Author: James Brooks

The wait is over for Real Madrid fans as the club has officially confirmed the reappointment of Jose Mourinho as head coach. The 63-year-old Portuguese manager has signed a three-year deal and will begin work when the squad returns for pre-season training on 13 July. Real Madrid paid Benfica £13m in compensation to secure his services, bringing him back to the Bernabeu more than a decade after his first stint ended. Club president Florentino Perez had publicly vowed to reappoint Mourinho if he secured re-election to the presidency earlier this month. Perez, who is 79 and has held the role…

Somali referee Omar Artan has been given the opportunity to officiate at the highest level in Europe after being denied entry to the United States for the World Cup. Artan will take charge of the Uefa Super Cup fixture between Paris St-Germain and Aston Villa, scheduled to take place on 12 August in Salzburg. The match pits PSG, who won the Champions League last term, against Aston Villa, who claimed the Europa League title in the same season. Uefa confirmed the appointment in a formal statement, adding that the decision followed discussions with the Confederation of African Football. Uefa president…

Once Martin O’Neill indicated a desire to continue as Celtic manager, it would have taken a remarkably brave board to turn him away. Nobody with any genuine knowledge of O’Neill was ever fooled by his detached, self-deprecating routine throughout Celtic’s double-winning season. He carried on as though he was a total bystander, like an old man who had wandered aimlessly into Lennoxtown and been bamboozled by everything he encountered. O’Neill’s schtick is well worn, but nobody has fallen for it, and at 74 he remains an intelligent mood-setter with a big football brain and a fantastic capacity to connect with…

Germany’s players have stepped in to cover the travel costs of 600 supporters heading to their final World Cup group stage match against Ecuador. The gesture comes amid widespread criticism of the inflated transport prices that have plagued fans attending matches across the tournament in the United States. Train tickets from central New York to Met Life Stadium in New Jersey were hiked to $150 for the tournament, having previously been priced at just $12.90 under normal circumstances. Following significant backlash, those fares were reduced to $98, though many supporters still regard that figure as unreasonably expensive for the short…

The debate over who deserves a place among football’s World Cup immortals has raged for decades, spanning 22 tournaments across nearly a century of the game. Narrowing thousands of players down to just ten names is an enormous challenge, with several all-time greats inevitably missing out on the final list. Miroslav Klose, the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer, comes agonisingly close but misses the cut, finishing just outside the top ten in an honourable eleventh position. Brazilian winger Garrincha, Italian icon Roberto Baggio, and France striker Just Fontaine — who scored 13 goals in the 1958 tournament alone — are…

Arsenal are firmly in contention to sign Athletic Club and Spain winger Nico Williams as the summer transfer window approaches. The 23-year-old has attracted significant interest from across the Premier League, with Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United also monitoring his situation closely. Juventus have moved quickly in their pursuit of Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, opening formal talks with the Villa Park club over a potential deal. The Argentine shot-stopper, 33, has already agreed personal terms with the Italian giants as they look to strengthen between the sticks. Paris St-Germain are targeting a move for Bayern Munich forward Michael…

England head coach Thomas Tuchel has plenty to ponder after a competitive and revealing final friendly before the World Cup begins in earnest. The 1-0 win over New Zealand in Tampa offered little clarity, with Tuchel fielding two separate teams across the two halves in what amounted to little more than an extended training session. The meeting with Costa Rica in Orlando was an entirely different proposition, delivering a fierce physical workout and several strong performances to sharpen Tuchel’s thinking. When asked whether his starting line-up against Croatia in Dallas on 17 June would mirror the side that played against…

BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton has shared his score predictions for the opening round of fixtures across all twelve groups at the 2026 World Cup. Sutton begins with the tournament opener, Mexico versus South Africa, and works through every group, including England’s clash with Croatia and holders Argentina against Algeria. AI, using Microsoft Copilot Chat and having finished top of last season’s BBC Premier League Predictions League, is also making predictions alongside Sutton this time around. Mexico host South Africa at the Azteca Stadium on Thursday 11 June, with Sutton predicting a narrow 1-0 home win, citing the co-hosts’…

Kieran McKenna has stepped down as Ipswich Town manager, bringing an end to a transformative five-year spell at Portman Road. The 40-year-old was appointed Ipswich boss in 2021 and leaves the club having overseen one of English football’s most remarkable recent success stories. McKenna guided the Tractor Boys to three promotions across four seasons, a run of achievement that few managers in the modern game can match. Two of those promotions took Ipswich into the Premier League, cementing the club’s return to the top tier of English football after years in the lower leagues. Ipswich will compete in the Premier…

Everton have been ordered to pay Burnley £35m in compensation following a ruling by a Premier League commission over financial rule breaches. The case relates to the 2021-22 season, during which Everton were found to have broken profit and sustainability regulations across a three-year period. Burnley argued that Everton’s breach directly impacted their chances of surviving in the top flight that season, and sought compensation for losses linked to their relegation. The Clarets have been awarded £26m in damages, with an additional £9m in interest bringing the total sum to £35m. Everton have appealed the decision, with sources indicating the…