The sight of Lionel Messi triumphantly hoisting the World Cup trophy above his head in Qatar after Argentina’s win over France in 2022 will live long in the memory of soccer fans.
For many casual observers of the sport who are preparing themselves to dip back in for the imminent 2026 World Cup, Messi’s emotional trophy lift and the jubilant celebrations four years ago could well have been the last time they tuned into a soccer match.
Plenty has gone on in those intervening years, both at club and international level, with huge transfers taking place, high-profile managers being hired and fired, trophies being won and the fortunes of some big-named clubs and players meandering through dramatic peaks and troughs.
So, if you’re a fan eagerly awaiting the 2026 World Cup but you’re wondering what you’ve missed, let’s catch you up.
Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami and won MLS title
After an 18-month spell that saw Messi lead Argentina to both Copa America and World Cup glory for the first time in decades, he played out the remainder of the 2022-23 domestic season at Paris Saint-Germain before embarking on an exciting new chapter the following summer.
At 36 years old, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner departed the Ligue 1 champions for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami in a move that made headlines around the world. Showing few signs of slowing up just yet, Messi has since scored 90 goals in 104 appearances for Miami while leading the club to the first three major honours in their brief history: the Leagues Cup (2023), the Supporters’ Shield (2024) and the MLS Cup in (2025). Oh, and he won himself an eighth Ballon d’Or, too, thanks to his World Cup-winning exploits.
Kylian Mbappé left PSG for Real Madrid (then PSG overtook Madrid as Europe’s best team)
Real Madrid brought an end to a long and tedious transfer saga in June 2024 when they formally announced the signing of Kylian Mbappé, the most sought-after striker in world football and fellow star of the 2022 World Cup final, from PSG on a long-term deal.
Few would have predicted that Mbappé would fail to win any major silverware at Madrid in his first two seasons. Despite scoring plenty of goals — 86 in 103 games in all competitions — he has struggled to fully win the support of Madrid’s fans.
Meanwhile, in a twist of irony, PSG have since emerged as arguably the best team in Europe. They spent years chasing a Champions League title, but it was only after they moved on Neymar, Mbappé and Messi and invested in exciting young talent that they finally achieved it last season.
PSG could defend their title, too, when they play Arsenal in the 2025-26 final on Saturday.
Lamine Yamal has emerged as Lionel Messi’s heir
For years, European football needed a new prodigious talent to emerge through the ranks. It looked like Mbappé owned that title, but then, in April 2023, a 15-year-old Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal burst onto the scene.
Widely touted since as Messi’s heir apparent, the now 18-year-old winger has already won three La Liga titles with Barça, as well as leading Spain to glory at Euro 2024. He finished runner-up for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, but given his meteoric rise thus far, it merely feels like a matter of time before Yamal begins following in Messi’s footsteps on that front, too.
Yamal is in a race to be fit for Spain’s opening game at the 2026 World Cup after he suffered a hamstring injury playing for Barça in April.
Perhaps the first major revelation to happen after the 2022 World Cup was Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to the Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
Less than two weeks after the World Cup concluded in December 2022, Ronaldo, who was a free agent after leaving Manchester United, became the first of many world stars to join the Saudi Pro League.
However, the forward, now aged 41, almost didn’t add to his trophy collection until earlier this month. Ronaldo led Al Nassr to win the Saudi league title — his last major trophy had been with Juventus when he lifted the 2020-21 Italian Cup
Now, Ronaldo has a wider goal in mind. He has made no secret of his aim to become the first player to score 1,000 career goals. Heading into the World Cup, he has 973.
Adams overtook Pulisic as USMNT’s best player
While AC Milan star Christian Pulisic might still be the most prominent member of the United States men’s national team, there is an argument that he may no longer be their best player. The trajectory of versatile midfielder Tyler Adams over the past few years means that “Captain America” is at the very least being given a good run for his money.
Adams has certainly performed at a high level. This season, he has played a pivotal role in Bournemouth’s charge to Europa League qualification this season, thus meaning that the Cherries will be playing European football for the first time in their history next season.
Neymar only played a total of 63 games
While Messi and Ronaldo continue to rack up the goals week in, week out, Neymar has seen his career nosedive dramatically since the 2022 World Cup. Injuries and a critical loss of form have contributed to the Brazil star playing just 63 games in total — for club and country — since that tournament.
The 34-year-old is on a relative upswing, having returned to former club Santos in January 2025, for whom he has scrabbled together enough first-team minutes to convince Brazil head coach Carlos Ancelotti that he warrants a place in the Selecao‘s 2026 World Cup squad. However, Neymar’s build-up to the tournament has been overshadowed by yet another injury issue.
Two new Ballon d’Or winners
The Ballon d’Or was utterly dominated by Messi and Ronaldo between 2008 and 2023, with one of those two winning the award in all but two years between 2008 and 2023.
However, with both Messi and Ronaldo now entering the final years of their careers, a breath of fresh air has been afforded to the Ballon d’Or roll of honour, with the 2024 and 2025 ballots seeing two debut winners of the men’s award.
Manchester City’s metronomic midfielder Rodri took the plaudits in 2024 after his pivotal role in a Premier League title win at club level and a European Championship victory with Spain the following summer. Ousmane Dembélé then collected the 2025 award after a succession of dynamic performances in what proved to be a brilliant Treble-winning season for PSG.
Harry Kane has become world’s best striker and a title winner
He was already well on the way, but Harry Kane truly ascended to become the most prolific striker in world football in the years that followed the 2022 World Cup. Leading the line for club and country, the 32-year-old is potentially even on course to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or after bagging a consistent stream of over 140 goals since the beginning of 2023.
After becoming Tottenham Hotspur’s all-time top goal-scorer without winning a single trophy in 13 years at the club, Kane departed for Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023 and hasn’t looked back since. He has scored 146 goals in 147 games for the German giants (including 58 goals across all competitions in 2025-26) and finally — finally! — managed to get his hands on the first silverware of his career (two Bundesliga titles, a German cup and the German Supercup).
Tottenham and Man United hit new lows
Tottenham have not always fared so well since Kane’s departure. The club did manage to end their 17-year wait for a trophy by lifting the 2024-25 Europa League, but that came in the same year they finished 17th — their lowest top-flight finish since they were promoted in 1978.
Somehow, Spurs, one of Europe’s richest clubs, managed to sink lower in the Premier League, again finishing 17th this season after a dismal campaign that almost saw them suffer relegation.
They are not alone, though. Manchester United were their opponents in that Europa League final, and their defeat was compounded by finishing two places above Spurs in 15th. It was United’s lowest-ever Premier League finish.
Things got worse before they got better this season — defeats to Grimsby and Brighton in the domestic cups meant they played just 40 games — but the replacing of manager Ruben Amorim with Michael Carrick spurred the team to finish third and reclaim Champions League football for next season.
Barcelona still on brink of financial ruin
While many things have changed in football since 2022, some things never do. Barcelona, as well-oiled and reliable as they are on the pitch, are still in a mess when it comes to their finances. The issues can be traced back to the immediate aftermath of Neymar’s world-record move to PSG in 2017, after which Barça made a habit of spending lavishly on transfer fees and wages in an effort to restock their squad.
Despite their vast yearly revenue, the Catalan club are still struggling under the weight of an enormous debt, which once topped €1 billion. Steps are being made to help alleviate the issues, but the same old pressures remain.
One potential source of light at the end of the tunnel could prove to be Barça’s return to their famous home stadium, the Camp Nou, which had been out of use since renovation works began in 2023. They returned home midway through the campaign, with a reduced capacity, but club officials hoping that their brand revamped and expanded 105,000-seater arena will provide a much-needed boost to the club coffers once it’s fully finished.
In the meantime, Barça fans can at least take some solace that their side are back on top in Spain after winning back-to-back LaLiga titles.
Several trophy droughts have ended
Since the winter of 2022, European football has seen several prominent trophy droughts come to an end for clubs across the continent’s top divisions.
Firstly, Manchester City finally saw their expensive project fulfil its long-awaited ambition of winning the Champions League when Pep Guardiola’s side went all the way and saw off Inter Milan in the 2023 final in Istanbul (having finished runners-up two years previously). They also became the first English club to win a Treble since Sir Alex Ferguson’s 1999 United side.
Once nicknamed “Neverkusen” due to their inability to win anything, Bayer Leverkusen managed the incredible feat of winning the German Bundesliga title without losing a single game in 2023-24, thus ending Bayern Munich’s run of 11 straight league titles. Manager Xabi Alonso’s side also guided them to win German Cup and came close to wrapping up a phenomenal treble only to finish runners-up to Atalanta in the Europa League final.
Oh, and Arsenal are now the reigning Premier League champions after Mikel Arteta’s side sat pretty on top of the table for the majority of the 2025-26 season, fending off a late fightback from City to capture the club’s first title in 22 years.
England’s men haven’t won anything, but women did (again)
Speaking of droughts, England’s men’s team still haven’t won a single trophy since their World Cup victory way back in 1966. They have come close in recent years by reaching the final of both of the last two European Championships (in 2020 and 2024), only to be pipped by Italy and Spain, respectively.
While the men have now been waiting for 60 years for any semblance of silverware, the England women’s team have successfully “brought football home” twice in recent memory — winning their first European Championship in the summer of 2022 before repeating the feat in 2025, all under the masterful eye of head coach Sarina Wiegman.
International teams hired elite coaches
While international teams hiring stellar coaches is hardly a new phenomenon, it would appear that the 2026 World Cup has seen a number of major nations turning to established, high-profile club coaches in order to bolster their chances of success.
Brazil have turned to charismatic veteran Carlo Ancelotti in their quest to win a first World Cup since 2002 (and a sixth overall), while experienced campaigners such as Thomas Tuchel (England), Julian Nagelsmann (Germany) and Marcelo Bielsa (Uruguay) will all be prowling the dugouts at the tournament.
The USMNT can also claim their very own distinguished coach in the guise of Mauricio Pochettino, formerly of Tottenham, PSG and Chelsea, who has been handed the responsibility of flying the flag for the nation that will host the majority of World Cup matches this summer, including the final
No pressure, Poch.
