Sporting Giants BBC Radio 5 Live

A new podcast series charting Kylian Mbappe’s rise from the suburbs of Paris to global superstardom.

Presenters Steve Crossman and Julien Laurens follow the forward’s journey from AS Bondy to PSG via Monaco and the legendary Clairefontaine academy and hear from a stellar cast including Arsene Wenger, Didier Deschamps, Thierry Henry and Bernardo Silva.

Revisit Mbappe’s ultimate high of winning the World Cup in 2018 to the racial abuse that followed his penalty miss as France crashed out of the Euros in 2021.

We take listeners to Qatar where Mbappe rallied his team for a remarkable comeback in the World Cup final before another painful defeat on penalties to Argentina.

And we’ll look ahead to his future in the iconic white shirt of Real Madrid.

In this new podcast series Steve Crossman and Guillem Balague explore the life and career of Pep Guardiola. Episode 4 charts his most recent chapter, overcoming a first trophyless season to create history in Manchester. Director of Football Txiki Bergistain and City insider Noel Gallagher reveal how Pep proved the doubters wrong to begin his domestic dominance before his former captain İlkay Gündoğan reveals how the players reacted to his “overthinking” in Europe. But after years of heartache in the Champions League, the team eventually climbed the summit and completed the historic treble - City’s Kyle Walker and Rodri tell the inside story.

This is a BBC Sport Production for BBC Sounds and Radio 5 Live.

In this new podcast series Steve Crossman and Guillem Balague explore the life and career of Pep Guardiola. Episode 3 uncovers his motivation behind the move to Munich and addresses the theory that his time in Germany wasn’t a success because the Champions League eluded him. Former Bayern players Manuel Neuer and Robert Lewandowski explain how Guardiola overcame numerous difficulties to dominate domestically before German football expert Rafa Honigstein reveals why his tenure unravelled so quickly.

This is a BBC Sport Production for BBC Sounds and Radio 5 Live.

In this new podcast series Steve Crossman and Guillem Balague explore the life and career of Pep Guardiola. Told from the perspective of former Barcelona players and staff, Episode 2 charts Pep’s rapid rise from rookie manager to treble winning coach in his first season in the dugout at Camp Nou. Carles Puyol and Eidur Gudjohnsen explain how their revolutionary style of football led to European glory, while board members Xavier Sala I Martin and Txiki Begiristain outline how things eventually turned sour. During an intense period of rivalries with Lionel Messi facing off against Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho at the helm of Real Madrid, a golden era at Barcelona comes to an end

This is a BBC Sport Production for BBC Sounds and Radio 5 Live.

In this new podcast series Steve Crossman and Guillem Balague explore the life and career of Pep Guardiola. Told from the perspective of former Barcelona teammates Ronald Koeman, Albert Ferrer, Jordi Cruyff and eventual Director of Football Txiki Begiristain - Episode 1 is the ultimate origin story. Journey from the streets of Santpedor to Barca’s world famous La Masia academy and Camp Nou and find out how Pep’s playing days almost ended prematurely and how the legendary Johan Cruyff shaped his footballing philosophy.

This is a BBC Sport Production for BBC Sounds and Radio 5 Live

Is Pep Guardiola the greatest manager of all time? Steve Crossman and Guillem Balague delve into his life and career, hearing from the players and coaches who know him best.