Football is unpredictable. It’s one reason why we love it so much.
Every now and then, something will happen that will just leave fans speechless.
We always like to look back at Leicester’s 2015/16 Premier League triumph as the prime example. Claudio Ranieri’s side were 5000/1 shots to win the league but produced one of the greatest stories in the history of football.
It just goes to show that making predictions in football can be incredibly difficult.
But that certainly didn’t stop HITC Sport’s The Irish Guy on YouTube. Just before 2019 turned to 2020, he predicted 40 things that WILL happen before 2030.
At the time, we brought you his predictions and ranked each of them out of 10 in terms of likelihood.
And now, a little more than two years later, we wanted to revisit them and see how his predictions are getting on.
Some have already happened, some look more likely, some look less likely and some definitely won’t be happening.
Let’s take a look:
1. Kylian Mbappe will become the first £300m player
This probably wasn’t a bad shout but he probably didn’t expect Mbappe to run his contract down at Paris Saint-Germain. He could be leaving for free in the summer.
2. Neymar will become first £1m-a-week player
According to El Mundo, Neymar’s PSG contract means that, if he stays for a sixth year, he will earn $1.5 million per week. That will be more than £1 million per week. It’s just if anyone beats him to that eye-watering figure.
3. Man Utd will win the Premier League
This is looking more and more unlikely if anything.
4. Juventus will win a Champions League
Again, Juventus seem to be moving further away from winning a Champions League.
5. Marcus Rashford will end up washed up at 30
Considering some of his performances for Manchester United this season, this is actually looking a rather good shout. Let’s hope it doesn’t come true though.
6. Ronaldo’s son will win the Golden Boy award
We haven’t seen much of the 11-year-old since his move to Manchester United but for him to win the Golden Boy award in the next eight years seems highly unlikely.
7. Mike Ashley will sell Newcastle
Tick.
8. Bournemouth will go back to League One
Bournemouth were in the Premier League at the time so we’re halfway there. But, at the time of writing, the Cherries are top of the Championship and look more likely to be promoted back to the Premier League than relegated again.
9. Wolves will reach a Europa League final
Wolves lost in the quarter-finals of the Europa League in the 2019/20 season. They’ll aim to be competing in the competition next season with them currently eighth in the Premier League. But this seems unlikely.
10. Rangers will win the league
Tick.
11. Rhian Brewster will be a £100m player
Currently struggling to get in Sheffield United’s side in the Championship. No chance of this happening.
12. Saido Berahino will retire in shame
Berahino is back in England with Sheffield Wednesday in League One at the age of 28. We’re not sure he’ll ‘retire in shame.’
13. Phil Foden will captain England
Every chance of this happening with 13 caps to his name at the age of 21 already.
14. Wayne Rooney will manage a Premier League club
Well, he seems to be doing a decent enough job at Derby in difficult circumstances so this seems more likely than unlikely.
15. Jack Grealish will never play for England
Errrr, he has 18 caps now.
16. Gay footballer will come out in the Premier League
It’s still not happened but hopefully, a gay Premier League footballer feels comfortable coming out.
17. Theo Walcott will become a pundit
He’s not really playing much for Southampton at the moment so maybe he’s touching up his punditry skills.
18. Jose Mourinho will win the World Cup with Portugal
His time at Roma has been a bit of a nightmare so will Portugal even take a chance on him?
19. Steve Bruce will never coach in the Premier League again
This was during Bruce’s spell at Newcastle, which he’s since left. It’s hard to know whether he’ll return to the top-flight.
20. Javi Gracia will be sacked by Christmas
Tick.
On the day the video was posted, Gracia was sacked by Watford and replaced with Quique Sanchez Flores.
21. Man City will win the Champions League
They reached the final last season and Pep Guardiola’s side are certainly getting closer. Is this year the year.
22. Leeds will get promoted
Tick.
23. England will win the World Cup (Not)
Will England prove him wrong and win the trophy in Qatar later this year?
24. Lincoln City will reach the Premier League
Well, this is odd. Lincoln are currently 16th in League One. Surely not…
25. Salford City will reach the Championship
They’re in the Football League but the side owned by the Class of 92 are currently 11th in League Two.
26. Paul Pogba will sign for an MLS club
His future at Man Utd is in doubt so this seems a little bit more likely than it would have done in 2019.
27. Cristiano Ronaldo will become a movie star
If he’s still not playing football, Ronaldo could well turn to Hollywood. You just know he’ll want to be the very best at it too.
28. We will never hear from Bobby Duncan again
Who?
Remember Steven Gerrard’s cousin who left Liverpool unceremoniously after his agent kicked off on Twitter? Well, he spent some time at Fiorentina and is now at Derby – but nowhere near the first team. This is looking spot on at the moment.
29. Vinicius Junior will sign for Man City
He’s currently tearing it up at Real Madrid and a move to Manchester City hasn’t been touted. But you wouldn’t rule it out.
30. Steven Gerrard will win the Premier League with Liverpool
Well, he’s certainly a step closer having taken over Aston Villa in the Premier League. He’s certainly impressing and being Liverpool manager before 2030 doesn’t seem crazy. Could he lead them to glory, though?
31. Arsenal will win the league
Arsenal have shown signs of improvement this season but they’re still a long way off Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.
32. Ivory Coast will win AFCON on pens after goalless final
Ivory Coast have reached the African Cup of Nations final on four occasions and it ended in a penalty shoot-out all four times.
This year’s tournament is underway so can Ivory Coast do it again?
33. Jamie Vardy will play for Sheffield Wednesday
Vardy is still smashing in the goals at the age of 35. Will he represent his boyhood club before he retires?
34. Sergio Aguero to be in top two of PL goalscoring charts
Aguero left Manchester City for Barcelona in the summer before announcing his retirement due to heart problems. He retired fourth in the Premier League goalscoring charts – 24 goals off Wayne Rooney in second.
35. Harry Kane will not break Alan Shearer’s record
Kane is currently 90 goals off Shearer’s 270-goal record. It would have been a lot more likely if Kane had moved to Manchester City in the summer.
36. Jurgen Klopp will manage Bayern Munich
Klopp isn’t the biggest fan of Bayern Munich and doesn’t seem to be leaving Liverpool any time soon.
37. Raheem Sterling will win the Ballon d’Or
We can’t see this happening – there are plenty of other more likely candidates to claim the Ballon d’Or in the next eight years.
38. Sergio Ramos will manage Real Madrid
Ramos finally left Real Madrid in the summer and joined Paris Saint-Germain. Could he return to the Bernabeu as manager in the next eight years? It seems unlikely.
39. Ravel Morrison will end up stacking shelves aged 30
Morrison is 29 in a few weeks and is currently turning out for Derby in the Championship. We’re pretty sure he’ll still be a professional footballer come 30.
40. Pep Guardiola will finally be sacked
When Guardiola does eventually leave Man City, it will be his decision we have no doubt about that.
