Chelsea have no plans to make a mid-season managerial change, with Enzo Maresca retaining the full backing of the board despite a dip in form. The west London club's hierarchy will reportedly only assess the Italian's future at the end of the campaign, believing he can still achieve their objectives after guiding the Blues to European success last term.
Glasgow Rangers were no strangers to signing players from Barcelona in the early 2000s, paying big money for Mikel Arteta and Ronald de Boer.
However, those at Ibrox nearly brought in Lionel Messi from the Catalan giants before he broke into the first-team picture at the Nou Camp.
The Argentina icon is rightly recognised as one of the best footballers to ever play the game and hasn’t looked back since making his senior Barcelona debut at the age of 17 in 2004. He spent 17 years with Barcelona before signing for Paris Saint-Germain and then Inter Miami.
Ballon d’Or
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023
World Cup
2022
Copa America
2021, 2024
Champions League
2006, 2009, 2011, 2015
La Liga
2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019
Ligue 1
2022, 2023
Uefa Super Cup
2009, 2011, 2015
Club World Cup
2010, 2012, 2016
Copa del Rey
2009, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021
Spanish Super Cup
2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018
Supporters’ Shield
2024
MLS League Cup
2023
Olympic Gold Medal
2008
French Super Cup
2022
Messi has won everything there is to win in the game, including eight Ballon d’Or awards, and he finally claimed World Cup glory with his country in 2022.
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However, things could have been so different for the magician, if those in Glasgow got their way.
How Rangers nearly signed Messi from Barcelona
As per a report from Goal, Rangers actually made enquiries to sign Messi on loan from Barcelona prior to his senior debut. Unfortunately, those efforts were turned down by those at the Nou Camp, but it was Alex McLeish’s son, Jon, who found Messi.
Talking on Graham Hunter’s The Big Interview podcast in 2017, McLeish went into detail on how his son’s love of Football Manager alerted him to Messi in 2003, with Rangers on the search for a replacement for Barry Ferguson.
Jon’s prediction of Messi becoming the greatest in the world was accurate, showing the powers Football Manager can have in real life.
Sanjay Manjrekar feels the Mumbai Indians batting line-up “looks a little unconvincing”
ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2025
Rohit Sharma was bowled for 8•BCCI
Sanjay Manjrekar believes Rohit Sharma is “going through a phase” and that the senior Mumbai Indians (MI) batter is at a stage in his career where he has to “push himself every morning”.Rohit fell for 8 in the IPL 2025 match against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Saturday, and it came after a four-ball duck against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) earlier in the tournament.”Rohit Sharma is clearly going through a phase,” Manjrekar said on JioStar. “He’s not the Rohit Sharma of, say, three to four years ago. He’s at a stage in his career where he has to push himself every morning – train hard and be at his best – because things are slipping away for him. He’s still relying on his natural talent and instincts.”Related
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Hardik the bowler gets the better of Gill the batter, again
Rohit has gone through a lean patch in international cricket too. He had a horror run in Test cricket, starting with Bangladesh’s tour of India in September 2024, with a top score of 52 (his only 50-plus score in this period) and an average of 10.93. He played his part in India’s win in the Champions Trophy, though, regularly giving the team quick starts, even though he didn’t go on to play a big innings, the 76 in the final against New Zealand the only time he got a half-century.Five-time champions MI have lost both their games this season so far. After losing to CSK by four wickets, they lost to GT by 36 runs, struggling in the chase of 197 on a slow pitch.This season, Rohit has a new opening partner in Ryan Rickelton, the South Africa batter, who has also struggled to get going in both games. While Manjrekar believes Rickelton – who’s playing for the first time in the IPL – should be given more time to adjust, he does not think the MI line-up looks convincing enough.”Ryan Rickelton, being a South African, will take time to adjust to Indian pitches,” he said. “Very few South African batters, barring AB de Villiers and Heinrich Klaasen, have truly flourished on Indian pitches. So we’ll have to give him time. Apart from that, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav, along with Robin Minz and some of the other players, form the batting line-up. However, to me, it still looks a little unconvincing.1:48
Serious concerns for Mumbai Indians?
“And a lot of them rely on pitches where the ball comes on to the bat nicely. There’s pace and bounce, and even in that chase where they needed 12 or 13 runs, if it had been at Wankhede Stadium, they would have likely come very close to the target.”While highlighting what went wrong for MI’s batters against GT, Manjrekar, however, said it was early to judge how the team’s rest of the season would go.”Mumbai Indians didn’t look in the race when they lost two wickets for 35 [against GT]. In comparison, Gujarat Titans had around 129 runs for their first two wickets. After that, it seemed like Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav were trying to build a partnership. The challenge with building a partnership in a chase of over 190 is that the required run rate starts to suffer, and that’s exactly what happened. In the end, you have to say that Gujarat Titans batted better – I thought they got maybe 15 to 20 runs over par.”The dew never came in, which made Mumbai’s job even more difficult. But despite all that, two losses are quite typical for Mumbai Indians. They still seem to be on the right track to go on and win the title [as they have done in the past, most memorably in 2014].”
تحدث ثنائي مانشستر سيتي، فيل فودين وروبن دياز، عن فوز فريقهما الثمين في مباراة اليوم ضد إيفرتون في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، موسم 2025/26.
واستضاف ملعب “الاتحاد” مباراة فريقي مانشستر سيتي وإيفرتون في الجولة الثامنة من الدوري الإنجليزي، حيث فاز السكاي بلو بهدفين دون رد، عن طريق ثنائية إيرلينج هالاند.
وقال فيل فودين، في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “بي بي سي” العالمية: “كان الأمر صعبًا، لم نكن في أفضل حالاتنا في الشوط الأول، لم نكن نلعب هجوميًا بالسرعة المطلوبة، استغرقنا وقتًا طويلًا في الاستحواذ على الكرة ولم نتمكن من إيجاد المساحات بين الخطوط”.
وأضاف: “تحدث المدرب عن ذلك بين الشوطين، وفي الشوط الثاني كنا أكثر فعالية في التقدم بالكرة واختراق الخطوط، صنعنا الكثير من الفرص، يمكننا أن نكون سعداء بالأداء بشكل عام”.
وعن أهمية تسجيل هالاند هدفه الأول، قال: “مهم جدًا، نعلم أنه يمتلك تلك الموهبة فيما يخص توقيت انطلاقاته المثالية والتواجد في المركز المناسب، حتى لو لم يكن أدائه جيدًا، فسيظل قادرًا على التسجيل، نعلم أنه يحتاج إلى فرصة واحدة فقط للتسجيل”.
وواصل: “لقد تحلى بالصبر، لم تكن هناك مساحة كبيرة له اليوم، كما ترون هو دائمًا موجود من أجلنا في الوقت المناسب، وهذه علامة على أنه مهاجم من الطراز العالمي”.
اقرأ أيضًا.. ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإنجليزي بعد ثنائية هالاند أمام إيفرتون
وفيما يخص أدائه، قال: “لقد حسنت علاقتي مع هالاند، قدمت له بعض التمريرات الجيدة اليوم، كان في إمكانه التسجيل منها، في كل مرة أمرر له الكرة للأسف يبدو أنه يخطئها، نحن نعمل على بناء تلك العلاقة بيننا، أجد الكرة في الخلف وأمررها إلى مناطق يمكنه تسجيل الأهداف منها، هذا شيء نعمل عليه”.
من جانبه، قال روبن دياز في تصريحاته: “لقد بذلنا جهدًا كبيرًا، لم تكن المباراة سهلة على الإطلاق، كان الوضع أكثر صعوبة في الشوط الأول ولم نتمكن من بناء أسلوب لعبنا، كان الشوط الثاني مختلفًا تمامًا، وحصدنا ثلاث نقاط”.
واستكمل: “في الشوط الأول سنحت لنا فرصة سانحة من سافينيو، وأخرى من فودين، وأخرى من دوكو، أتيحت لنا فرص، كنا دائمًا سعداء عندما يسجل أي لاعب، وسعداء بتسجيل إيرلينج”.
وعن هالاند، قال: “إنه لاعب مهم جدًا لنا، نريد من الجميع المشاركة وأن يسجلوا جميعًا، وليس إيرلينج وحده، من المهم أن يكون في إيقاعه، وأن يحدث فرقًا كبيرًا عندما يكون كذلك”.
واختتم: “نلعب مباراة تلو الأخرى، نحن في حالة جيدة ونتحسن، العديد من لاعبينا يعود من الإصابة، وهذا أمر جيد لنا، سعداء برؤية جميع اللاعبين تقريبًا جاهزين الآن، سنواصل البناء، ونأمل أن نواصل الفوز”.
Nottingham Forest are making late strides in the window and find themselves in talks to sign a defender who could add valuable competition within their backline, per Fabrizio Romano.
Nottingham Forest move away from Nuno Espirito Santo debacle
In strange fashion, Nuno Espirito Santo has been the talk of the town in the East Midlands amid a public disagreement with Evangelos Marinakis and Edu, leading many to suspect whether his long-term future lies at the City Ground.
After his side drew at Crystal Palace last weekend, the Portuguese boss hit out at the ‘absurd’ narrative that he could be set for the exit door, and Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett has confirmed that the situation has deescalated, for now at least.
He stated: “Nuno and Edu’s differences may have been put aside for now, but you sense the resentment will linger.”
Nevertheless, the reporter later hinted that nothing can be guaranteed in light of Marinakis being known for having an impulsive nature, as he added: “If there’s one thing we have learned about the current Forest – the only certain thing is that nothing is certain.”
Either way, Nottingham Forest continue to push their recruitment drive and Dominik Livakovic is on their radar to provide competition between the sticks in a deal that could see rotation between the Croatia international, Matz Sels and Angus Gunn.
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Norwich City full-back Kellen Fisher could also be on his way to the Tricky Trees, and they don’t seem set to stop there in the hunt for quality as Espirito Santo looks to address key areas before the deadline next Monday.
Romano: Nottingham Forest in club-to-club talks to sign Victor Kristiansen
Taking to social media platform X, Romano has confirmed that Nottingham Forest are progressing in talks to sign Leicester City full-back Victor Kristiansen as they look to add cover ahead of a busy fixture schedule.
Despite rumours linking the Tricky Trees with a swoop for Nahuel Molina, the renowned reporter added that the Argentina international looks set to stay at Atletico Madrid rather than making a move to England.
Likened to Kostas Tsimikas by Jacek Kulig, who has also been linked with the City Ground, Kristiansen made 31 appearances across all competitions last term for the Foxes, registering a solitary assist and featuring exclusively on the left-hand side of their backline.
Earning £25,000 per week at the King Power Stadium, per Capology, the Denmark international has plenty of room to develop at 22 years of age and would likely be a genuine competitior with Neco Williams for a starting slot if Espirito Santo can force a deal over the line.
Liverpool are sitting pretty at the top of the early Premier League table during this international break.
Indeed, Arne Slot’s Reds are the only team in the difficult division with a 100% record intact, with the entertainment dialled down somewhat last time out when the reigning top-flight champions just about got the better of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal 1-0.
Not even new recruit Hugo Ekitike or first-team regular Mohamed Salah would get in on the goalscoring fun against the resolute Gunners, despite both attacking stars in question hitting the ground running in other contests so far this campaign.
How Ekitike & Salah have started this season
Ekitike will be hoping he remains as Liverpool’s focal point heading into games after the international break, despite Alexander Isak now being eager to make his lethal presence known at Anfield in a bumper £125m deal from Newcastle United.
There is an argument to suggest the Dutchman will persist with the former Eintracht Frankfurt centre-forward, with the equally pricey striker – who walked into the building for an initial £69m – already three goals down and counting in his new environment.
It took just 37 minutes for Ekitike to open his Reds account in top-flight action, having previously bagged in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace with merely four minutes on the clock. Safe to say, it’s been a dream introduction to life in the English game for the ex-Paris St. Germain youngster.
Salah hasn’t been quite as jaw-dropping, in contrast, with the Egyptian usually lighting up pitches for fun, as seen in his mammoth 246 goals and 114 assists for Slot and Co.
He has, of course, shown sprinkles of his guaranteed excellence, with a goal and assist next to his name in the bread and butter of the league.
But, the loyal Liverpool servant faded in and out of the tense Arsenal clash, with a weak 32 touches of the ball only seeing him register one lame effort on David Raya’s net.
Still, as much as Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez are no more at Anfield, Salah is likely to remain as part of the furniture, with his current Reds deal now in play until the summer of 2027.
It’s just that other key first-team presences are enthralling the masses more regularly, with one superstar in Slot’s permanent first-team plans boasting a transfer valuation that exceeds Ekitike and Salah’s high estimations.
Magic Liverpool star is now worth more than Ekitike & Salah
In such a cagey top-of-the-table affair against Arsenal, it was always likely to take an unbelievable moment of individual genius to break the deadlock.
Dominik Szoboszlai would offer just that as the uneventful game was winding down, with his inch-perfect free-kick sending Anfield into raptures to maintain Liverpool’s winning streak.
In truth, the Hungarian ace has consistently produced top-drawer performances for Liverpool ever since sealing a £60m move from RB Leipzig to the Premier League back in 2023, with the “magic” 24-year-old, as he’s been lauded by scout Jacek Kulig, one final parting gift from Jurgen Klopp, before Slot took over proceedings swimmingly.
The much-loved Liverpool number 8 will hope he can continue to deliver sublime individual performances as his side hunts down the glory of back-to-back Premier League titles, with that past £60m valuation also rising off the back of him never looking out of place or nervous during tense contests.
Market Movers
Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?
Rather, he looks to only be getting better, with his sumptuous free-kick against Arsenal proving that.
Games played
72
Goals scored
10
Assists
8
Free kicks scored
5/12
Accurate passes
2814 (87%)
Value when joining
£60m
Value now
£69m
As a result of Szoboszlai growing into being a vital part of Slot’s high-flying team, the Hungarian’s transfer valuation has risen by £9m to £69m, according to Transfermarkt.
On the flip side, Salah, who is now in the twilight years of his career, is worth £43m, with Ekitike’s valuation coming in at the £65m range, too, despite his effortless transition to English shores.
All three players named here will no doubt be key to Liverpool attempting to retain their Premier League pride.
Szoboszlai, in particular, will try to be held in an even higher esteem, with more jaw-dropping free-kicks being put away for fun, giving Slot and Co a great chance at achieving their aims.
It's not Ekitike or Isak: "Special" Liverpool star could reach Salah levels
This underrated Liverpool star could reach another level in Slot’s system this season.
ByAngus Sinclair Sep 6, 2025
For the longest time, they were inseparable at the top of the order for Pakistan in T20Is. Then, with questions about strike rates and maximising powerplay value cropping up, the team management tried putting some distance between them in the batting order. They found their way back up, together. But now, with just under a year to go for the next T20 World Cup, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are out altogether.This signifies a shift in approach for Pakistan, perhaps triggered by the failure to make an impact at their own Champions Trophy, though that was an ODI contest.Pakistan have opted for three dashers at the top. With Saim Ayub still unavailable, Pakistan have a likely top three of Mohammad Haris, Omair Yousuf and the uncapped Hasan Nawaz – all three have a reputation of being aggressive batters.Related
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Salman Agha, Pakistan’s new T20I captain, has emphasised the need to improve their intent and approach and the need to play “fearless” and “high-risk cricket”, saying that the squad has players that have displayed that brand of cricket in domestic games.The new-look Pakistan line-up will start off facing a difficult test against a strong New Zealand outfit, even though they are missing key players who are away on IPL duty. There is a formidable bowling attack, with Will O’Rourke, Ben Sears, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi and Jacob Duffy all set to test Pakistan’s inexperience.Key batters are missing, too, in the team led by Michael Bracewell, one of New Zealand’s best performers in their run to the title round at the Champions Trophy. But Finn Allen is back, as are Tim Seifert and Jimmy Neesham. Daryl Mitchell hasn’t gone anywhere. And Mitchell Hay, Mark Chapman and Tim Robinson are hardly pushovers. At home, they will think of themselves as favourites, with or without a Rachin Ravindra or a Devon Conway or a Glenn Phillips. If anything, the changes will give them a better idea of the make-up of the World Cup squad next year.
New Zealand LWWWL
Pakistan LLLWWHave Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan played their last T20I?•Associated Press
Since his 137 against Pakistan in January 2024, Finn Allen has failed to cross 50 in nine T20Is. In fact, he crossed 25 only twice in this period, with a high score of 32. He turned out for Perth Scorchers in the BBL, but his form there was also indifferent, as he got just 181 runs from ten innings. Allen, despite not being centrally contracted, wants to play the T20 World Cup next year, but he knows he must turn his form around and marry his explosiveness with consistency. Last year, he scored 275 runs in the five-match T20I series against Pakistan, so there may not be a better team for him to face to get going again.Omair Yousuf has played just six T20Is – three in the Asian Games and three in Zimbabwe. Hasan Nawaz has only three PSL games under his belt, and didn’t get a game last season. That makes Mohammad Haris the most experienced player in Pakistan’s new-look top three and the onus will be on him to break the shackles and play the new aggressive brand of cricket the team management is aiming for. It’s also a comeback series for Haris, whose last international game was in September 2023.
Neesham, Seifert and Allen are back in New Zealand’s squad, and Neesham and Allen are likely to start. Sears and O’Rourke are expected to lead the fast-bowling attack, along with Jacob Duffy, who was the highest wicket-taker in New Zealand’s last T20I series, against Sri Lanka.New Zealand (probable): 1 Finn Allen, 2 Tim Robinson, 3 Mark Chapman, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 James Neesham, 6 Mitchell Hay (wk), 7 Michael Bracewell (capt), 8 Ben Sears, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Will O’Rourke, 11 Jacob DuffyApart from Nawaz, Pakistan might also hand a debut to Abdul Samad, who was picked despite having no PSL experience. Shadab Khan is back in the side and should lead the spin attack alongside Abrar Ahmed.Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Haris (wk), 2 Omair Yousuf, 3 Hasan Nawaz, 4 Salman Agha (capt), 5 Abdul Samad, 6 Irfan Khan, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Shaheen Afridi, 9 Haris Rauf, 10 Abrar Ahmed, 11 Abbas AfridiFinn Allen is explosive. Can he also be consistent?•Sarah Reed – CA / Getty Images
The match will be played at Hagley Oval, and is part of a double-header with New Zealand taking on Sri Lanka in a women’s T20I there earlier in the day. On an average, teams score at around eight runs an over at the ground, and last year, the two T20Is between these two teams were low-scoring affairs, with New Zealand first chasing down 159 and then Pakistan bowling the hosts out for 92 in their defence of 134.
“We’ve probably had a bit more of focus on ourselves. With a few new young players coming into the Pakistan side, there is a bit of unknown. But I think as long as we know what we are trying to do, that’ll be good enough for anyone that comes up against us.”
Wayne Rooney claims that under-fire Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim would be “absolutely slaughtered” if he made selection calls similar to those which saw Arne Slot’s Liverpool suffer a disappointing Champions League defeat at Galatasaray. The Reds have now come unstuck in their last two fixtures, with the odd question being asked of why a Dutch tactician at Anfield is tinkering so much.
Dew looms as a concern as Shreyas Iyer also said he wanted to bowl first in Ahmedabad
ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-20259:17
Kane Williamson: Shubman Gill has clear thoughts as a captain
Shubman Gill was very clear as soon as the coin landed in his favour in Gujarat Titans opening game of IPL 2025. He chose to bowl and reeled off all the reasons for it. One, the dew. They saw plenty of it over the last week as they practiced in Ahmedabad. Two, from experience, he understood “there is not much help for the spinners.” And three, lots of big totals have been chased down at Narendra Modi stadium.The new Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer would have preferred to chase as well. Both captains will have noted that the team batting second has won five of the last six IPL games here. Iyer, playing for a new franchise this year after winning the IPL last year, had a headache picking his XI because he was “spoilt for choice.” There were two IPL debutants among them, the opener Priyansh Arya and allrounder Suryansh Shedge.A striking feature of both teams is the international quality in their bowling attacks. Kagiso Rabada will play his first game for his new franchise, the Titans, against his old franchise. His new-ball partner for South Africa will be on the other side this time, Marco Jansen. Mohammed Siraj is looking for a new start with Titans after being omitted from India’s squad for the Champions Trophy, Two high quality spinners will be on show as well in Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal. It is, however, unlikely that they will get any help.GT named only three overseas players in their bowling first XI, with either Glenn Phillips or Sherfane Rutherford likely to come in when they bat. Both are gun fielders, however, and will be missed in the first innings.PBKS are likely to bring in one of seamer Vijaykumar Vyshak or left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar when they bowl second.Gujarat Titans (bowling first XI): 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler, 4 Shahrukh Khan, 5 Rahul Tewatia, 6 R Sai Kishore, 7 Arshad Khan, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh KrishnaPunjab Kings (batting first XI): 1 Prabhsimran Singh, 2 Priyansh Arya, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Shashank Singh, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Suryansh Shedge, 8 Azmatullah Omarzai, 9 Marco Jansen, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
Manchester United hero Wayne Rooney remains one of the deadliest strikers to have played at Old Trafford, and it appears that he hasn’t lost his ability to score stunning goals, even after his retirement.
Wayne Rooney scores blockbuster goal in Nexon Icons match
While the Premier League begins to heat up again after the conclusion of the international break, football fans on the other side of the world were able to take in a thrilling match-up of legends in Seoul on Sunday.
In the latest instalment of the Nexon Icons 2025 Series, FC Spear and Shield United went head-to-head for the Nexon trophy and plenty of the world’s best at their craft were on show in front of their adoring crowd.
Rooney led the line for FC Spear, followed up by a support act of epic proportion, including Didier Drogba, Thierry Henry, Kaka and Steven Gerrard, among other star-studded faces.
On the other side, Carles Puyol, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Iker Casillas were just some of the names on display, but former Manchester United star Rooney grabbed the headlines, even if his side went on to lose 2-1 courtesy of strikes from Maicon and Joo Ho Park.
As seen below, the Three Lions icon delivered a magnificent effort from outside the area to level the scoring, one that bore striking similarities to his strike in Manchester United’s 3-1 defeat against Barcelona in the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley.
Forever a legend at both Everton and Manchester United, he is enjoying life after his playing days and still has a God-given talent most footballers would kill to replicate. Now, it remains to be seen whether he dips his toe back into management.
Full transcript of line-ups from Nexon Icons match
Shield United: Young Kwang Kim, Iker Casillas, Alessandro Nesta, Michael Carrick, Marchisio, Gilberto Silva, Joo Ho Park, Sol Campbell, Claude Makelele, Ashley Cole, Maicon, John Arne Riise, Nemanja Vidic, Carles Puyol, Young Pyo Lee, Rio Ferdinand.
FC Spear: Bum Young Lee, Gianluigi Buffon, Ja Cheol Koo, Ki Hyon Seol, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Clarence Seedorf, Eden Hazard, Wayne Rooney, Gareth Bale, Kaka, Steven Gerrard, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Ji Sung Park, Didier Drogba.
What next for Wayne Rooney in management?
On the management front, Rooney is without a club after leaving Plymouth Argyle in 2024 after a run of five wins, six draws and 14 losses in 25 matches across all competitions.
Previously, he has also enjoyed spells in charge of Derby County, DC United and Birmingham City, albeit the Manchester United hero has enjoyed varied degrees of success at all four clubs.
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Speaking to The Rest is Football earlier this year, Rooney admitted he would like to take on a new challenge in the dugout, but only if it comes in the right set of circumstances.
“I would like to go back in (to management). But it would have to be the right club. Certainly the right club. I think you always have that ego, don’t you? You always have that confidence you could go in and get the best out of a bad or difficult situation.”
Coaching vacancies will become available throughout the next few months, though some would suggest that Rooney putting his boots back would be an even better use of his time!