Sport
Peter Drury dubbed ‘the GOAT’ of football commentators after ‘perfectly’ capturing Messi’s moment and Argentina’s World Cup win
Few broadcasters encapsulate a moment so succinctly and give you chills like Drury.
Familiar and famed footballing voice Peter Drury is being dubbed “the GOAT” of football commentators after his performance throughout the World Cup — the final especially.
Renowned throughout the Premier League as well as UK coverage of European and international football, Drury has long been considered as one of the most compelling commentators to ever grace the game, and it would seem Qatar 2022 has only further reinforced that reputation.
The 55-year-old broadcaster was up in the BBC gantry for the final on Sunday evening and, as per, delivered nearly three hours of absolutely incredible commentary. The kind of stuff that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
Just listen and drink it in.
People have described his thunderous reaction as everything from “iconic” and “the greatest of all time”, to the only voice capable of exactly “how to express [the] historic moment”. Beyond the now viral commentators watching back in Argentina, we tend to agree.
Despite remaining dutifully impartial and equally excitable no matter what player or game he is watching, Drury has made no secret of his love of Messi down the years, famously stating in an interview that “he appears to do what is impossible, he waves through spaces that don’t exist… he sort of defies physics”.
He even went so far as to say that although Cristiano Ronaldo has looked and played “like an athlete” throughout the majority of his career, “Messi looks like the boy next door and performs like a god”.
With that in mind, he certainly enjoyed the opening goal of the final against France, when Messi slotted home the first of many penalties on the night, not to mention the rest of the Argentine goals too.
Then came his utterly spellbinding and spine-tingling speech about the little magician’s legacy not only in Argentina but in football as a whole. Seriously special stuff.
Waxing lyrical about Drury’s oratory ability, one commenter called it “simply beautiful”, another said “gave [them] goosebumps” and another said, “Peter Drury is the best commentator. Always gives me chills, he lets the pictures breathe and talk for him. Perfect.”
It’s hard to argue with them.
Read more:
But the soon-to-be legendary speeches didn’t stop there. As if his sultry sporting tones throughout the tournament, rapturous declarations and eye-watering odes to a genius weren’t already enough, he then went on to remind those watching that Messi was once like any other fan: a little kid who loved football.
While many are still busy debating Qatar and FIFA’s decision to drape Messi in a ceremonial robe before lifting the trophy, most were just happy to see Messi finally live out his dream. Drury was one of them.
This particular piece of commentary no doubt left millions catching their breath at home now welling up, regardless of their nationality — this particular fan included.
The 2022 World Cup final cemented two GOATs in the annals of football history: one of them is a magician on the pitch, the other is a poet watching profoundly over it.
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Image — Peter Drury (via Facebook)/@JustinChenni (via Twitter)/Leo Messi (via IG)
Sport
Streamer AngryGinge ‘arrested and banned’ from Silvestone at the British GP
Danny Jones
Popular Manc influencer, ‘AngryGinge’, was arrested, fined and ultimately banned from Silverstone at this year’s British GP.
The Salford-born Twitch streamer, YouTuber and social media personality (real name Morgan Burtwhistle) was detained at the circuit after being arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
Ginge recently starred in Soccer Aid 2025 and is a well-known face both on the internet and in the sporting world, regularly working in and around football, and is an avid Manchester United – even featuring in the club’s third kit launch video last year.
The 23-year-old and two other fellow streamers, ‘Chazza’ and ‘Samham’, were accused of criminal damage after sitting in an F1 car whilst recording around the Silverstone complex.
According to reports, Ginge and his peers were alleged to have broken part of a display vehicle.
The local lad claimed they had been asked to pay £30,000 in compensation; national outlet talkSPORT has since confirmed the story with Northampton Police (NP) via an official statement.
“On Friday, July 4, NP received a report that a classic Formula 1 car on display at Silverstone Circuit during the British Grand Prix event had sustained several thousands of pounds worth of damage, which was alleged to have been caused by someone accessing the display stand and climbing into the vehicle.
“Officers carried out initial inquiries, and suspects were identified. Three men, aged 23, 25 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a vehicle and taken into police custody.
“Following a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident, all three men were released with no further action.”
He and his friends have at least seen the funny side, sharing snaps from outside Northampton Justice Centre; Ginge even played ‘Locked Up’ by Akon as he walked out on stream in an orange jumpsuit.
Burtwhistle went into more detail on the incident on socials, explaining that the trio were taken away in handcuffs and “locked up” for several hours – 15 hours, according to SamHam (Samuel Imie).
All three individuals deny causing any damage to the racecar, even despite users sharing clips from the livestream footage captured for the Red Bull online Content on the day that many argue incriminates them, or at least sounds like it – we’ll let you watch and decide for yourselves.
Ginge himself went on to detail that ridculousness of the situation, explaining how he was effectively detained for watching someone else climb into the vehicle.
He’ll be dining out in this one for some time, you can be sure of that.
Read more:
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Images — Soccer Aid/angryginge13 (screenshot via Twitch)/Samham (via X)
Sport
Boxing legend Ricky Hatton is coming out of retirement after more than a decade
Danny Jones
Mancunian and British boxing legend Ricky Hatton MBE is coming out of retirement after more than a decade for his first competitive fight in 13 long years.
This is sure to be one to watch.
The Stockport-born and Hattersley-raised fighter first retired back in 2011, but did flirt with a comeback a year later in what turned out to be a one-off fight and defeat to 35-year-old Ukrainian welterweight, Vyacheslav Senchenko.
‘Hitman’ Hatton also got back in the ring for an exhibition match against Marco Antonio Barrera in 2022, enduring eight two-minute rounds after a decade away from fighting, but now he’ll be undertaking an official fight over in the United Arab Emirates.
Lacing up his gloves at 46 years old, Hatton will be facing fellow veteran Eisa Al Dah (same age), who was the first professional boxer in the UAE.
The ‘Pride of Hyde’ may have been out of the competitive sporting sphere for a while, but he’s still remained an active figure in the boxing world.
In addition to training his son, Campbell, who has followed in his father’s fighting footsteps, Hatton has continued to coach other young boxing talents from his gym in Tameside, including John Hedges and Chloe Watson.
Campbell, 24, has won 14 of his 16 fights, losing just twice since he began in 2021.
Meanwhile, his dad – who still boasts a record of 45 victories from 48 matches, 32 of which were by knockout – will be once again focusing on getting himself back in fighting shape for the Dubai bout.
The local athlete has done plenty to dispel the old jabs of ‘Ricky Fatton’ in recent times, mind you, having taken his talents as a once-promising young footballer to play in the Manchester Remembers charity match, as well as the aforementioned Barrera exhibition.
Set for this winter, Ricky Hatton will face fellow veteran Eisa Al Dah in a middleweight contest on Friday, 2 December, telling national media via video call in the recent press conference that confirmed he would be coming out of retirement: “What you’re trying to do there for boxing in Dubai is fantastic.”
Meanwhile, Al Dah added: “It will be a true fight, true action. And I will do my best, because everybody in the UAE and the Gulf, they will watch this fight. The place will be sold out, and it will be watched around the world.”
Will those Haymakers still hit like they used to? Well shall see before the end of the year.
Read more:
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Images — Russell Harry Lee (via Flickr)/Eisa Al Dah (screenshot via Instagram)
