

Leipzig secured Champions League football for the 2026/27 season, offering Diomande the opportunity to showcase his talents on the brightest of stages should he choose to remain in Germany for a further year.

"Pep Guardiola had described Tottenham Hotspur as ‘Harry Kane’s team’, which didn’t sit well with us. Eliminating Manchester City from the Champions League without Harry was so satisfying" Mauricio Pochettino on the 2019 quarter-final victory

Joe Mewis — Mon, 25 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Tottenham Hotspur’s 2018/19 season was one of the most emotionally charged campaigns in the club’s recent history.

With Mauricio Pochettino having established his team as a top-four side and the club gearing up to move into their new stadium, Spurs would find themselves deep inside a Champions League run as the season reached its business end.

Following a last-16 stroll past Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham faced a domestic opponent in the quarter-finals when they took on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, before a semi-final against Ajax and another all-English affair in the final against Liverpool.

Pochettino on Tottenham’s Champions League run

For Pochettino, Lucas Moura’s hat-trick goal against Ajax remains one of his best moments in football, but he is quick to acknowledge how his side got there.

“That [match against Ajax] was one of the greatest nights of my career, but without the previous tie against City, we wouldn’t have even got to that semi-final,” Pochettino tells FourFourTwo.

Lucas Moura's hat-trick helped Spurs get past Ajax

“We won the first leg 1-0 at home to City, in a game where Hugo Lloris saved a penalty from Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane injured his ankle.

“Guardiola had described Tottenham as “Harry Kane’s team”, which didn’t sit well with us because it seemed to diminish the work of the group.

“So playing the second leg at the Etihad without Kane and eliminating City carried enormous value for us.”

In Kane’s absence, Son Heung-min bagged a brace and Fernando Llorente scored what proved to be the decisive goal as Spurs’ 4-3 defeat on the night meant they progressed on away goals.

Once Ajax had been dealt with - again on away goals - Liverpool awaited in the final, with Jurgen Klopp’s side fresh from another dramatic tie, where the Reds came back from a 3-0 first-leg deficit to knock out Barcelona.

Kane missed the City second leg through injury

A second-minute Mohamed Salah penalty was bookended by a late Divock Origi strike, as Pochettino’s dream of claiming Spurs’ first European crown were dashed.

“We can’t regret anything,” Pochettino says as he looks back at the final in Madrid. “We played the way we did because we believed it was the best approach. After that, there are factors you can’t control.

“That handball by Moussa Sissoko wouldn’t be given as a penalty today, and it changed the script of the match because it put us at a disadvantage very early on.”

Why Mohamed Salah is the best Premier League player ever

Kedar Bayley — Mon, 25 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000

In time, Mohamed Salah will get the flowers he has so consistently been denied throughout his extraordinary, one-of-a-kind Premier League career with Liverpool.

And not the usual flowers: “I think Mohamed Salah will go down as one of Liverpool’s best ever players”, or, “Mohamed Salah gets into a Premier League all-time XI.”

We're talking about rightful recognition as not just a Liverpool legend – not “one of” in a list of almost always inferior players – but as the greatest to ever grace the English top-flight.

Mohamed Salah is the greatest the Premier League has ever seen

It's difficult to understand why Mohamed Salah’s name has seemingly been gatekept from wiggling its way into debates regarding the best-ever Premier League player.

On one hand, there’s the seemingly impenetrable fortress of nostalgia blocking any recent top-flight talents from breaking onto the list; on the other, there’s a bizarrely persistent emphasis on ‘aesthetics’ as a defining factor that eliminates Salah from the debate.

Salah's 2024/25 season stacks up against any individual campaign in football history, not just Premier League history. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Let’s run it down. No player in Premier League history has as many PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards (three) as Mohamed Salah. No player has won more Golden Boots (four) than Salah.

No player has more non-penalty goals (31) in a single 38-game season, or as many goal involvements (47) in a single 38-game season, with both of those records coming in separate campaigns.

No player has more open-play assists (18) in a single season and, for such a historic goal-scorer, the Egyptian has taken home the Playmaker Award come the season’s end twice.

No player in football history – except for Lionel Messi – has won the Golden Boot and the Playmaker Award, being the league's greatest scorer and creator, in the same season twice… and Salah.

Not even Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez or Neymar could do it once, while doing it twice is almost incomprehensible.

Did anybody in world football expect Liverpool's £35 million signing to leave an imprint so distinguished from that left by anyone else in league history?

Let’s continue. No player has won more points via their goal contributions in a single season than Mohamed Salah, who did so en route to an elusive Premier League title that his club had failed to win in front of fans for 35 years.

Across his first eight seasons for Liverpool in the Premier League, the Egyptian averaged 34 goal contributions per top-flight campaign. For reference, only two players in that eight-year window recorded more than 34 involvements – Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, who achieved a higher number once each.

For eight seasons, during which the Egyptian won the Premier League twice, Carabao Cup twice, FA Cup, Super Cup, Club World Cup as Player of the Tournament, and brought Liverpool to Champions League glory, Salah’s average top-flight haul outperformed the very best seasons from England’s two scariest strikers.

Statistically, there is nobody that close to Salah. Thierry Henry’s claim comes nearest – a slightly higher scorer on average than the Egyptian – but falls short when you see the disparity that exists between their assist totals.

Despite being a joint-holder of the Premier League assist record, Henry failed to record over 10 assists in six of his eight top-flight seasons, while Salah failed to do so in just two.

Discounting Messi and Ronaldo, the two greatest players ever, Mohamed Salah's 2017/18 season is the best from any player this century.

If we compare a single season of Mohamed Salah’s prime, his debut 2017/18 campaign, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Ballon D’or season in 2007/08, the results are not what so many football fans would have you believe.

Salah scored more Premier League goals, tallied more Premier League assists, scored more Champions League goals and tallied more Champions League assists.

Both players made it to the biggest European final, and en route, Salah scored more knock-out goals and recorded more knock-out assists than the Portuguese icon.

But here's the kicker. For such a remarkable player to watch in Ronaldo, compared to the often described as ‘stiff' and 'robotic’ Salah, the Portuguese star completed just ten more dribbles than him across both competitions: 126 for Ronaldo to 116 for Salah.

And while some would argue comparing the statistics of a ‘striker’ in Salah to a ‘midfielder’ in Ronaldo isn’t fair, the Manchester United man scored twice the number of goals in the six-yard box as Salah, and took four times more penalties.

No player has ever pulled more weight en-route to a Premier League title win than Mohamed Salah. (Image credit: Getty Images)

In fact, during 'midfielder' Ronaldo’s prime years in the Premier League, 2006 to 2009, he averaged almost six shots taken per 90 minutes, compared to 'striker' Salah’s less than 4 shots per 90 during his Liverpool career.

So, what is the difference between that version of Salah and that version of Ronaldo if not solely the team they had around them?

Because when Salah fails to be disproven statistically, the argument suddenly becomes about team trophies. Strangely, the same argument is not pitted against Thierry Henry's claim, who won the same number of Premier League titles as the Egyptian and was unable to take Arsenal to the European perch, unlike Salah.

If you point out the flawed logic in using team trophies to decide a player's greatness, because surely that would make Ryan Giggs the all-time best, then the back-up argument emerges.

“But Ronaldo won the Ballon D’or!” – which is just as odd, because we fail to see such passion for Michael Owen being the best Premier League striker ever. Perhaps those same fans would take significant offence to suggesting Rodri is a greater midfielder than Xavi, Iniesta, or Lampard and Gerrard.

They say that records are made to be broken, but it remains very likely that, in our lifetimes, some of Mohamed Salah’s records will be immortal. In time, Premier League fans will begin to wonder why those records cannot be broken.

What a player. What a legacy. What a man.

It feels unlikely that we will see a player equal or top Salah's three PFA POTY victories any time soon, considering that nobody in the award's 60-year history could do so before the Egyptian arrived in this league.

Just as the NBA's MVP award was recently re-named after Michael Jordan, who won a still unbeaten five trophies, how long will it be before the PFA should consider naming their award after Salah?

In years to come, when every great's name that anyone can raise falls to the Salah sword, Premier League fans will slowly realise what their league had, and what their league lost.

While it's a sad day to witness the individual pinnacle of Premier League greatness leave the English top-flight, it's also a day to remember everything that he gave us.

And those memories will last forever. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing the name 'MOHAMED SALAH' in match-day broadcast graphics for years to come.

What needs to happen for six Premier League teams to qualify for the Champions League

Steven Chicken — Thu, 21 May 2026 14:41:23 +0000

Alongside relegation-threatened Tottenham and West Ham, two unexpected sides will be paying particularly close attention to results elsewhere on the final day of the Premier League this Sunday.

That's because there is potentially a Champions League place on the line for the team that finishes sixth in the table - but it does require a couple of results to fall the right way.

Here's what would need to happen on the final day for Bournemouth or Brighton to claim a seat at European football's top table for the first time.

What Bournemouth or Brighton need to happen on the final day to qualify for the Champions League

Aston Villa's Europa League win has made six Champions League places a possibility (Image credit: Ozan KOSE / AFP via Getty Images)

The first requirement for England to have six sides in next season's Champions League was that a Premier League side had to win the Europa League.

That has, of course, already come to pass after Unai Emery lifted the trophy with Aston Villa on Wednesday night, having previously done so with Sevilla and Villarreal. (Emery also managed David Villa, at Valencia, but sadly never won the Europa League with him in one of football's greatest missed opportunities).

After rooting for Unai Emery's Aston Villa in midweek, Bournemouth and Brighton now need Villa to lose on Sunday (Image credit: Alamy)

The next requirement is for the Europa League winners, Aston Villa, to finish exactly fifth in the Premier League.

That's due to a difference in the technicalities of how UEFA handles the Champions League places.

In brief: if a team has already qualified for the Champions League by other means and finishes in the standard top four places, there is no additional Champions League place awarded to that country. (The only time an exception was made was in 2005, which was the first time it had occurred and so there was no precedent: Liverpool won the Champions League but finished fifth behind Everton, and both sides were entered in the qualification round as a result.)

So, for instance, if Arsenal beat PSG to win the Champions League next Saturday, England won't get a further additional Champions League place. Instead, the extra league phase place will pass down to another country. The same applies with Villa if they finish fourth, given that they have already earned a Champions League place by winning the Europa League.

Fabian Hurzeler needs four results to go his way on Sunday (Image credit: Getty Images)

The catch is in the wording of the additional Champions League place awarded for the two countries with the best coefficients that season, which this season will be England and Spain.

Those rules stipulate that the extra slot passes to the highest ranked team that has not already qualified.

That means that if Villa finish fifth, they get their Champions League place by virtue of being Europa League winners rather than by virtue of league position.

That would mean yet another Champions League place passes to the team that finishes sixth in the table, giving the Premier League six Champions League entrants next season.

Andoni Iraola is leaving Bournemouth but could give them a big farewell gift (Image credit: Getty Images)

The upshot is that for sixth place to earn a Champions League place, the following needs to happen on Sunday:

Liverpool win at home to Brentford by any scoreline; AND
Aston Villa lose away to Manchester City by any scoreline

If both results come in, the team that finishes sixth will be in the Champions League next season.

That would be Bournemouth as long as they avoid defeat away to Nottingham Forest. A draw would be fine for the Cherries. Bournemouth could also finish fifth if Liverpool lose to Brentford, but would be reliant on a fairly hefty goal difference swing.

If Bournemouth lose, though, then Brighton and Hove Albion could sneak sixth place by winning at home to Manchester United.

There is no scenario in which Liverpool could get a Champions League place by finishing sixth, because if they were to lose and be overtaken by Bournemouth, Villa would be guaranteed to finish fourth.

What happens if Bournemouth and Liverpool finish level on points, goal difference and goals scored?

Steven Chicken — Thu, 21 May 2026 10:48:13 +0000

The Premier League title race and two of the relegation places have already been decided, with over half the league left with nothing substantial to play for on the final day.

But there is one intriguing and just about possible scenario that could instantly make things much more interesting.

The Premier League top five will earn a place in next season's Champions League, and that could yet extend further depending how things shake out on the final day.

How the Premier League's first play-off could happen and why Bournemouth might get the Champions League even without it

Realistically, Liverpool or Aston Villa are likely to finish in fifth place. The Reds are three points behind the newly-crowned Europa League champions with a superior goal difference.

But it is also possible that Bournemouth might end up finishing the campaign level on points with Liverpool...and if the scorelines align just right, they may well end up level on goal difference and goals scored too.

Missing out on the Champions League would be another blow for Arne Slot (Image credit: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

That is pretty unlikely, we should stress. The most plausible way for it to happen would be for Bournemouth to win 5-0 away to already-safe Nottingham Forest while Liverpool fall to a 1-0 defeat at home to Brentford.

In that scenario, both Bournemouth and Liverpool would finish on 59 points with 62 goals scored and 53 conceded.

The first two tiebreak criteria under rule 17 of the Premier League 2025/26 would not provide any separation, either.

Points gained in head-to-head record gives them both three points each, and away goals scored in head-to-head games gives them two goals each. The fact that Liverpool won their home game 4-2 and Bournemouth 'only' won theirs 3-2 therefore doesn't enter into it.

Eli Junior Kroupi helped Bournemouth shock Manchester City in midweek (Image credit: Getty Images)

That would leave just one more option to determine who finished fifth and got the Champions League place: "a play-off on a neutral ground, the format, timing and venue of which shall be determined by the [Premier League] Board."

That would be tremendous fun, and would neatly book-end the Premier League season after Liverpool and Bournemouth kicked off the entire campaign with that encounter at Anfield on the first Friday night of the season.

Of course, there is a way both sides could get Champions League qualification.

Liverpool and Bournemouth have both beaten each other this season (Image credit: Getty Images)

Villa's Europa League win means that if Unai Emery's side finish exactly fifth, then the sixth-placed team would also get a Champions League place, instead of a Europa League slot.

That means that if Bournemouth can't score at least five against Nottingham Forest, they actually better off hoping that Liverpool win, while Villa lose away to Manchester City in what looks like it could be Pep Guardiola's big farewell.

If that happens, then a single point would see Bournemouth hold off Brighton to secure sixth place and claim the final Champions League berth. The Seagulls are three points behind Andoni Iraola's side but with a superior goal difference.

FourFourTwo's Champions League Predictor: Predict the final and WIN

Mark White — Wed, 20 May 2026 09:38:37 +0000

We've reached the final of FourFourTwo's Champions League Predictor.

Win a FREE subscription

(Image credit: Future)

Terms and conditions below

The Predictor comes courtesy of Kwizly, but this isn't your typical football quiz asking questions about the history of football – we're looking ahead. So you have until May 30, 5pm to tell us who's going to win the Champions League this season: Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain.

And just in case that was too easy, we'd like you to tell us the minute of the first goal, for a bonus 10 points to be added to your overall score for the season. Brand new for the knockouts, too, you can compete in mini-leagues against your friends, too. 10 points if you get a correct answer on this one – since it's the final! – and whoever tops the table at the end of the night receives a free subscription to FourFourTwo magazine. Good luck!

Love this Champions League Predictor? You'll love these quizzes

Fancy some more? Of course you do.

Let's start with the trophy cabinets. See if you can name every English champion, FA Cup winner and League Cup winner throughout history: a truly mammoth task. Then, for a test of the most prestigious individual awards, prove you can recall every Ballon d'Or top three since 1992.

Now, for the quizzes that require true encyclopedic knowledge. Can you tackle the sheer volume of every club in the top seven tiers of English football? Following that colossal task, switch your focus to Europe and see if you can nail 50 correct answers in FFT's Big Champions League Quiz.

On top of all of that, our Friday Football Quiz delves deep into your knowledge reserves with questions from across the spectrum of the beautiful game, while our Weekend Crossword tests you with cryptic clues. Remember to sign up for our newsletter below for the best quizzes sent to you directly every day.

Competition Terms and Conditions

Competition Period: The competition opens at 06:00 GMT on 20 October 2025 and closes at 17:45 GMT on 20 October 2025. Entries received after the closing time or incomplete entries will not be accepted (they will be disqualified). Eligibility: This competition is open to legal residents of the United Kingdom and the United States who are 18 years or older. Excluded: Residents of Rhode Island, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S. military installations overseas, or any other U.S. jurisdiction where such competitions are prohibited or restricted by law. Employees of Future Plc and its group companies (“Future”), and their immediate family/household members, are not eligible to enter. Entry Limitations: Only one entry per household is permitted. Entries must be submitted by an individual participant; any entries made through automated means (bots, scripts, or other automated systems) are prohibited and will be disqualified. No purchase is necessary to enter or win. Prize: There is 1 prize available in total. The prize is a free one-year subscription to FourFourTwo magazine (print version for UK residents, digital for overseas residents. The prize is non-transferable and non-refundable, and no cash alternative will be offered. Winner Selection: The winner will be the eligible entrant who achieves the highest score in FourFourTwo’s “Champions League Predictor” quiz by the competition closing date. This is a skill-based competition – entrants earn points based on their predictions, and the entrant with the top score wins the prize. In the event of a tie for the highest score, the winner will be decided via a random draw among the tied top scorers to ensure a single winner. Notification of Winner: The winner will be notified by Future via email within 28 days of the closing date. The winner must respond and provide a valid UK postal address or email address for prize delivery. If the notified winner does not respond within 28 days of the notification (or is found to be ineligible), that winner will forfeit the prize, and the prize will be offered to an alternate winner. In such a case, the alternate winner would be the next eligible entrant (for example, the second-place contestant, or in case of a tie, the next drawn from the top group). Prize Delivery: The prize will be delivered to the winner’s address in the UK or US at no cost to the winner. Future (the competition organizer) will coordinate delivery of the FourFourTwo subscription to either a UK address or email address as supplied by the winner. Substitution: In the unlikely event that the stated prize is unavailable, Future (the Sponsor) reserves the right to substitute the prize with an alternative of equal or greater value. Any substitute prize will be of similar nature and value (for example, a subscription to a comparable magazine if necessary). Void Where Prohibited: This competition is free to enter and no purchase is required. However, it is void in any jurisdiction where it would be prohibited by law. (Entrants from the excluded territories listed above are not allowed to participate.) Tax Liability: The value of the prize may be taxable to the winner. The winner is solely responsible for any personal taxes that apply to the prize. Personal Data: Future processes personal data in accordance with its Data Privacy Notice available at: https://www.futureplc.com/privacy-policy/

Past Winners

Past winners

Gameweek 1: Abraar Akhter (33 pts)
Gameweek 2: Martin Gotzes (39 pts)
Gameweek 3: Achille Passarelli (42 pts)
Gameweek 4: Paddy McDonald (36 pts)
Gameweek 5: Steve Read (30 pts)
Gameweek 6: Matthew SK (36 pts)
Gameweek 7: Adam Styles (33 pts)
Gameweek 8: S Dark (39 pts)
Play-off first legs: James Ward-Massey (21 pts)
Play-off second legs: Nyle Farooqui (18 pts)
Round of 16 first legs: Kenzie McQuiston (12 pts)
Round of 16 second legs: Harrison Booth (24 pts)
Quarter-finals first legs: Farras Siregar (12 pts)
Quarter-finals second legs: Khiem Nguyen (12 pts)
Semi-finals first legs: S Dark (6 pts)
Semi-finals second legs: Jack O Sullivan (39 pts)

Why won’t the Champions League final be free-to-air for the first time ever?

Kedar Bayley — Wed, 20 May 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The 2026 Champions League final, with Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain facing off in Hungary, will be unavailable to watch for free for the first time ever.

The Champions League’s previous 10 finals have been broadcast for free via YouTube and the Discovery+ streaming service.

TNT Sports, previously BT Sport, have owned the rights to Europe’s most-anticipated game since the 2015/16 season, but why is it no longer free-to-air?

Broadcaster wants to drive HBO Max subscriptions

TNT Sports is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and the broadcaster has opted to make the Champions League final exclusive to HBO Max and its pay-TV channel.

WBD are hoping to drive up subscriptions to their HBO Max streaming service following its launch in the UK, which is fuelled by various European results this season.

PSG prevailed in last year's final, 5-0 against Inter Milan. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Three English teams will appear in the finals of all three UEFA European competitions: Arsenal vs PSG, Aston Villa vs Freiburg and Crystal Palace vs Raya Vallecano, in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League respectively.

According to The Guardian, UEFA reportedly feel uneasy about the decision, given its contract with WBD states that “best endeavours” should be made for the final to be free-to-air.

Crucially, the broadcaster is under no legal obligation to ensure this – an ideal loophole that allows WBD to set the terms going forward for Europe's greatest ever competition.

Prior to the broadcaster’s owning of these rights, the Champions League final was free-to-air under the handling of ITV, between the years of 1993 and 2015.

ITV held the rights exclusively for part of that period before sharing them with Sky Sports, and prior to 1993, the BBC alternated coverage of the game with ITV.

Some of the sport's greatest ever games have been free-to-watch in the UK, but not this year. (Image credit: Getty Images)

This season is the penultimate year of UEFA’s partnership with WBD and TNT Sports, with Paramount+ and Amazon Prime gaining the rights for the 2027/28 season.

Paramount’s contract, which will contain the majority of Champions League games, will expire at the end of the 2030/31 season, before potentially returning to TNT Sports.

Paramount are in the process of acquiring WBD, meaning they’d unify their services with HBO Max in the UK, and only time will tell whether this latest precedent set by the broadcaster will continue for future Champions League final matches.

Newcastle United announce major acquisition ahead of summer transfer window

Kedar Bayley — Tue, 19 May 2026 16:29:04 +0000

Newcastle United have announced a major acquisition prior to the upcoming summer transfer window, as Eddie Howe’s side look to finish the Premier League season strongly.

Newcastle United have suffered a dramatic fall-off since last season’s Carabao Cup victory and Champions League qualification, currently placed 11th in the top-flight table.

Eddie Howe’s men will look to add their squad during this summer’s transfer window, but the Magpies’ latest major acquisition has been cited as crucial to the club’s long-term planning.

Newcastle United acquire historic building next to St. James’ Park

Newcastle United have purchased a significant portion of the historic Leazes Terrace building next to St. James’ Park, as part of its long-term plans for the club’s home stadium.

The acquisition comprises a substantial majority of the building, including its northern, southern and western elevations, and all areas facing the stadium.

The Leazes Terrace acquisition is part of the club's long-term plans for the stadium. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The club has also acquired most of the building’s eastern elevation, which contains a small block of private residences.

A statement released today via the Newcastle club website read: “This strategic purchase… provides Newcastle United with greater flexibility and ensures any future decisions support the club's ambitions, as well as its responsibilities to the local community and the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.

“The club recognises the building’s historic and architectural significance and is committed to its preservation… [it is] part of the club's long-term planning as it continues to assess all credible and feasible options for the future of its home stadium.

“There are no plans to change the current use of Leazes Terrace, which is currently let for student accommodation. The club will retain the building’s existing property management operator,” it continued.

The statement concluded with a vow to Newcastle fans that this investment will not affect the club’s current trading position, meaning that any planned signings will likely go ahead.

Eddie Howe, whose job remains under serious threat, will hope to have a significant summer spending budget to dig his team out of their current hole. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Eddie Howe’s side have been linked with a series of high-profile names and developing talents ahead of the summer transfer window’s exploits, including a certified Gunners transfer target whose signature they will vie for alongside Arsenal.

It remains likely that the Magpies will lose Anthony Gordon this summer – who bagged a remarkable 10 Champions League goals for Newcastle during the 2025/26 campaign – which could see a sizeable chunk of spending money added to the Geordie budget.

Newcastle return to Premier League action, hoping to escape the bottom half of the table, against Fulham at Craven Cottage in Matchweek 38.

The history behind Mo Salah and Jamie Carragher’s long-time feud

Kedar Bayley — Tue, 19 May 2026 13:09:22 +0000

The Liverpool forward’s recent Instagram post, a subtle dig at struggling manager Arne Slot, was the subject of yet another rant from Jamie Carragher yesterday evening.

Mohamed Salah and Jamie Carragher’s feud is well-documented and almost entirely propagated by the ex-Liverpool centre-back, but the Egyptian has also gotten a rare hit in across the years.

The latest instalment in their beef came yesterday evening on Sky Sports, as Carragher branded the winger’s latest Instagram post as “selfish” and revealed that he had told colleagues Salah would “drop another bomb.”

Jamie Carragher has made his negative feelings towards fellow Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah known

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The 48-year-old continued: “Mo Salah is more Salah FC than Liverpool FC. And the reason I’ve been critical of him is because he puts himself before the football club.”

The ex-Liverpool player then compared Salah’s reaction to being benched in December to the responses of Reds legends Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard at the tail-end of their careers.

Jamie Carragher compared Mohamed Salah's behaviour to Steven Gerrard's at the end of his Liverpool career. (Image credit: Getty Images)

“Did [Dalglish] come out and lambast Joe Fagan? No, he didn’t. Did Steven Gerrard lambast Brendan Rodgers on his way out? No, he didn’t. I still don’t remember Salah apologising for his outburst at Leeds,” said Carragher.

Mohamed Salah was revealed by team-mate Curtis Jones to have apologised to the squad following his outburst in December, but a persistent focus on the negative aspects of his character and behaviour have come to be expected from the ex-Liverpool centre-back.

In 2024, Carragher also appeared to hit out at the Egyptian’s perceived selfishness when the winger took to the media to hustle for a contract negotiation at Liverpool, during a week in which the Reds were set to face key rivals Real Madrid and Manchester City.

The 48-year-old said on Sky Sports: “If [Salah] continues to put comments out, or his agent keeps putting cryptic tweets out, that’s selfish. That’s thinking about themselves and not the football club."

Salah took to X shortly after, writing: “I’m starting to think you’re obsessed with me,” before scoring and assisting in a 2-0 win over Manchester City in the following Premier League game.

I’m starting to think you’re obsessed with me 😉 https://t.co/YAnwbaHdRiJanuary 6, 2025

After that clash, in which the Egyptian received the Man of the Match award, Virgil van Dijk joked that he was surprised Carragher didn’t give the award to him instead, while handing Salah the trophy.

The Egyptian added: “He wouldn’t give it to me!” and prompted the 48-year-old to clarify via X that he “would’ve given it to VVD, to be fair.”

Their feud reached darker heights in December 2025 when Salah was recurrently benched under Arne Slot, prompting the winger to give a fiery interview and slam Liverpool for not protecting him from media criticism.

Carragher’s darkest moment and past Salah tirades

Mohamed Salah celebrated with fans after scoring the second and final goal of the evening against Manchester City. (Image credit: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

In response, Carragher said: “I will go after Mo Salah when he tries to throw my club under the bus off the pitch and just thinks about himself. I certainly will do that.”

During this tirade, in which he referred to Liverpool as his club, not Salah’s, he branded the winger’s actions a “disgrace” and "choreographed… to cause maximum damage.”

In the 2018/19 season, Carragher made his preference known regarding the competition between Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, during their title race against Manchester City.

Speaking on Monday Night Football, the 48-year-old said: “Mane is the one that got Liverpool back. He was Klopp’s first big signing.

“It's not just scoring, being top of the charts… banging a couple in at the end of the game. It's the importance of the goals Mane is getting. He’s the best wide player that Liverpool have had for 30 years [since John Barnes]... I'd rather lose Salah than Mane," he continued.

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were a frightening duo.

Carragher’s comments arrived during Salah’s first ever goal drought for Liverpool, after bagging 32 strikes, a Premier League single season record, in the campaign prior.

In the 18 months prior, the Egyptian had recorded 70 Premier League goal involvements in 69 games for Liverpool, compared to Mane’s 36 contributions in 58 matches.

While Liverpool fought for the Premier League title in 2024/25, with Salah on track to win a record-breaking third PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, Carragher confessed on Sky Sports that the Egyptian could perhaps be Liverpool’s greatest ever player.

Leadership Josh!First bad season for him & the club & I think he could’ve handled better. When you’re picking your top 10 the slightest thing can change it as there’s not much in it.Just a reminder I put him 6th on the list of LFC all time 🤷🏻‍♂️🤯😅March 30, 2026

The Egyptian lived up to Carragher’s prophecy, winning PFA POTY, the Golden Boot and the Playmaker Award, alongside the Premier League title, then, the next year, Carragher placed Salah at sixth in his all-time Liverpool legends ranking while speaking to the club.

The ex-Liverpool’s centre-back’s list arrived days after the announcement of Salah’s Anfield exit, prompting furious responses from fans on X.

Graeme Souness was ranked higher than Mohamed Salah in Jamie Carragher's Liverpool legends list, cited as being for "leadership" reasons. (Image credit: Alamy)

When asked why he had dropped the Egyptian lower in his rankings, Carragher wrote on X: “Leadership! First bad season for him and the club [in 2025/26] and I think he could have handled it better.”

While taking off-the-pitch behaviour and leadership into consideration for his list, the 48-year-old placed Graeme Souness above the Egyptian.

Souness is widely remembered for giving an interview to The Sun while acting as manager of Liverpool, which was published on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

Whatever the outcome of Salah and Carragher’s feud will be in years to come, Liverpool fans will surely be glad to see the end of it with the Egyptian now set to depart from Anfield.

Mohamed Salah will return to wear Liverpool red one final time against Brentford on Sunday, with Arne Slot’s men looking to secure Champions League qualification.

Pep Guardiola will be 'extremely disappointed' by bombshell: Gary Neville reacts to Manchester City news

Kedar Bayley — Tue, 19 May 2026 09:57:12 +0000

Gary Neville has delivered his verdict on yesterday’s ‘game-changer’ news regarding Pep Guardiola’s end-of-season departure.

Pep Guardiola is set to leave Manchester City at the end of the 2025/26 season, after sealing the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and still in the Premier League title race this year.

The Spaniard four-peated the Premier League between the years of 2020 and 2024, before Liverpool disrupted the streak in 2024/25 and Arsenal look to do the same this campaign.

Gary Neville reacts to leaked Pep Guardiola departure

Arsenal prevailed in a narrow 1-0 victory against already-relegated Burnley in their penultimate Premier League game on Monday evening.

The Gunners are now separated by 90 minutes against London rivals Crystal Palace from their first top-flight trophy in 22 years.

Mikel Arteta is gunning for Premier League glory this season, after three successive second place finishes in the competition. (Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Gary Neville, working as co-commentator during the Arsenal victory, reacted to the Daily Mail’s report of Guardiola’s impending Etihad exit and slammed its unfortunate timing.

Speaking on SkySports, the Manchester United legend said: “I'm surprised that it's broken right now. Not just because it's during this match, but it's the night before a Man City game.

“I think of being in school and the news of Kenny Dalglish leaving Liverpool, or Sir Alex Ferguson leaving Manchester, and Jurgen Klopp leaving Liverpool recently. Something like that is game-changer news.

“They’re such huge moments in football, and I don’t see it as news [that] Manchester City would let get out, or would want out. If it is true, [City] will be extremely disappointed that it has broken now, and so will Pep Guardiola.”

Since joining the Cityzens in 2016, Guardiola has led Manchester City to a remarkable six Premier League titles, including 100-point and 98-point back-to-back wins in 2017 and 2018.

Gary Neville believes this news is comparable to the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson from Manchester United. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Spaniard, ranked at No. 5 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest managers of all time, also led his men to two Champions League finals, losing the first in 2021 to Chelsea and winning the second during a treble season against Inter Milan in 2023.

The Manchester City coach was only prevented from winning England’s most-coveted domestic title twice, first by Jurgen Klopp, then again by Arne Slot, both of Liverpool.

The Spaniard’s ex-colleague at Manchester City, Mikel Arteta, is in pole position to be the first non-Liverpool coach to steal a title from under Guardiola’s nose, now five points clear at the Premier League table’s perch.

Former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has reportedly reached a verbal agreement to join Manchester City as the club’s next head coach, according to a report from transfer expert Fabrizio Romano this morning.

Pep Guardiola will return for his final two Premier League games as the Cityzens’ coach against Bournemouth this evening, then Aston Villa in Matchweek 38, looking to wrap up his tenure with a seventh English top-flight title.

Manchester United sale confirmed, thanks to familiar face

Joe Mewis — Mon, 18 May 2026 15:56:21 +0000

Manchester United will conclude their season at Brighton this weekend, knowing that third place in the Premier League is theirs, as a campaign which began poorly will end with a return to the Champions League.

Michael Carrick took the reins as interim Manchester United boss in January when the club called time on Ruben Amorim’s tenure and the former England and Red Devils midfielder has delivered the team’s best campaign for three years, paving the way for him to be named permanent boss.

When that is confirmed, Carrick will be able to look forward to a full pre-season in the job, when he will no doubt have a say on how the club conduct their business in the transfer window.

Manchester United set for £38m windfall

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Last summer, the club had a transfer spend of more than £200 million, with the focus being on the club’s attacking corps, as the likes of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko were all brought in.

This retooling of the attack also saw a number of loan exits and one of these has resulted in an end-of-season windfall, with a former Red Devils star playing a key role.

Rasmus Hojlund struggled during his two seasons in the Manchester United first-team (Image credit: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Rasmus Hojlund joined Manchester United in the summer of 2023 in a £64million move from Atalanta, but a return of just 14 goals from 62 Premier League appearances over two seasons saw him fall out of favour at Old Trafford.

The Danish international moved back to Serie A last summer, joining Napoli on a season-long loan which included an obligation to buy if the Italian side qualified for the Champions League this season.

Hojlund quickly established himself in Antonio Conte’s side and while champions Inter have left all-comers in their wake this season and derailed Napoli’s title defence, the Naples side were able to seal Champions League spot on Sunday, when they eased to a 3-0 victory over already-relegated Pisa.

Hojlund netted his 15th goal of the campaign when he scored against Pisa and joined his former Manchester United team-mate Scott McTominay on the scoresheet.

McTominay, who joined Napoli in the summer of 2024 has again been one of the club’s driving forces this term and Manchester United will certainly be thanking the Lancaster-born Scot for helping Napoli reach the Champions League and activating the resulting £38million clause for making Hojlund’s deal a permanent one.

Scott McTominay has dazzled since leaving Manchester United (Image credit: Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo’s view, this is a transfer that makes sense for all parties.

Hojlund - who is currently valued at €50million by Transfermarkt - was clearly not clicking at Old Trafford and as a result his value was tanking. While the club have had to swallow a loss on the £64million they paid to land him from Ajax three years ago, holding onto a player they do not want could end up being even more costly.

Now, Manchester United will be able to go into the summer window with more financial firepower to go along with the clout that offering Champions League football will bring as they look to upgrade their squad for a return to Europe’s top table.

Atletico Madrid set sights on out of favour Premier League forward: report

Kedar Bayley — Thu, 14 May 2026 15:50:58 +0000

Diego Simeone’s men are aiming to add an out of favour Premier League forward to their ranks ahead of the 2026/27 season.

Atletico Madrid have suffered an underwhelming season under Simeone after missing out on the Copa del Rey trophy last month and a Champions League final appearance last week.

Currently placed fourth in the La Liga table, Simeone has reportedly set his sights on an out of favour Premier League attacker who he believes is an ideal candidate ahead of the club’s attacking rebuild this summer.

Atletico Madrid want Nick Woltemade

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According to a report from Fichajes, Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade is perceived as the perfect fit for Simeone’s high-intensity system, ahead of an offensive overhaul this summer.

Atletico Madrid are prioritising signings who will provide an immediate impact ahead of the 2026/27 season, as opposed to developing talents.

Nick Woltemade had a prolific start to life at Newcastle. (Image credit: George Wood/Getty Images)

Woltemade has been closely monitored by the club’s sporting management and will face a dilemma ahead of the summer, having failed to establish himself as the man to lead Newcastle forward this season.

Eddie Howe’s side, having lost superstar striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool last summer, are placed 13th in the Premier League table — a stark drop-off from last season’s Top 5 finish and Champions League qualification.

Woltemade has bagged seven goals and recorded three assists in 31 Premier League appearances, four of those ten involvements arriving in his first five games.

Atletico Madrid will have difficulty in convincing the Magpies to part ways with their striker, largely due the sizeable financial investment they made in securing his services.

The German was signed for a deal worth almost £70 million, who arrived from Stuttgart in August 2025 after bagging 12 goals in 28 games, and 17 starts, for the Bundesliga side.

The German has since fell out of favour with Eddie Howe, but Atletico Madrid are fascinated by his profile. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Woltemade’s combination of power and technique has attracted Atletico Madrid’s interest, with talks potentially set to intensify once the league season concludes.

Simeone’s side — who lost 4-2 on penalties in April’s Copa del Rey final to Real Sociedad, and 2-1 (agg.) to Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final — are also attracted to his versatility as a striker or attacking midfielder, and his aerial presence, stood at nearly two metres tall.

For now, Atletico Madrid will look to step up their efforts to sign the German, hoping to see his talents arrive at the Metropolitano Stadium next season.

Manchester United report: West Ham United star gives his agreement for Old Trafford move

Kedar Bayley — Thu, 14 May 2026 14:27:50 +0000

The Red Devils have emerged as the frontrunners to sign relegation-threatened West Ham’s star midfielder after receiving an immediate response from his representatives.

Manchester United, deep into the process of a midfield summer overhaul with the departure of reinvigorated veteran Casemiro, have seen drastic improvements under interim manager Michael Carrick.

Elsewhere, West Ham’s Premier League survival is far from confirmed, currently 18th-placed and two points beneath relegation rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Manchester United receive boost in quest for Mateus Fernandes’ signature

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According to a report from TEAMtalk, Manchester United are leading the race for Mateus Fernandes’ signature, with the Portuguese midfielder being highly receptive to the idea of an Old Trafford arrival.

The Red Devils have already contacted his representatives and received an immediate response regarding Fernandes’ priorities, which lie far beyond a potential Championship campaign with West Ham in 2026/27.

Mateus Fernandes is on Manchester United's radar (Image credit: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

The 21-year-old joined the Hammers from Southampton in a deal worth £40 million last summer – a distinctly bright spark in the faltering West Ham machinery this season.

Manchester United reportedly view the young Portuguese midfielder as not just a solid partner to club captain Bruno Fernandes, who ranked at No. 4 in FourFourTwo's list of the best attacking midfielders in the world, but also a possible successor in his role.

Key traits that have attracted the Red Devils’ attention include the 21-year-old’s aggressiveness in duels and tackling, his progressive and line-breaking passing, and his composure on the ball.

The West Ham star is believed to idolise recent FWA Player of the Year winner Bruno Fernandes, and is excited by the idea of joining him in Manchester.

The West Ham midfielder has reportedly responded resoundingly to the opportunity presented, which would include Champions League football.

Fellow countryman Bruno Fernandes is one of the West Ham star's idols. (Image credit: Getty Images)

West Ham value their star midfielder at a minimum of £80 million – a figure likely to decrease if the club is unable to secure Premier League football for the 2026/27 season – with various European heavy-hitters expressing interest in the 21-year-old.

PSG and Manchester City are two such teams, with the former having already made contact with Fernandes’ camp, while the likes of Aston Villa and Chelsea also monitor developments.

Many European scouts have been noticed observing West Ham’s recent games, but Manchester United appear in pole position to secure the Portuguese star’s services for next season.

Every club to have qualified for the 2026/27 Champions League

Mark White — Wed, 13 May 2026 15:53:30 +0000

So who's in the Champions League 2026/27?

With just the Champions League final to play in the 2025/26 season, all but two clubs in Europe are starting to look forward to their next campaign in Europe.

And with several clubs having already qualified for UEFA's elite competition, the league phase is already taking shape.

The full-line-up

Champions League 2026/27: Every club to have qualified

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester City
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester United
🇮🇹 Inter Milan
🇪🇸 Barcelona
🇪🇸 Real Madrid
🇪🇸 Villarreal
🇪🇸 Atletico Madrid
🇪🇸 Real Betis
🇩🇪 Bayern Munich
🇩🇪 Borussia Dortmund
🇩🇪 RB Leipzig
🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain
🇫🇷 Lens
🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven
🇳🇱 Feyenoord
🇵🇹 Porto
🇹🇷 Galatasaray
🇺🇦 Shakhtar Donetsk

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Pots

The Champions League final will be held in Madrid in 2027 (Image credit: Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Which pots will each team be in?

Qualification is yet to wrap up for the 2026/27 Champions League, but we do know the pots for a lot of the teams who have already made it into next season's competition.

Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Inter Milan have won their respective leagues and will go into Pot 1 among the strongest teams in the competition, along with Paris Saint-Geramin, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Manchester City… and the eventual winner of the Europa League, so that's either Aston Villa or Freiburg.

City are in Pot 1 – whether they win the league or not. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are still waiting to find out whether the'll be in Pot 1 or Pot 2: the latter pot, however, will contain each of Porto, Real Betis – who are in a higher pot after good runs in the Europa League and Conference League in the last few years – and Manchester United, with the Red Devils back in the competition for the first time since 2023.

PSV, Feyenoord and RB Leipzig return to the Champions League in either Pot 2 or 3; Villarreal, meanwhile, are set for Pot 3 regardless of whoever else qualifies.

Shakhtar Donetsk and Galatasaray are both waiting to be placed into either Pot 3 or Pot 3, with Lens back in the big time and set for Pot 4.

Teams left to qualify

Aston Villa are on the brink of qualification… but not there yet (Image credit: Getty Images)

Which other teams can yet qualify?

In addition to Arsenal, Man City and Man United, England have two more spots for teams who can directly qualify for the League Phase, not including a potential Europa League winner in Villa.

Italy have three more spots in the League Phase to confirm, Germany and France have one, Belgium have one, Czechia have one.

The play-off round will feature Norway's Viking and Greece's AEK Athens, along with the champions of Austria and Scotland.

Arsenal Champions League Final kick-off time moved as safety reasons cited in modern era first

Ryan Gray — Tue, 12 May 2026 16:30:00 +0000

The kick off for Arsenal's Champions League final against Paris Saint Germain has been moved by UEFA to try and "enhance the matchday experience" for supporters.

Traditionally, kick off in the Champions League final has been at some time between 7 and 8pm UK time, although there were also the occasional 6.15pm and 6.30pm kick offs dating back to the 1970s.

However, for the first time in the modern era, it will now kick off at 5pm.

UEFA claims the decision will 'make the game safer'

It is hoped the move will make the stadium more accessible for supporters (Image credit: Getty Images)

In a statement announcing the new kick off time, UEFA stated that the aim was to make matchday a "truly enjoyable experience for everyone" and that they hope it will "create a welcoming atmosphere".

The new kick off time is more family friendly, meaning children can attend, while supporters making the trip to Budapest, where the final will take place, will have better access to public transport.

UEFA has said fans at home have also been considered with the time change, stating that it will reach "an even broader television and digital audience worldwide, with a particular focus on engaging younger viewers."

UEFA's president Aleksander Ceferin stated that the move "placed the fans' experience at the heart of our planning".

He added: "The UEFA Champions League final is the highlight of the football season, and the new kick-off time will make it even more accessible, inclusive, and impactful for everyone involved."

The decision has been well received by supporters groups, with some labelling it a "step forward for match-going fans".

Ronan Evain, executive director for Football Supporters Europe, said: "Over the last couple of years, Football Supporters Europe has worked closely with UEFA to improve the fan experience at club finals, and this change further reflects the recognition of supporters’ needs.

UEFA hopes the change will benefit TV viewers too (Image credit: Getty Images)

"An earlier kick-off makes day trips more feasible, reduces travel stress, and allows fans to enjoy the occasion without worrying about late-night logistics.

"It’s a practical improvement that puts fans first and continues to build on the progress already made to enhance the welcoming atmosphere, accessibility and service levels at UEFA finals."

PSG are currently favourites to win the final with the bookies, as they look to retain the trophy they won last year.

How to watch Untold UK — stream docs on Jamie Vardy, Liverpool's Miracle of Istanbul and Vinnie Jones from anywhere

James Roberts — Tue, 12 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Netflix's critically-acclaimed Untold series switches its attention to UK football for the first time with candid, no-holds-barred documentaries on Leicester City's 2016 Premier League-winning talisman Jamie Vardy, Liverpool's 'Miracle of Istanbul' in the 2005 Champions League final and iconic Wimbledon hardman Vinnie Jones.

Untold UK: Streaming Info

Release Date: Weekly beginning Tuesday May 12, 2026
Streaming: Netflix
Watch Anywhere: NordVPN (75% off right now)

Packed with grit, resilience, heartbreak and dressing-room banter, Untold UK will go beyond the headlines and upend what we thought we knew about these iconic stories in three standalone documentaries.

First up is Vardy, the personification of the ultimate football underdog story. The documentary uses unseen archive footage, raw dressing-room tales and interviews with the striker, his wife Rebekah, teammates, managers and oldest mates to chart how a lad from Sheffield rose from a non-League forward working factory shifts to firing 5,000/1 outsiders Leicester to the Premier League title.

Then comes Liverpool's Miracle of Istanbul, when the Reds fought back from 3-0 down at half-time to beat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final. This episode relives every heart-stopping moment from that unforgettable night while chronicling the team's journey to the final and told by those who made it happen, including manager Rafa Benitez, captain Steven Gerrard and Liverpool heroes Jamie Carragher and Xabi Alonso.

Last but not least is former Wimbledon hardman Jones, whose path from football's most feared player to Hollywood tough guy has been anything but ordinary. In his own words, the ex-midfielder charts his rise from the building sites of Wealdstone to FA Cup glory with Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' and the hills of West Hollywood.

Read on as FourFourTwo show you how to watch Untold UK from anywhere in the world.

Watch Untold UK on Netflix

Untold UK is a Netflix exclusive and will be available to watch in the UK and US from Tuesday, May 12.

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How to watch Untold UK from anywhere in the world

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Untold UK: Episode Information

UNTOLD UK: JAMIE VARDY: Premieres Tuesday, May 12, 2026
UNTOLD UK: LIVERPOOL’S MIRACLE OF ISTANBUL: Premieres Tuesday, May 19, 2026
UNTOLD UK: VINNIE JONES: Premieres Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Could Kylian Mbappe really leave Real Madrid?

Richard Buxton — Thu, 07 May 2026 18:00:00 +0000

When Kylian Mbappe joined Real Madrid, it looked as if the stars had finally aligned.

Mbappe was a long-term target of the then European champions, who had waited it out to sign him on a free transfer once his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired.

But the France captain's time at Real Madrid has been anything other than plain sailing, and after two years, talk has turned to a potential departure in the near future.

Kylian Mbappe's Real Madrid issues laid bare

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Mbappe arrived at Los Blancos just weeks after they claimed a record-extending 15th Champions League and had wrested their La Liga title from arch-rivals Barcelona.

The forward's personal return at the Bernabeu has been promising with 85 goals across his 100 appearances to date, breaking the 40-goal barrier in successive seasons.

Mbappe arrived at the Bernabeu with designs of major honours (Image credit: Getty Images)

However Mbappe's stock has plummeted as Madrid face up to a second campaign ending with no major honours and discourse raging within its inner sanctum.

The appointment of Alvaro Arbeloa as interim head coach following his former teammate Xabi Alonso's sacking has only increased reports of dressing room unrest.

Mbappe is alleged to have clashed with a member of the coaching staff in training ahead of their trip to Real Betis, where he suffered a hamstring injury last month.

Madrid fans are equally unimpressed and have questioned the 27-year-old's commitment to the cause after he travelled to Sardinia for an approved break period.

Pictures of Mbappe aboard a yacht in the luxury Italian destination with his actor girlfriend Ester Exposito surfaced last weekend, just before the club faced Espanyol.

Madrid fans have turned on Mbappe after his recent trip (Image credit: Getty Images)

His representatives insisted the criticisms stem from 'an over-interpretation' of his recovery period but some Madridistas suspect he is saving himself for the World Cup.

An online petition calling for Mbappe's departure as the 'best for the club's future' has since gone viral and generated more than 33 million signatures at last count.

All signs point to, at some stage, an acrimonious split, but that is easier said than done.

Which clubs could sign Kylian Mbappe?

Even in a World Cup year, suitors for Mbappe are scarce (Image credit: Getty Images)

Recent reports indicate Madrid have no intention of selling Mbappe but they would still struggle to offload him with most of, if not all, their rivals already well stocked.

Beyond the obvious dealbreakers of Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, the evolution of PSG's forward line since his departure has ended hopes of a potential homecoming.

Bayern Munich, similarly, have an embarrassment of attacking riches despite their recent Champions League semi-final exit, with Harry Kane flourishing at their fulcrum.

In the Premier League, Manchester City and Arsenal have no shortage of options while even Liverpool already have Alexander Isak and an injured Hugo Ekitike in their ranks.

Beyond those big hitters, Mbappe's only viable outlets are a move to Serie A, which could be as retrograde as it is restorative, or a club outside of the Champions League.

Chelsea would be the closest suitor in terms of matching his valuation and salary demands but given their unending chaos, it would be a risky move for the No.9.

French football on the brink of a rare Champions League double

Ayisha Gulati — Thu, 07 May 2026 17:00:00 +0000

For the first time in European football history, France could have winners in both the men’s and women’s Champions League in the same season.

Paris Saint-Germain will face Arsenal in the men’s final, while OL Lyonnes take on Barcelona in the women’s showpiece.

It sets up a rare and potentially historic double for French football.

Has it been done before?

Barcelona won the UEFA Women's Champions League in 2024 (Image credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)

Yes, but only a handful of times in European football.

Spanish teams became the most recent nation to achieve this feat in 2024, when Real Madrid won the men’s Champions League and Barcelona lifted the women’s trophy. German teams also completed the double in 2013, with Bayern Munich winning the men’s competition and VfL Wolfsburg claiming the women’s title.

Now, France has the same opportunity.

A rare double appearance

The last time a French club reached both finals in the same season came in 2020.

That year, PSG fell to Bayern Munich in the men's competition in a narrow 1–0 defeat. But there was success in the women’s competition, as Lyon beat Wolfsburg 3–1 to lift the trophy for a fifth straight year.

Men: PSG chasing back-to-back history

PSG arrive in the men’s final as reigning European champions, having lifted the trophy in 2025, becoming the first French side to win the competition since Marseille in 1993.

Back-to-back titles would cement their place as force of modern European football and potentially elevate this season into something far more significant for French football as a whole.

PSG's women are still seeking their first title. They reached the finals in 2015 and 2017 but are yet to lift the trophy. This year, they were elimated after the league phase, securing just two points from six matches.

Women: Lyon’s dominance and Barcelona rivalry

Lyon are giants of the women's game (Image credit: Getty Images)

In the women’s game, Lyon’s pedigree is unmatched. The eight-time champions last lifted the trophy in 2022 and dominated the competition for much of the last decade, winning six titles between 2016 and 2022.

Between 2016 and 2024, only Lyon and Barcelona won the competition - a duopoly that have dominated in recent times.

That streak was broken by Arsenal last season, who beat Lyon in the semi-finals before overcoming Barcelona in the final.

Later this month, Lyon return to the biggest stage with a point to prove having edged Arsenal in this year’s semi-finals despite trailing 2–1 after the first leg in France.

History within reach

French clubs have never won both the men’s and women’s Champions League in the same season but with PSG and Lyon both one game away, this could change.

It could be a powerful statement of the strength of French football on the European stage.

How to watch Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest for FREE: Live stream details and TV info as the Europa League semi-final concludes at Villa Park, team news

Chris Nee — Thu, 07 May 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Watch Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest today as Villa seek to upset the odds after a terrible week to reach the Europa League final, with all the details on live streaming and TV coverage right here in this guide.

Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest key information

Kick-off time: 8:00pm BST / 3:00pm ET
FREE Stream: Servus TV (Austria) / RTBF (Belgium)
TV & Streaming: TNT Sports (UK), Paramount+ (USA), Stan Sport (Australia)
Watch from anywhere: Get 75% off with NordVPN

The all-Midlands semi-final of this year's Europa League has become a tale of two managers attempting to play the odds and experiencing very different results.

Both sides went with weakened teams on the weekend, and Villa came out of it with a poor loss against Tottenham, while Forest despatched Chelsea with ease.

Now attention turns to a place in the Europa League final in Istanbul, with Vítor Pereira’s side holding a slender 1–0 lead ahead of their visit to Villa Park.

FourFourTwo has all the information you need to watch Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest online, on TV, and from anywhere.

Watch Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest for free

If you're in Austria you can stream Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest for free thanks to Servus TV. RTBF in Belgium will also show the game for free.

‼️ Outside Austria and can't watch your free stream? You'll need a VPN to unlock it — more on that below.

Watch Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest from anywhere

Away from home right now? You don't have to miss the game. The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can set your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

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Watch the Europa League on TNT Sports and HBO Max

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How to watch Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest in the UK

Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest will be shown exclusively live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK and subscribers can also stream the game on the HBO Max platform.

Watch Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest in the US

Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest will be available for streaming in the United States on Paramount+.

Watch the Europa League on Paramount+

CBS is the exclusive Europa League rights-holder in the US, and every single game is live-streamed on their online platform Paramount+. You only need the Essential package, which costs $8.99 per month.View Deal

How to watch Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest in Australia

Fans in Australia can watch Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest live through Stan Sport.

Watch the Europa League on Stan Sport

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Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest: Preview

Villa manager Unai Emery cannot be questioned when it comes to winning the Europa League. Nobody knows how to do it better than him, and nobody even comes close, yet the signs are not good for the West Midlands club.

Forest boss Vítor Pereira said after their win at Stamford Bridge that they had changed the players but kept the spirit. If the same thing can be said of Villa, it's not a positive. Fighting on two fronts is not easy, but the pressure they've put on their two matches this week is as intense as it is unnecessary.

This second leg at Villa Park is the basket into which Emery clearly believed he could put all his eggs. Villa need Premier League points to qualify for the Champions League, and it's clear that Emery has more faith in his players to beat Burnley than many of their supporters.

Indeed, the white heat of that fixture will not be helpful at all. The only way to ease that would be to see off Forest in the Europa League, book Villa's place in a second-ever European final, and chase away the cloud that suddenly hangs over the end of the Villans' season.

In truth, a positive outcome for Villa in the Europa League looks more unlikely right now than it has at any prior stage in this season's competition. Forest's trajectory – specifically its contrast against Villa's – is the biggest reason for that.

Now all but safe from relegation, which has really only been a vague possibility for some time, Forest have taken flight under Pereira in recent weeks.

Their last defeat in any competition was more than two months ago in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie against Midtjylland, and Forest have now won their last five in the Premier League and Europa League, conceding just twice in those matches.

Emery will point to the fact that the last team to hold them to a draw was Villa in the league last month, but the positives are pretty thin gruel at Villa Park after Sunday’s abysmal and avoidable showing.

Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest: Team News

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Tielemans, Lindelof, McGinn, Rogers, Buendia, Watkins.

Subs: Bizot, Wright, Mings, Elliott, Garcia, Abraham, Sancho, Luiz, Maatsen, Bogarde, Bailey.

Nottingham Forest XI: Ortega, Jair Cunha, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams, Dominguez, Anderson, McAtee, Jesus, Hutchinson, Wood.

Subs: Sels, Willows, Murillo, Sangare, Gibbs-White, Ndoye, Lucca, Yates, Bakwa, Whitehall, Sinclair, Hanks.

Tickets

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FourFourTwo's prediction

Aston Villa 0-2 Nottingham Forest

Sporting destiny doesn't look kindly on teams that take wins for granted and Villa's underestimation of Spurs and Burnley could be brutally punished in the next four days.

How to watch Freiburg vs Braga for FREE: Live stream details and TV info as the Arsenalistas pursue a place in the Europa League final, team news

Chris Nee — Thu, 07 May 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Watch Freiburg vs Braga today as the Bundesliga side attempt to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the Europa League semi-final first leg, with all the details on live streaming and TV coverage right here in this guide.

Freiburg vs Braga key information

Kick-off time: 8:00pm BST / 3:00pm ET
FREE Stream: RTL Play (Belgium)
TV & Streaming: TNT Sports (UK), Paramount+ (USA), Stan Sport (Australia)
Watch from anywhere: Get 75% off with NordVPN

Braga and Freiburg couldn't be separated in the league phase table of this season's Europa League, finishing on 17 points apiece with an identical goal difference.

Both teams finished in the top eight places to avoid the need for a play-off round tie and they've both progressed impressively as far as the last four. Now, their semi-final tie is too close to call. Braga are a goal to the good. Freiburg have second-leg home advantage.

FourFourTwo has all the information you need to watch Freiburg vs Braga online, on TV, and from anywhere.

Watch Freiburg vs Braga for free

Freiburg vs Braga is free to watch on RTL Play in Belgium. It will also be free in Switzerland on SRF2 / RSI2.

‼️ Outside Belgium or Switzerland and can't watch your free stream? You need a VPN to unlock it — more on that below.

Watch Freiburg vs Braga from anywhere

Out of the country when Freiburg vs Braga is on? That doesn't mean you have to miss the game. A VPN - or Virtual Private Network - means you can set your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world, bypassing streaming geo-restrictions.

Provided it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to unblock the streaming services you use back home. It also comes with added internet security benefits, which sounds like a winner to us.

FourFourTwo’s colleagues at Tom's Guide are VPN experts, and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN out there.

Watch the Europa League on TNT Sports and HBO Max

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How to watch Freiburg vs Braga in the UK

Freiburg vs Braga will be shown exclusively live on TNT Sports 3 in the UK and subscribers can also stream the game on the HBO Max platform.

Watch Freiburg vs Braga in the US

Freiburg vs Braga will be available for streaming in the United States on Paramount+.

Watch the Europa League on Paramount+

How to watch Freiburg vs Braga in Australia

Fans in Australia can watch Freiburg vs Braga live through Stan Sport.

Watch the Europa League on Stan Sport

Stan Sport is your one-stop shop for football, with every single Premier League, Champions League and Europa League game live on the streaming platform, for AU$32 per month. View Deal

Freiburg vs Braga: Preview

Freiburg have already been in this position. In the round of 16, they lost 1–0 in the away leg at Genk and needed a win in the second leg to go through. They won the home leg 5–1, and a tie that Genk led for nearly 90 minutes ended up 5–2 on aggregate.

Braga's only second leg away from home in the previous two rounds came in the quarter-final. They drew at home against Real Betis and were 2–0 down on the night in Seville before powering back to win 4–2 and set up this semi-final against the Bundesliga side.

Carlos Vicens' team are already in uncharted territory in Europe. This is the first time Braga have been past the quarter-finals of a continental competition, and the fact that they're only a draw away from the final is bound to influence how the former Manchester City assistant head coach approaches the second leg.

Braga are looking to secure a Conference League place through their league position and may have slightly taken their eye off the ball domestically, following a four-game unbeaten run with dropped points in two eminently winnable fixtures.

Perhaps the most damaging thing about the first leg for Freiburg is that they were so close to coming away from Portugal with the tie balanced at 1–1, and every chance to make home advantage tell in the second leg.

Promising Ivorian midfielder Mario Dorgeles, a graduate of the feted Right to Dream Academy and, by extension, Danish side Nordsjælland, scored in the second minute of stoppage time to give Braga an edge after the first game.

Freiburg drew with Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga at the weekend but had lost their previous three in all competitions.

Julian Schuster's men are also in their league's Conference League spot with no hope of improving on it. With a Champions League place 180 minutes away, they'll be as keen as Aston Villa in the other semi-final to dig out some form and overturn a first-leg deficit.

Freiburg vs Braga: Team News

Freiburg XI: Atubolu; Treu, Ginter, Lienhart, Kubler; Eggestein, Hofler; Beste, Manzambi, Grifo; Matanovic.

Braga XI: Horníček; Victor Gómez, Vítor Carvalho, Paulo Oliveira, Lagerbielke; Tıknaz, Moutinho, Gorby; Zalazar, Pau Víctor, Dorgeles.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Freiburg 1-1 Braga

Dorgeles' late goal in Portugal could make all the difference for Braga.

'Everyone says what they want on television - but it's normal, because I won two Champions League titles over his team' Casemiro claims 'bitterness' fuelled Jamie Carragher attack

Richard Buxton — Thu, 07 May 2026 09:49:45 +0000

Casemiro believes that 'bitterness' was behind Jamie Carragher's public attack on him.

The outgoing Manchester United midfielder was singled out by the former Liverpool defender turned Sky Sports pundit in May 2024 amid a dire run under Erik ten Hag.

In the wake of a 4-0 hammering by Crystal Palace, Carragher infamously singled out Casemiro as one of the players who needed to be moved on from Old Trafford.

Casemiro finally responds to Jamie Carragher barb