Verdict - Tier 3 overall, Tier 2 for certain journalists
Transfer Track News · July 31, 2024
Originally founded as the Manchester Guardian in 1821, The Guardian is a British daily newspaper that covers a wide range of news, ranging from politics to the environment, from sports to lifestyle. It is considered to be one of the most circulated newspaper in the United Kingdom, reaching more than 23 million UK adults every month, whether online or in print. The Guardian prides itself on its journalistic integrity and sense of “financial and editorial independence”, with over 80% of readers trusting what they read in The Guardian, even though many have criticized the newspaper for its strong political stances on certain issues.
With regards to football transfer news, The Guardian has a track record of reliable and accurate reporting, often waiting for confirmation from multiple sources before publishing a story. This window, they were the first to report on Chelsea’s hesitancy over signing Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran, Marseille’s interest in signing out-of-favor Manchester United attacker Mason Greenwood, and Bayern Munich’s signing of young French winger Michael Olise from Crystal Palace.
They also have an interactive page that details all of the major complete deals during the summer and winter transfer windows, offering a place for readers to look through the list of confirmed deals and find out whether a particular transfer has been finalized or not.
Especially reliable are the two main football reporters for The Guardian – Jacob Steinberg and Ed Aarons – who we have ranked as Tier 2 on our rating scale for their continual dedication to accuracy and journalistic integrity. Jacob Steinberg was among the first the report Vincent Kompany’s move to Bayern and James Ward Prowse’s move to West Ham from Southampton, while Ed Aarons was the first to report on William Zaha’s move to Galatasaray.
However, in many cases, The Guardian has proven to be less than reliable with transfer rumor links rather than confirmations. For example, this window, they reported on West Ham’s attempt to bring Kante back from Saudi Arabia, which was later reported to be false, as well as linking Aston Villa to Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix, who ended up moving to Barcelona in the same window.
The one notable exception to The Guardian’s general trend of relative reliability is its "Rumor Mill" column. This section primarily aggregates transfer rumors from English tabloids and other similarly unreliable sources, compiling them into a single article. The "Rumor Mill" often includes speculative and unverified information, making it more of a compilation of gossip than a credible report on potential transfer movements.
Given its nature, the "Rumor Mill" should be regarded as content with entertainment value rather than a serious source of transfer news. It serves more to fuel fan discussions and speculation than to provide accurate, well-sourced information. Due to its heavy reliance on dubious sources and the lack of verification in its reports, we assign the "Rumor Mill" a Tier 5 rating. As such, it is excluded from our website’s official list of sources, as it does not meet the standards of reliability we aim to maintain.
Overall, because of its general reliability with transfer news, but its occasional inaccurate story, we will assign The Guardian a high tier 3 ranking, with its journalists Ed Aarons and Jacob Steinberg each receiving a Tier 2 rating for their higher standards of reporting.