B/R Football Ranks

The Champions League is back, returning in a fever dream of a month which includes a World Cup-esque knockout round in both the big one and it's much beloved little brother, the Europa League. We take the bull by the horns, ranking all eight of the contenders left in the competition by how likely they are to win it. 

Given that it all feels a bit like an international tournament, Sam also gives each team an international comparison to really drill home just how they play. It's a whole lot of fun. 

And in Hot Takes there's room for a big discussion on Andrea Pirlo's appointment at Juventus, succeeding the unfortunate Maurizio Sarri after just one season at the helm in Turin; and of course the lowdown on Jadon Sancho's potential move to Manchester United from Dortmund where Dean explains the PR war going on between the two clubs, in the press. There's some big love for Leverkusen-Inter and United-Copenhagen (shouts out Karl-Johan Johnsson) in the Europa League as well!

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It's back! For a second year running, the Rankies return - the Oscars of football - to hand out trophies to those most deserving; and this year, we've gone all Continental: it's pan-European.

We rank Europe's MVP, Standout Individual Performance, Signing of the Season, Kit of the Season, Breakthrough Player, Surprise Package and Melon of the Year, talking everything from Liverpool to Granada, Haaland to Joelinton and Ilicic to Danny Drinkwater. We've got it all. 

There's also some big praise for Maurizio Sarri's Juventus, a breakdown of a thoroughly entertaining FA Cup Final and Jack rhymes the entire campaign. Strap in. 

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Cup Fever grips the Rank Squad as we look forward to the final game of the English domestic season—The Heads Up FA Cup Final, with our pals over at Deliveroo. To give you the full lowdown, we brought in two friends of the Squad to give the lowdown on each side.

In the red corner, CheekySport's Joel Beya representing Arsenal, gave us his thoughts on how the Gunners' new-found confidence and workrate under Mikel Arteta would be the key to them lifting the famous old trophy. And in the blue corner, Neets of Goal Diggers Podcast and the FLWN channel told us that it'll be royal blue ribbons on the Cup, because, in her own words, "it's Arsenal".

Of course, there's all the trimmings too - this is Ranks. Hot Takes see Sam suggesting penalties should only count for half a goal in Golden Boot races; Dean giving the latest on Thiago's proposed move to Liverpool and Jack waxing lyrical about David Silva; before we give you everything you need to know on the transfers and tactics of both sides in this Cup Final. 

There's talk about Werner, Ziyech, Havertz, Chilwell, Rice, Pope, how Lampard fits them all in next season and where the Blues need further reinforcements. In terms of the Gunners, we discuss Thomas Partey, Luka Jovic, Willian, Ryan Fraser, Thiago Silva, and why fans should be excited by the return of William Saliba. 

For your matchday munch, make sure you get on the Deliveroo app for the game, where you'll find up to 25% off with football meal deals!  

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Real Madrid are La Liga champions, and worthy ones at that, after winning 10 games in a row after the restart to see off perennial rivals Barcelona and claim the crown. We break down how Los Blancos have recovered from the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo to overcome Leo Messi's Blaugrana and reinstall themselves at the top seat of the Spanish table. 

To do so, we wanted to talk to Spanish media royalty, and so we brought in Phil Kitromilides of The Spanish Football Podcast to give his views on the most important players this season for Real, and how high this ranks in the pantheon of Zinedine Zidane trophies. 

To play both sides of the table, we got the view from Barcelona's perspective from Rik Sharma, one of Barcelona's most highly respected journalists, and find out just where it went wrong from a Blaugrana perspective. 

B/R Football Ranks takes on El Clasico. 

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Dean and Jack are joined by Christian Falk, Head of Sport at German newspaper Bild and one of the most trusted transfer sources in the game to talk about the biggest deals going down in the Bundesliga and beyond this summer. 

We talk Jadon Sancho to Manchester United, Kai Havertz to Chelsea, Thiago Alcantara to Liverpool, Sergino Dest to Bayern and David Alaba to Man City; alongside the latest on Lautaro Martinez, Neymar, Thomas Partey, Kalidou Koulibaly, Jorginho and of course, what's going on in the Cauldron of Galacticos, the Bernabeu of Real Madrid. 

In Hot Takes we discuss the overturning of Manchester City's FFP suspension which allows them back into the Champions League next season, and lavish praise on an unlikely goalscoring hero in La Liga - Athletic Club's Raul Garcia. 

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This week, Ranks met the most successful American coach in the game right now, Mr Jesse Marsch of RB Salzburg, double winner and Coach of the Year over in Austria, to talk about almost everything.

There's discussions about his successes this season; why Erling Haaland can be the best No. 9 in the world; how Timo Werner, who he coached at Leipzig, will thrive at Chelsea; if Takumi Minamino is best played in Firmino's position at Liverpool; the cult of Jurgen Klopp; the next talents off the Salzburg production line; and if he'll coach the USMNT at the 2026 World Cup on home soil. 

There's also Hot Takes, where we discuss Man United'd front three and how they're electric, but still need Jadon Sancho; and Barcelona's scintillating return to form on Monday night against Villarreal. Dean names one of the boys from the Lane as Melon of the Week and in a special nonsense, Sam ranks the letters of the alphabet. 

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With the title all wrapped up on Merseyside and the two leading lights of English football clashing this week, we thought it was a perfect opportunity to unleash the second in our 'VERSUS' series that takes on the biggest debates in the game. Following on from facing off Messi and CR7 in every category, we took the debate to the dugout to pit Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp against each other. 

We talked tactical style, variation, trophies, transfers, player development, youth, media handling, longevity and legacy to square these two modern powerhouses of the game off, and the winner is for you to decide. 

There's also hot takes, including a discussion of the Pjanic/Arthur swap deal between Barcelona and Juventus; the lowdown on Achraf Hakimi's move to Inter Milan; and of course some more love for 'Mercedes' Benzema. Plus we crown TWO Melons of the Week and Sam ranks ideas he's pitched in this week's nonsense. 

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On Leo Messi's 33rd birthday, it felt only right to celebrate a man who has brought football fans the world over bucketloads of joy and happiness throughout his entire career. We thought we'd give that the Ranks spin, by ranking his most breathtaking moments from years of pure genius. 

With football back, we brought back the formula - Hot Takes 2.0 sees Sam talking Real Madrid and Karim Benzema's influence, Dean giving the latest on what you need to know about Sergino Dest's future destinations and Jack discussing post-match interviews—from Neal Maupay's outburst to Ben Mee's eloquence. 

Then there's the return of Roulette, where we talk Cristiano and the fifth penalty conundrum, as well as which leagues we've enjoyed being back most, before Sam rounds things off with a long-awaited nonsense ranking!

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Yes you read that right, it's another preview special, but this time with an added twist. We're off to Italy for the Calcio climax, the Serie A summit; rife with races for European escapades and a six-way survival scrap. 

And alongside Jack is Marco Messina, of Italian Football TV - the NYC boys making big waves in the world of Calcio - who comes to give us his in-depth knowledge of what's going on in Italy as the season starts once again; before Dean joins us to talk the big transfer stories happening across the division. 

Oh and there's the interviews: JC and Sam meet Justin Kluivert, Roma winger, who tells us what three-course meal he'd cook for Francesco Totti and what tunes he's playing in the dressing room. And the incredibly talented Juventus and Turkey starlet Merih Demiral gives us his first ever English-language interview about his teammates and the Juve squad. 

How's that for a bonus episode?

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The Premier League becomes the latest league to restart, meaning there's a whole new set of mini-rankings to look at - no title fight to speak of, but there's exceptionally exciting races for the Champions League and Europa League places, as well as a relegation battle with six teams scrapping for their lives at the bottom. 

On top of that, we know you're gasping for some FPL tips to save your season, so we brought in the brilliant FPL Family, Lee and Sam, to give us their best advice for the rest of the season. 

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