Arsenal have been crowned Premier League champions but there are plenty of figures at Man Utd who believe they are getting closer to top spot.

Arsenal’s first league title in 22 years means five different clubs have now won the Premier League since Manchester United were last crowned champions. The question at Old Trafford is how much longer they will have to wait before getting their own moment of glory.

The drought at United will be into a 14th season next year, but there are figures inside the club who believe winning the title is now a more achievable dream than it has been for a long time.

In terms of competition, the last two seasons would bear that out. Liverpool won the league last year on 84 points and Arsenal can only reach 85 this season. Crucially, last season’s runners-up got only 74 points, while this season’s can get a maximum of 81. These are points tallies that are far more achievable than the days when Manchester City and Liverpool were hitting the high-90s.

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United have also built up momentum over the second half of this season. Since Michael Carrick was appointed, United have taken more points than any other club across 16 games. That is a decent sample size, but the lack of any distractions aside from the Premier League has clearly helped.

It does feel like there is an opportunity within the Premier League. City are about to lose their greatest-ever manager, Liverpool have the look of a club in decline, and anything could happen to Chelsea under Xabi Alonso. Credit to Arsenal for getting over the line, but they don’t look like the kind of champions who will kick on and turn next season into a one-horse race. Their style isn’t set up to run away with a season.

For their part, United have an Ineos-led target of a league title by 2028 to mark the club’s 150th anniversary. The view inside Old Trafford remains that winning the league within the next two seasons is achievable.

There are hurdles to overcome to make that a reality. The most immediate one is replacing Casemiro and making sure the recruitment successes of 2025 are repeated this summer. United have taken significant steps forward this season thanks to Senne Lammens, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, all of who have been good additions to the squad.

That will need to be repeated in 2026, especially when it comes to overhauling a midfield that now lacks quality and depth to fight on two fronts, which brings us to the next challenge. There is no doubt that a large part of United’s success this season has been built on playing just 40 games.

A return to the Champions League and a deeper run in domestic cup competitions could add 20 fixtures to the schedule, and how Carrick and his coaching staff deal with two games a week rather than one will be fascinating. They will certainly need a deeper squad to maintain a challenge at home and abroad.

But for all the worthy signs of ambition and for all that Ineos deserve some credit for showing a desire to win the biggest trophies, the reality is United are yet to come close to a title challenge since 2013. Some point to Arsenal and note how Mikel Arteta has gradually built them into a team capable of winning the league.

However, Arsenal under Arteta were starting from a much lower base than United are now under Carrick, and the truth is the Gunners have squandered good chances to win the league in two of the previous three seasons.

With a game to go, United are 14 points off top spot this season. That will be the third time in 13 years they have finished within 14 points, but they’ve never been closer than 12, which came in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s final full season in 2020/21.

Those previous campaigns serve as a warning, as well. After getting within a dozen points, United were 35 points away the following season as the wheels came off. Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival unbalanced the team, Solskjaer was sacked in November and Ralf Rangnick’s spell as interim manager was a disaster.

Then, in Erik ten Hag’s first season, United were again 14 points off the top. A year later, the gap was 31 points as Ten Hag’s attempts to develop the team tactically backfired.

Heading into 2021/22 and 2023/24, there was hope United could build on what looked like a solid platform. On both occasions, it all came crashing down. That is something they have to avoid heading into next season if Project 150 is to come to fruition. It is Arsenal celebrating this morning, but United hope it will soon be them.

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola did not linger long with the away fans at Bournemouth after the 1-1 Premier League draw

Is he definitely off then? That was what plenty of Manchester City fans left the Bournemouth stadium asking themselves after they watched the end of their team’s Premier League hopes for another season.

The news that they have been dreading for years came on the eve of the game, that Pep Guardiola will be leaving the club at the end of the season. After ten years and twenty trophies, he has decided that this is the right time to depart.

But it hasn’t been confirmed officially, and until that happens there will be some hope. What’s more, Guardiola suggested in his interviews after the game that his future would only be decided in talks with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak over the coming days.

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If that feels to anyone that has covered the story like it will simply be a matter of rubber-stamping a departure that he has already made peace with, the City chairman will not give up until it is categorically over and there is no more talking to be done. There is a chance that there is no communicado oficial before Friday afternoon when Guardiola next sits down for a press conference.

Something definitely felt off with the manager on Tuesday though when the final whistle went. It started off as he often does, arguing with the fourth official about decisions that he felt hadn’t gone City’s way – primarily the lack of time added on at the end of the game given Erling Haaland scored in injury time.

The Catalan then headed onto the pitch, where he congratulated the Bournemouth players and recognised his own before going over to the away end. But as the City stars lingered to show their support, Guardiola – usually one of the last to leave at an away game – only clapped briefly before turning and walking back across the pitch on his own and headed inside.

Without even speculating over what it could or couldn’t mean, the facts of it are that it was unusual – and noticed by fans as a departure from what he normally does. That added to the uncertainty over the next few days, even if Guardiola is clear on his love for the supporters.

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Manchester City and PUMA have launched the club’s new home kit for the 2026/27 season, designed with a full gradient of sky blue that’s darker at the shoulders and lightening as it falls with metallic monochrome crest and sponsor details.

“Let me talk with my chairman,” he said afterwards. “I know they love me so much, I love them more. It’s the best place to be. I love that place, I adore it. Let me talk about my club. People say I talk with a million people and I was incredibly focused on my job. We are in the competitions. I was there and this is what I have to do.”

More than 60,000 pairs of eyes will be on the manager on Sunday at the Etihad where Blues will hope the farewell is not as strange as it was at Bournemouth.

The referee for Manchester United‘s win over Nottingham Forest last Sunday has not been selected for any match in the final round of Premier League fixtures.

Michael Salisbury allowed Matheus Cunha’s goal for United to stand, despite Bryan Mbeumo handling the ball in the build-up.

Salisbury rejected a video assistant referee (VAR) review to rule out the goal and Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) later admitted that it should have been disallowed.

Referees in the English professional game adopt a more lenient approach to handball than other nations, albeit still within the laws.

And although referees’ boss Howard Webb told Forest that while there could be justifiable reasons to deem it was not handball by Mbeumo, ‘football’s expectation’ would have been for the goal to be disallowed.

It was only the 17th time in seven seasons – and the fourth this season – that a referee has rejected the advice of the VAR at the pitchside monitor.

Salisbury, who has been in charge of 13 Premier League matches this season, is not part of the officiating team for any of Sunday’s 10 games, which all kick off at 16:00 BST.

Meanwhile, James Bell has been selected as VAR for Fulham‘s home game with Newcastle, despite criticism of the decision not to recommend a review of a challenge by Arsenal‘s Kai Havertz on Burnley‘s Lesley Ugochukwu on Monday.

Burke “BT” Toews is the newest coach of Gilas Pilipinas women’s program. –PHOTO VIA SBP FACEBOOK

MANILA, Philippines—The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas has named Canadian mentor Burke “BT” Toews as the new coach of Gilas Pilipinas Women.

Toews takes over the national women’s program two months after the surprise exit of longtime coach Pat Aquino, who handled the team for 12 years.

“After months of searching across continents and with more than a dozen applicants, the SBP selected a Canadian coach based in Japan to lead the squad, which currently ranks 30th in the world according to FIBA,” wrote the SBP in a statement.

Gilas welcomes a decorated mentor who found success in the Women’s Japan B.League.

Most recently, he steered the Fujitsu Red Waves to back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025.

Most recently, Toews steered Fujitsu Red Wave to back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025.

The father of notable B.League talent Kai Toews also led Fujitsu to consecutive All-Japan Championship crowns in the same years.

For ten seasons, Toews powered Fujitsu to five Finals appearances. He also won Coach of the Year thrice.

Amir Khan retired in 2022 following defeat to Kell Brook, but the Bolton man has teased a comeback on a few occasions since.

British boxing’s youngest Olympic Medalist and a world champion at just 22, Khan took UK fans on a thrilling ride during his campaign. Big wins against the likes of Marcos Maidana and Zab Judah were tempered by stoppage losses against Terence Crawford, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and more. No matter the result, Khan’s fights were always thrilling, perhaps because of the jeopardy of defeat.

The former unified champion looked far from his peak against Brook, but has entertained a return in the years since against Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao.

Speaking to Boxing News ahead of the Paulie Malignaggi vs Rolando Dy super-welterweight BKB title fight, Khan said he knows the interest is there, but that he is currently happy in retirement.

“I know they’ve been saying I should give it a try. Look, I’ve never shied away from a fight; you can see from my career. Who knows? Let’s see what happens. You want to get in there sometimes, but let’s see how things go. At the moment, I’m just enjoying it.”

Malignaggi, a former opponent of Khan’s, would go on to be dropped and stopped by Dy in the second round of the contest. It could perhaps serve as a warning to the Brit of the brutality of this particular combat sport.

Malignaggi is just one of several former boxers to attempt to reignite their career on the bare knuckle scene, with Victor Ortiz, Lee Selby and Yuriorkis Gamboa also joining the BKB promotion.

In the age of NIL and revenue-sharing, athletic department revenue is a major indicator of current and future college sports success.

Football is invariably the biggest money-maker, but for some schools, men’s basketball is a major contributor as well.

The table below shows the total revenue for each of the top schools in the West, in millions of dollars, according to Mapping College Athletics.

In most cases, the data includes breakdowns by sport for football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball for the Fiscal Year 2024-25.

However, complete data is not available for all schools. None is available for Air Force, and only the total revenue is available for BYU, Cal, Stanford, and USC.

Joel Bagan has signed a new four-year contract to stay at League One promotion winners Cardiff City.

The Bluebirds academy graduate played a key role as Brian Barry-Murphy’s side returned to the Championship at the first attempt in 2025-26.

The 24-year-old full-back was one of a trio of senior players whose deals were set to expire this summer.

But Bagan is now tied to Cardiff until 2030.

“I’m delighted to be extending my stay at this club. I’ve been here since I was 16 and it feels like home,” said Bagan.

John Cena appeared at Backlash 2026 to make the announcement about the John Cena Classic. He only offered preliminary details about the tournament, and has now opened up about the way it came together.

The 17-time world champion recently spoke to Zack Heydorn of Sports Illustrated and revealed that it was a pitch he made that was eventually developed in coordination with the higher-ups in the company. Cena also revealed that the retirement tour was also his idea, which was pitched to Triple H and Nick Khan.

“Keep in mind, I approached them about the retirement tour. That was my idea. And so was the John Cena Classic. Now, the retirement tour took a year and a half for me to develop. It took a year and a half after I pitched and they accepted it for the WWE to curate and develop. That was a very long lead. The John Cena Classic took took four or five months for me to get a a proper situation where I could talk to Triple H and Nick Khan. And they digested the information. We’ve been working out the details for about two months now. And we’re we’re going forward. We’re going to give it a shot,” he said.

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John Cena reveals the reason he retired from WWE

The Never Seen 17 bid an emotional farewell to his in-ring career at Saturday Night’s Main Event last year, losing to Gunther in his last match. In the same conversation, he revealed why he chose to retire:

“This new crop of extra talented superstars come up that are performing at a speed like the game just looks too fast for me… because it is. You’re right. I could change my style, but at the risk of ruining that energy that WWE invested in me. And that’s tough because from an ego standpoint, you got to step away from the audience. I love the audience. It’s great. But man, that’s not respectful to the fans and it’s not respectful to the company. It’s also not respectful to new talent trying to get an opportunity. Step aside. Let the young superstars come up.”

The John Cena Classic is in line with the legend’s vision of bringing forth new talent and leaving the business better than he found it, and it now remains to be seen how the tournament shapes up.

If you use the quotes from this article, please give an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription and credit Sports Illustrated.