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Oct 23, 2026, 10:27 AM GMT+1
Rob is senior football editor at GiveMeSport, with over 15 years experience covering sport in various capacities since graduating from the University of Gloucestershire in 2008 with a degree in journalism.
A childhood obsession for all things football developed into a career writing about the beautiful game, initially producing content for clients including Luton Town Football Club and the PGMOL. His first big interviews were with Premier League referees Howard Webb and Michael Oliver in 2009.
He then spent four years producing written content for a betting website, mainly focusing on football, and was there to cover various games and tournaments including the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.
Rob joined GiveMeSport in 2013 (initially as a sub-editor before becoming a senior writer and then senior editor in 2020) and has covered countless football matches and other sporting events, interviewed various high-profile figures including Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch and Theo Walcott, and written well over 10,000 articles during that time.
Rob has played a key role in GiveMeSport's coverage of the World Cups in 2014, 2018 and 2022, plus Euro 2016, Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, along with many Champions League finals.
While football is Rob's area of expertise, he has also covered a wide range of other sports during his time at GiveMeSport including boxing, tennis and darts, as well as the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.
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Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has named the three players he believes deserve a place on the 2026 Ballon d’Or podium - but there’s no room in the Welshman’s eyes for Harry Kane.
Kane is currently the bookmakers’ favourite to win football’s most prestigious individual accolade.
If successful on October 26, Kane will become the first Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001.
The prolific Bayern Munich striker, who scored a remarkable 61 goals in 51 appearances at club level last season, would become the fifth English footballer to win the award after Kevin Keegan (who won the accolade twice), Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Stanley Matthews and the aforementioned Owen.
However, when asked by Rio Ferdinand to name his top three for this year’s Ballon d’Or, Giggs surprisingly left England’s all-time record goalscorer out of his list.
Giggs believes Bellingham deserves third spot on the podium. The Real Madrid midfielder wasn’t always at his world-class best last season but he lit up the 2026 World Cup, scoring seven goals in eight appearances for England.
Like Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe failed to win a major trophy with Real Madrid last season, but that hasn’t deterred Giggs from naming the Frenchman in second place. Mbappe scored 42 goals in 44 games for Los Blancos last term before netting 10 goals at the World Cup, becoming the competition’s all-time record goalscorer in the process. He’s also started this season in blistering form.
But it’s Lamine Yamal who sits top of Giggs’ list. “Wingers stay together,” the former Wales international said as he named Barcelona’s teenage sensation as his number one pick. Winner of La Liga and the World Cup with Spain, Yamal stands an excellent chance of becoming the youngest-ever Ballon d’Or winner.
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Shocked by Giggs’ top three, Ferdinand said: “Wow. So no Kane?”
Giggs responded: “No, I’m Welsh, I can’t be putting two English players in.”
When Ferdinand said: “That’s thrown me because I think Kane deserves to win it,” Giggs replied: “I wouldn’t disagree with you, but I like players that get me off my feet.”
Rio then named his top three but had no room for Lamine Yamal.
Instead, the former Manchester United and England defender went for Kane in first place, followed by Mbappe and Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise.
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