England coach suggests white-ball captain suffered from formats not being prioritised

Danyal Rasool28-Feb-20255:09

Who will England’s next white-ball captain be?

Sat alongside his departing captain Jos Buttler, perhaps it was telling the first emotion England coach Brendon McCullum voiced was sadness rather than pride. As Buttler announced he was quitting as England’s white-ball captain, expressing his own disappointment at the way events had panned out, McCullum’s initial reaction was to offer sympathy for Buttler and how much he had invested into a role that hasn’t quite worked out.McCullum suggested that was down to the circumstances Buttler had to lead his side in, rather than any shortcomings in his captaincy itself. Even as England struggled in white-ball ICC events since winning the 2022 T20I World Cup, Buttler often found himself leading sides on bilateral tours that weren’t close to full strength.On an ODI and T20I tour of West Indies late last year, sandwiched between Test series against Pakistan and New Zealand, none of England’s all-format players were part of the squad. Against Australia in September, Joe Root was rested after a busy Test season, while a number of players, including Root and Mark Wood, sat home while England toured West Indies at the tail-end of 2023. England lost all three ODI series.Related

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McCullum appeared to allude to those circumstances as he spoke of England’s next white-ball captain, and his desire to avoid putting him in similarly unenviable circumstances. “That’s something Keysy [Rob Key] and myself and the ECB are trying to ensure, that we give every format the most amount of attention that we possibly can,” he said. “It’s a tricky balancing act at times.”McCullum has been Test coach since 2022, and had his pick of players for that format. But with all three formats now falling under his stewardship, he hinted that full availability for Test cricket may no longer be as set in stone in future.”Looking back even on these most recent series, you’d argue that you could rest some players for some Test series and try and balance things out across formats,” he said. “Give us a couple of weeks to work things out and digest what’s unfolded here, work out what areas we’ve been short in and done okay in, work out the structure of how we want to do things moving forward. We’ve got a couple of months before our next assignment, so there is a bit of time to work that out.”McCullum kept returning to the theme of Buttler’s captaincy, and how he felt it would be remembered more kindly than raw results might suggest. He said Buttler had set a solid foundation for his replacement, comparing it to the health of the England Test side following Joe Root’s resignation as Test captain in 2022 after a series of indifferent results.2:16

McCullum: England fans deserve to see better results

“I said to the boys tonight in the team room sometimes it’s not necessarily the time that you’re in the post and the results that you get during that time. The impact you have in leadership positions can be felt after you left the post, and I’m sure that’ll be the case. I think Joe Root was a classic example of that with the Test captaincy. He was able to at least hold the fort to a degree under incredibly trying circumstances, and then the uplift of performance when Stokesy [Ben Stokes] took over sort of followed from that, and hopefully it’ll be the same across the white-ball teams whenever we decide on who that person is going to be.”The ECB had hoped linking up Buttler with McCullum, two preternaturally attacking white-ball players, would help unleash England’s white-ball potential in the way managed by Eoin Morgan following the 2015 World Cup. However, with results spiralling, England and McCullum have been criticised for what has come to be seen as a simplistic approach, not necessarily suited to the skillsets of the specific players England’s white-ball sides have at their disposal.McCullum pushed back against that notion firmly, pointing out the close margins England had missed out by this tournament. “We’ve had our opportunities and played some okay cricket,” he said, “and both games we could have won, and then we’re sitting here and talking about something slightly different. I genuinely believe we’ve got immense talent in English cricket across all forms.”If anything, we are lacking confidence. There’s a perception out there that we’re a happy-go-lucky, arrogant type of team. We couldn’t be further from that. These guys are too hard on themselves, they’ve got immense talent they are desperate … to perform. That’s actually stymying the ability of us to get the performance we want. They care too much. That’s not a bad thing. They’re just desperate to perform and do right by all those who support the team, and support them. Until we get to the stage where we’re able to still handle walking out there and playing, without wearing disappointment so heavily, then we’re always going to stymie ourselves. That’s our job over the next little while.”While Harry Brook is the favourite to succeed Buttler, McCullum said England had not decided on a successor. While that is partly because, in McCullum’s words, Buttler’s resignation “came a little sooner than expected”, he felt it also spoke to the characters in the England side.”There’s some really good leaders that have developed,” McCullum said. “That’s the mark of Jos’s captaincy, he brought on other leaders within the group. They’re not necessarily seasoned players, but they are young guys who have got good cricketing knowledge and he’s encouraged them to learn and develop as leaders. Whoever we settle on, we’ve just got to make sure we’re giving them the right support so that we can improve our performances.”

Arsenal have splashed the cash this summer in a bid to win their first Premier League title in over 20 years, and Mikel Arteta may not even be done there.

While a move for Crystal Palace playmaker Eberechi Eze grows more and more unlikely by the day, amid stiff competition from Tottenham, who are now in talks for the England international, Andrea Berta could still go after a left-winger.

This would be dependent on one of Leandro Trossard or Gabriel Martinelli leaving in the next two weeks, or perhaps both, but Arteta has already confirmed that Arsenal are still looking at opportunities after signing Kepa, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera and Viktor Gyokeres.

“Let’s see,” Arteta said when asked about Arsenal’s transfer plans for the rest of the window.

“Let’s see what happens, in terms of where the squad is in the next few weeks.

“But, we are actively looking at options. As well, there are a few players, maybe, that they have to leave as well. So, we will be open to see what happens.”

It’s important to note that a move for Eze still hasn’t been entirely ruled out by credible media sources, but Tottenham appear to be taking pole position for him right now amid their glaring need for a playmaker to replace the injured James Maddison.

Arsenal’s hesitation is a result of their already-stocked central attacking midfield (talkSPORT), with club captain Martin Odegaard set for another key role going forward and Ethan Nwaneri tipped for more minutes after committing his future to the Emirates Stadium.

In truth, Arteta is very well reinforced in midfield, having also welcomed the arrivals of Zubimendi and Norgaard to replace Jorginho and Thomas Partey – who both left N5 after their contracts expired.

Norgaard in particular already boasts considerable Premier League experience from his time at Brentford, where he captained the Bees and stood out as perhaps one of their more underappreciated key players.

Mikkel Damsgaard says Arsenal have made a "surprising" signing in Norgaard

His former teammate at the Gtech Community Stadium, Mikkel Damsgaard, is convinced that Norgaard will be a quality signing for Arteta – albeit a “surprising” one.

Speaking to Danish news outlet Tipsbladet, via Sport Witness, Damsgaard says his fellow Dane is a hard-working player and backs him to succeed in north London.

Interestingly, former Tottenham director Frank Arnesen echoes this sentiment – calling Norgaard the “whole package”.

The 31-year-old signed a two-year contract with Arsenal, who spent an initial £10 million, plus £5m in add-ons, to secure his signature.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino met with CONMEBOL leaders in New York on Tuesday as the South American confederation pushed a proposal to expand the already sprawling 2030 World Cup – set to feature six host nations across three continents – from 48 to a proposed 64 teams, a move that would guarantee all 10 CONMEBOL members a spot.

• AFP
  

  'We believe in a historic 2030 World Cup!'

  Alejandro Domínguez, the President of the South American football governing body, along with the leaders of the Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay federations, traveled to New York to meet with the FIFA president to continue their pitch, first proposed in March. It was the first time the plan was formally presented to Infantino. 

  "We believe in a historic 2030 World Cup!" Domínguez said in a social media post after the meeting. "Thank you, President Gianni Infantino, for welcoming us and sharing this journey toward the centennial of football's greatest celebration. We want to call for unity, creativity, and believing big. Because when football is shared by everyone, the celebration is truly global."

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  Spanning continents

  If approved, it would mark the second expansion in a decade, after FIFA kept the same format from 1998 until the upcoming 48-team edition in 2026.

  With the tournament being the 100-year anniversary of the inaugural World Cup, FIFA is hosting matches across three continents in Europe, South America, and Africa. Uruguay, the original hosts in the 1930 edition, will get one game with Paraguay, Argentina, Morocco, Spain, and Portugal all serving as co-hosts.

  In addition to the FA presidents joining, the President of Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi, and the President of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, also joined in the presentation. Argentina FA president Claudio Chiqui Tapia shared his thoughts after the meeting. 

  "I had the honor of being part of the FIFA summit, organized by Gianni Infantino, with the goal of starting to organize what will be the 2030 World Cup. It was truly a pleasure to have represented our country at this important meeting," Tapia posted on social media. "We are family, and we have done our part to request this meeting so our dream can become reality."

• 'This cannot be just another event'

  FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafström was also in attendance. If FIFA gives approval to the proposal, it would  expand the tournament to 128 matches – which is double the number played during the World Cups between 1998 to 2022. Dominguez said FIFA should act due to the historical significance of the World Cup. 

  "As we get closer to the date, we must reiterate that this cannot be just another event, it cannot be just another World Cup," Domínguez said. "We believe this is a once-in-a-century opportunity to have the group stage matches played in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay."

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• Critics of the proposal

  While CONMEBOL is aligned with the push for more teams, the proposal has been met by criticism from other FIFA federations. When the proposal initially came about, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin called it a "bad idea."

  "This proposal was maybe even more surprising for me than you," Čeferin said at a news conference after UEFA's annual meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. "I think it is a bad idea."

  Detractors argue the expansion would dilute the quality of play and lessen the importance of qualifying.

Club America's Alejandro Zendejas delivered a spectacular two-goal performance on Saturday night, punctuated with an audacious chip over Costa Rican icon Keylor Navas that put his side up 3-1 in a commanding 4-1 victory against rivals Pumas UNAM. The 27-year-old's masterful display continued his exceptional run of form in the Apertura 2025 campaign.

spectacular long-range chip to growing highlight reel

The standout moment came in the 73rd minute with America already leading 2-1. Receiving the ball approximately 25 meters from goal, Zendejas looked up to see Navas slightly off his line. Without hesitation, the 27-year-old executed a perfectly weighted chip, from just inside the box, that sailed over the outstretched arms of the veteran goalkeeper before nestling into the top corner.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportAmerica's attacking prowess

The emphatic victory extends Club America's impressive form in the Apertura 2025 campaign, with Zendejas' brace bringing his season total to five goals in eleven matches. The defending champions have now scored 23 goals through their first 11 fixtures, but are still one point behind league leaders Toluca.

Navas struggles after bright start

For 38-year-old Keylor Navas, the match was rare off night following a bright start to his Pumas career since joining from Newell's Old Boys in July. The three-time Champions League winner had only conceded four goals in seven matches since he took over the starting job for Pumas. This loss now puts the club in 10th place, having won just three of their 11 league games so far, with four draws and as many losses.

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Getty Images SportAmérica prepare for critical showdown

Following their dominant performance against Pumas, Club América’s squad now turns their attention to a crucial home match against 13th-placed Santos Laguna on Oct. 4.

The Lewis family are making big plans behind-the-scenes at Tottenham, as ENIC prepare for life beyond chairman Daniel Levy.

Levy has been the face of Spurs’ day-to-day running for the last 24 years, and often the subject of real criticism, before Tottenham’s shocking announcement on Thursday last week that the 63-year-old resigned from his post as executive chairman.

While it was a technically a resignation of his own accord, the consensus is that ENIC pushed Levy out of the door, and it is even believed that the ex-chair didn’t find out he was going to resign until just hours before Tottenham made it official (The Times).

Levy was a polarising figure among the Lilywhites fanbase, often finding himself at the centre of mass ENIC protests towards the end of his tenure in particular, but it cannot be understated that he helped to transform Spurs into a financial powerhouse.

World Football’s highest revenue-generating clubs — 2025

Value

Real Madrid

£1.2 billion

Man City

£727 million

PSG

£700 million

Man United

£668 million

Bayern Munich

£664 million

FC Barcelona

£659.5 million

Arsenal

£621.5 million

Liverpool

£620 million

Tottenham Hotspur

£533 million

Chelsea

£474 million

Levy oversaw Tottenham’s move to their state-of-the-art new stadium and training facilities, which has gifted the club a far greater commercial appeal off the field, and you could even argue that they were more successful on the pitch in comparison to Sir Alan Sugar’s era leading Spurs.

However, the departure of Levy has now ushered in a new era for the north Londoners, with the Lewis Family’s restructuring of the board attracting serious investment interest from parties in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the USA (TEAMtalk).

ENIC’s owners are also determined to bring more success after Tottenham won their first major trophy in 17 years back in May.

Now, Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol has shared how they could be planning to do just that.

ENIC plot transfer statement in boost for Tottenham post-Daniel Levy

Speaking on Sky, Solhekol states that ENIC are plotting a cash injection into Tottenham, and this could be used on transfers to help them compete for silverware.

Thomas Frank could be set for an almighty boost by this message, as the Dane seeks to eventually transform Spurs into eventual Premier League challengers.

Pep Guardiola has explained how he keeps Erling Haaland motivated after the Manchester City striker took his season tally of goals to 18 in only 11 games for club and country. Haaland scored the only goal of Sunday’s 1-0 win away to Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium, showing an impressive amount of strength to fire home the winner.

Haaland downs Brentford with superb goal

With only ten minutes on the clock, Haaland took a pass from Josko Gvardiol in stride and managed to completely outmuscle Bees defender Sepp van den Berg, powering his way into the penalty area and firing beyond goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher for what proved to be the only goal of a close game in west London.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportGuardiola tells GOAL about talks with Haaland

In a post-match press conference, GOAL asked Guardiola what his instructions even are for Haaland anymore given his near-guarantee of goals. 

"Always to try play better and better, to try and play more balls to him to score goals," he replied. "Phil [Foden] is the same. In the first half, there was two or three decisions that was not in the final third perfect, but his commitment was really good. Even defensively. We talked after Monaco, that was really good.

"Last season, I don’t know if we were in the position we are in right now, we’re a little bit away from everything. But listen, it’s just seven games in the Premier League. From my experience, it never ends. I would say three weeks ago, Liverpool had already won the Premier League, and now apparently not. So this is so long. The important thing is we see the team [getting] better and better. Liverpool is an incredible team, like Arsenal and Chelsea and Tottenham. Bournemouth is there, Brighton is. They’re very good teams. The question is [how to] improve, improve, improve. Winning helps to improve better, but the way we play, the way we defend, the way we do things to help us in the end, to make it close to try to fight like always, except last season."

Haaland working to become complete forward

Guardiola also expressed his desire to continue developing Haaland as an all-round striker and not only someone that can score ‘50 million goals’. He added: "I said one month ago he is the best and that year we won the Treble, I don’t know how many goals he scored – maybe 50 million goals.

"But now he signed a contract for many years – we have to find him more, but he is more involved in the game, not just in the finishing, he is more on the ball and he work a lot his ethic, pressing and I am really pleased and I hope this week with Norway he can score more and come back fit for the Everton game."

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Getty Images SportHaaland eyeing Golden Boot and European Golden Shoe

Haaland already has nine goals this Premier League campaign alone, three more than the closest challenger – Antoine Semenyo of Bournemouth – in the race for the Golden Boot. The only match he has not scored in during 2025-26 was City’s 2-0 defeat at home to Tottenham on the second weekend of the season.

Only four players have won the Premier League Golden Boot three times or more. Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah have picked it up four times apiece, while Alan Shearer and Harry Kane have taken it home three times each. Haaland, victorious in 2022-23 and 2023-24, is looking to join an exclusive club and regain the top-scorer gong from Salah, who was triumphant for 2024-25. The Norwegian has also spoken of his wish to win the European Golden Shoe, awarded to the top scorer across the entire continent, with Kane, now of Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe seen as his closest challengers on that front.

Glasgow Rangers central midfielder Nicolas Raskin has attracted interest from other clubs in the summer transfer window, thanks to his performances at Ibrox over the last year or so.

Premier League sides Wolves, Aston Villa, and Leeds United have all been linked with an interest in the Belgium international, who is said to be valued at £25m by the club.

Despite his undoubted quality, which is backed up by interest from Premier League clubs, Raskin as not helped Rangers to pick up any wins in the first three Scottish Premiership matches.

The midfield star has failed to score or create a ‘big chance’ in any of the three games, fortunately registering an assist when the ball deflected off his thigh and teed up Findlay Curtis to score from range.

Rangers have failed to score more than one goal in all of their league outings, so far, and that is why it would be an even bigger blow for them to lose a difference-maker in the final third, rather than Raskin, before the deadline closes.

European side plotting bid for Rangers star

Whilst noise over Raskin’s future has gone quiet, despite the report interest from down south earlier this summer, there is still plenty of chatter over what will happen to one of Russell Martin’s star forwards.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

According to the Daily Record, Lille are preparing to submit an offer to sign Glasgow Rangers centre-forward Hamza Igamane before the end of the window.

The report claims that the Ligue 1 side are set to propose an initial fee of £9m with add-ons that could take it up to £12m, as they look to test the Scottish giants’ resolve.

It adds that Lille have already had one bid turned down for Igamane and that they have now reopened talks to sign the forward, who Martin claimed said he was injured and unavailable to come on as a substitute against St Mirren.

The Daily Record reveals that Rangers want a fee close to £15m to allow the forward to leave, but Lille are not willing to go that high and will offer a £12m package in an attempt to get a deal done near the end of the window.

Why selling Igamane would be a big blow for Rangers

Losing Igamane this late in the window would be an even bigger blow than losing Raskin because he is the kind of player who can turn poor performances into positive results.

Raskin is not a natural game-changing attacker who is going to score and create goals out of nothing on a consistent basis, which is partly why he has been unable to turn the tide in the first three games.

That is not a criticism of the Belgian maestro, who is a joy to watch in midfield at times, but it just speaks to the kind of player Rangers need right now, and that player is Igamane.

Kilmarnock (H)

Goal

6-0 win

Ross County (A)

Goal

3-0 win

Motherwell (A)

2 goals

2-2 draw

Hibernian (A)

3 goals

3-3 draw

Dundee (A)

Assist

1-1 draw

St Johnstone (H)

Goal

3-1 win

Aberdeen (H)

Goal

3-0 win

Celtic (A)

Goal

3-2 win

Aberdeen (A)

Goal

2-2 draw

Aberdeen (H)

Goal

4-0 win

As you can see in the table above, the Morocco international helped to turn losses into draws and draws into wins with his contributions in the final third last season in the Premiership.

Igamane, who analyst Ben Mattinson claimed tries “outrageous” efforts in games, showcased his game-changing quality when he scored the winner against Celtic at Parkhead back in March, in the clip below.

The 22-year-old attacker is the kind of player who can turn a game on its head by delivering a moment of magic, which is what Rangers have sorely lacked in the first three games of the league campaign.

This is why selling Igamane would be an even bigger blow than losing Raskin this summer, because he has more potential to be an influential player for the Light Blues in the Premiership.

As well as Aarons: Martin must drop Rangers lightweight who lost 100% duels

Russell Martin must drop this Rangers lightweight as well as Max Aarons.

ByDan Emery Aug 24, 2025

Brooklyn Earick has formally withdrawn his record-breaking £4.5 billion bid to buy Tottenham Hotspur after the Lewis family made it clear they will not sell the club “under any circumstances.” The American businessman’s 12-member consortium had been in advanced talks, but Spurs’ owners reiterated their firm long-term commitment to keeping control.

• Earick made record £4.5bn bid for Tottenham

  Brooklyn Earick had tabled a world-record offer worth £4.5 billion, including £3.3bn for the club and a further £1.2bn in funding for transfers and wages. Despite a series of discussions with Tottenham’s representatives, the Lewis family refused to entertain a sale. Following their stance, Earick confirmed via a Stock Exchange statement that he would no longer pursue a formal bid.

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  Sale turned down by Tottenham board

  Tottenham confirmed the end of discussions and thanked all parties for their professionalism. “The Board of Tottenham Hotspur Limited (the ‘Club’) notes the recent announcements from the Firehawk and Mr Earick’s consortiums that they do not intend to make an offer for the Club,” read the statement. “The Board thanks them for the constructive approach taken in the discussions with the Club's and the Lewis family's representatives and respecting the clear position of the Lewis family that the Club is not for sale. Following the announcements made by the consortiums, the Club is no longer in an offer period under the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers.”

• Getty Images News
  

  Earick led the consortium with Dan Gilbert

  Earick had formed a US-led group of 12 investors to finance the record-breaking move, with backing reportedly including NBA franchise owner Dan Gilbert. However, growing uncertainty and the Lewis family’s refusal to negotiate forced the group to pull back. Sun Sport reports that talks were held with legal counsel Douglas Armstrong before Earick agreed to step away.

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• Earick could still return to takeover at Tottenham…

  While Earick has withdrawn, the Stock Exchange confirmed his consortium “reserves the right to acquire shares” in the future under takeover regulations. The American also voiced a message after pulling out from the move, which read: "It’s been a privilege engaging with Tottenham Hotspur and the Lewis family’s representatives over the past few months. I have great respect for the Club, its leadership, and its supporters, and wish them nothing but success."

Varun Chakravarthy and Vaibhav Arora join the logjam at third place among bowlers

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2025

Orange Cap leaderboardLucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) Nicholas Pooran continues to be the top run-scorer with 189 runs at an average of 63.00 and a strike rate of 219.76. He scored 44 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) following returns of 75 from 30 balls against Delhi Capitals (DC) and 70 from 26 against SRH earlier.Gujarat Titans’ (GT) B Sai Sudharsan is in second position after his 49 off 36 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). In the earlier two games, Sudharsan had scores of 74 and 63. His overall tally – 186 – is just three short of Pooran’s.Next on the Orange Cap list is another GT batter: Jos Buttler. Batting at No. 3 this IPL season, Buttler scored a match-winning 73 not out off 39 balls on Wednesday night to steer GT’s chase. In all, he has 166 runs at a strike rate of 172.91.2:53

Boucher: Arora’s length and swing caused trouble

Purple Cap leaderboardNoor Ahmad continues to wear the Purple Cap in IPL 2025. Turning out for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who also have R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in their starting line-up, Noor has been by far the most successful, his left-arm wristspin bringing him 4 for 18, 3 for 36 and 2 for 28 so far. That’s nine wickets, five more wickets than Ashwin and Jadeja combined.Mitchell Starc is just one wicket behind Noor, with eight from just two games for DC. He was expensive in his first game, against LSG, conceding 42 runs for his three wickets, but against SRH, he had his career-best T20 returns – 5 for 35.There’s a six-way tie for the third spot. Varun Chakravarthy and Vaibhav Arora picked up three wickets each for KKR against SRH, taking their tally for the tournament to six. They have joined four others for third place: GT’s R Sai Kishore, RCB’s Josh Hazlewood, LSG’s Shardul Thakur and CSK’s Khaleel Ahmed.Highest batting strike rates
Best bowling economy rates
Most sixes
Best bowling figures in a match

Wayne Rooney has named a “brilliant” former England star as his toughest-ever opponent, given both his tackling ability and skill in possession of the ball.

Rooney reveals toughest-ever opponent

Very few defenders were able to get the better of Rooney on a regular basis, as evidenced by the fact the Manchester United legend is the third-highest scorer in Premier League history, with a whopping 208 goals to his name.

The Liverpool-born forward spent the majority of his career at Old Trafford, where he enjoyed a great deal of success, playing a part in the Red Devils winning five Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, one FA Cup and one Champions League.

During the Sir Alex Ferguson era, United were extremely dominant, but they did go three seasons without winning the title in the early noughties, given the emergence of Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, who finished top back-to-back in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

53 y/o manager Man Utd's top target to replace Amorim, has won 11 trophies

An “unbelievable” manager has now entered the frame as United’s first-choice option to replace Ruben Amorim.

ByDominic Lund Sep 10, 2025

The likes of Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Petr Cech all cemented themselves as Blues legends in the process, but it is their former captain who was named as Rooney’s toughest-ever opponent when speaking on The Overlap. The 39-year-old said:

“I’ve always said John Terry was one of the toughest defenders to play against. On the ball he was very good – he was brilliant, and he could tackle. I also used to like playing against big centre-backs because I wanted a challenge and wanted that body contact – I could spin them all and come off them, then take them on. John Terry was the toughest though.”

Terry was part of the greatest-ever Premier League defence

It should come as no surprise that Rooney regards Terry as his most difficult opponent, given everything the former England star achieved at Chelsea, most notably playing a key role in the west Londoners setting the record for fewest goals conceded in a Premier League season.

During the 2004-05 campaign, Mourinho’s side shipped just 15 goals across the entire season, with the 78-time England international missing just two games, and he has since gone on to lavish the Portuguese manager with praise.

Not only was the ex-Chelsea captain a rock at the back, but he is also the highest-scoring defender in Premier League history, scoring 41 goals in 492 appearances.

With Levi Colwill set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to an ACL injury, Chelsea are in need of a new centre-back, but it will be extremely difficult to find one capable of coming close to replicating the impact Terry had at Stamford Bridge.