The future of the Premier League’s biggest starsWith the 2022-23 season coming to an end, BBC Sport looks at the future of some of the Premier League’s biggest stars.
BBC Sport’s users found the most engaging football stories this season across our website and app. The engagement time of a story was determined by the average time it took for users to actively read the piece along with a quality ratio – a calculation that allowed us to weight the results so the list did not become one featuring only our longest pieces. We removed all of the quizzes and the live match updates which would have otherwise dominated the list, and we removed any piece that has since been heavily dated by news events that followed. Here are some of the many pieces that have been engaging our readers this season:
The inside story of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United exit, Gianluigi Lentini: The rise and fall of the world’s most expensive player, Ronaldo’s rise, tears & redemption with Brazil in 2002, Meet the England players who secured glory at Euro 2022, Emiliano Sala: ‘A tragic plane crash and a stain on football’s reputation’, Great images from Qatar 2022 and the story behind the photos, Johan Cruyff: Total Football and the World Cup that changed everything, Pele and 1970: How the greatest player of all time cemented his legend, The Champions League clash between Gennaro Gattuso and Joe Jordan at San Siro remembered, Cunning cheat or unplayable genius? Inside Maradona’s quest for World Cup glory, How one of England’s most historic clubs was saved from a wild ride to ruin, The Premier League is 30 years old, Ange Postecoglou: The boy from Greece who became Tottenham’s main man, Barcelona’s team in 2011 were iconic – but where are they now?, The SS officer and the prisoner – a story of two team-mates and a war, Dalglish, Souness & Rod Stewart – World Cup 86 remembered, Saint, Galactico, Welsh hero: The evolution of Gareth Bale, Kyogo’s story: From early rejection to Andres Iniesta partnership & Celtic stardom, Who is the greatest forward you have seen? We asked you. These are the results, From shy genius to ‘bad boy’ leader – Messi’s Qatar transformation, Graham Potter: Brutal sacking latest twist in Todd Boehly’s chaotic reign at Chelsea, Brazil v Italy and ‘the day football died’, City Football Group: Inside a global model with Manchester in the middle, The key failings that led to Leicester City exiting the Premier League, Victor Osimhen: Is the ‘limitless’ Napoli striker a £100m player?, What has been your Premier League club’s biggest disappointment this season? We asked the fans, What next for AC Milan and Inter’s iconic San Siro stadium?, The White Horse Final: 100 years on, The rejection and determination that made Mikel Arteta a manager, Blue v Red: The battle for Manchester, Who is your club’s best and worst January signing? We asked fans of every Premier League club. These are their answers., Is VAR in the Premier League working better than people think?, Sergio Ramos: The big noise at the heart of the PSG defence who refuses to quietly retire, ‘We can’t stop watching’ – Arsenal’s reluctant rebel fans, Who is your Premier League club’s most notorious hardman?, ‘It began with an earthquake and a 5-0 loss. And then things got worse’, The girl in the Gang – being Wimbledon’s physio at 1988 FA Cup final, Ange Postecoglou: The boy from Greece who became Celtic’s main man, How Eddie Howe masterminded Newcastle United’s Champions League return, Fans give their ratings on their club’s Premier League season, Where next? The future of the Premier League’s biggest stars and ‘Hysterical and hated at times but Pep Guardiola is the greatest’. Sit back and enjoy some of these engaging stories from this season!