For the second year running, we’ve been digging into the data to see what football stories engaged our audience the most last season across the BBC Sport website and app.
Engagement time of a story was determined by the average time it took 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’ve removed all the quizzes and the live match pages which would have dominated the list, and we omitted pieces that have since become dated by news events that followed.
So in no particular order:
Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and the game that changed everything
The art of doing a transfer deal – and how to come out a winner
The evolution of a full-back: Philipp Lahm on how the position has changed
World Cup 2030: Six countries, five time zones, three continents, two seasons, one tournament
Terry Venables: ‘A special man and trailblazer’
The trophies, the goals, the players – Jurgen Klopp in numbers
The big Postecoglou interview: ‘I never thought I would get here’
USA at Italia 90: Bags of urine, cans of Bud and a groundbreaking campaign
The lone away fan who led his club to glory
Why USA’s exit from 2023 Women’s World Cup was predictable ‘catastrophe’
Twenty years on from Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United debut
Frank Soo: England’s pioneer who died with a tale untold
‘Really, really special’ – Goalkeeper Jack Butland on Rangers love affair
Austria Salzburg v Red Bull Salzburg: A derby 18 years in the making
How Lionel Messi is ‘gripping’ the United States
The 1970 FA Cup final and the most brutal game in English football history
Former Cambridge United forward Liam Hughes on addiction and self-harm
When Romania broke Welsh hearts
No England call, but has Jordan Henderson’s Ajax move worked out?
£1bn of losses in 11 charts: Premier League clubs and PSR
How Mauricio Pochettino, university and a golf buggy revitalised Ipswich Town
Who starts England’s opener at Euro 2024 – do you agree with our pundits?
Sarina Wiegman: The player, the manager, the leader, the person
Elton John tells Gary Lineker about his love of Watford and Graham Taylor
Paul Pogba doping ban: The end for Juventus and France star and what should have been?
Chinese Super League: From bidding for Bale to selling the team bus
Who owns your Premier League club and what does it mean?
Does Brazil superstar Neymar leave Paris St-Germain with a legacy unfulfilled?
‘Special things can happen’ – Hollywood-owned Wrexham savour success
Sir Jim Ratcliffe: Man Utd co-owner on Glazers, Greenwood, transfers, catching Man City & Liverpool
Glory and fury: Liverpool, Boston and a tale of two teams
Saka & Martinelli: The art of the modern winger
How Liverpool and Nottingham Forest fans found common ground in tragedy
Taming the Crazy Gang, a blank contract & David Currie – the legend of Clough
Premier League 2023-24: Fans’ verdicts on their club’s season
Fights, bikes & late nights: Six images of a Manchester rivalry
‘Eric, you can’t go around doing things like that, son’
