Five Top player-manager feuds in football history


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There have been many heated feuds between a player and a manager that have taken place in football over the years.
 
We take a look at the top five player-manager feuds in football history:
 

5. Roy Keane - Mick McCarthy

 
Former Ireland captain Keane had a fall out with his coach McCarthy ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals as he was unhappy with the standard of preparation for the Irish team.
 
Keane announced in an interview that he was quitting the squad and that he wished to return home, but McCarthy took offence at the retired defensive midfielder's interview.
 
The Manchester United legend then unleashed a stinging verbal tirade against McCarthy: "Mick, you're a liar... you're a fucking wanker. I didn't rate you as a player, I don't rate you as a manager, and I don't rate you as a person. You're a fucking wanker and you can stick your World Cup up your arse."
 
Keane did not play at the 2002 World Cup and he only returned to the national team after McCarthy resigned as Ireland manager in November 2002.
  

4. Carlos Tevez - Roberto Mancini

 
It all started when Tevez was named as a substitute for City's game at Bayern Munich by Italian manager Mancini in September 2011.
 
Mancini claimed the Argentine striker refused to come on as a substitute in the second half, when City was 2–0 down to Bayern, although Tevez denied this calling it a misunderstanding.
 
Tevez's actions received widespread condemnation from various pundits and commentators, with Mancini claiming he wanted Tevez "out of Manchester City", and that he would never play for the club again.
 
Tevez was suspended by City for a maximum period of two weeks as the club began an investigation into whether he refused to come on as a substitute.
 
Following discussions with Mancini, club owner Sheikh Mansour authorised the placing of Tevez on garden leave where the player would be paid in full but instructed to stay away from the Manchester City training ground.

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3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Pep Guardiola

 
The Swedish marksman had a fall out with coach Pep Guardiola at FC Barcelona culminating in a dressing room incident in 2010.
 
Ibrahimovic threw a training-kit box across the room and screamed insults at the accomplished Spanish manager, who eventually refused to speak to the well-travelled player.
 
He was loaned out to Italian giants AC Milan and back-then Barcelona vice president Carles Vilarrubi further revealed that Ibrahimovic had threatened to publicly beat up Guardiola if he was not released to Milan.
 
In his autobiography I Am Zlatan, Ibrahimovic states:" 'It started well but then Messi started to talk. He wanted to play in the middle, not on the wing, so the system changed from 4–3–3 to 4–5–1. I was sacrificed and no longer had the freedom on the pitch I need to succeed."

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2. Paul Pogba - Jose Mourinho

 
The French superstar had a strained relationship with Mourinho at Manchester United and Pogba found himself benched at times during the 2018/19 season.
 
Pogba was linked with an exit from United during the January transfer season and continuing tensions between Pogba and Mourinho saw him branded a "virus" who influenced United’s bad form by the manager.
 
Pogba continued to be benched throughout the next few games up until and including United's match against Liverpool where Manchester United lost 3-1.
 
Shortly after this match, however, Mourinho was sacked as United manager and Pogba enjoyed game time under new coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
 

1. David Beckham - Sir Alex Ferguson

 
The duo had a strained relationship at Manchester United possibly as a result of Beckham's fame and commitments away from football.
 
Ferguson threw or kicked a boot that struck Beckham over the eye, causing a cut that required stitches during the 2002/03 season after an FA Cup clash with Arsenal.
 
The incident led to a great deal of transfer speculation involving Beckham, with bookmakers offering odds on whether he or Ferguson would be first to leave the club.
 
Ultimately, it was Beckham, who left United first in 2004 when he joined Spanish giants Real Madrid and Ferguson later criticized the retired winger in his autobiography, claiming he had not been "fair to his teammates."

Ferguson also spoke about Beckham's marriage in 2007 on The Independent: "He was never a problem until he got married. He used to go into work with the academy coaches at night time, he was a fantastic young lad.
 
"Getting married into that entertainment scene was a difficult thing – from that moment, his life was never going to be the same. He is such a big celebrity, football is only a small part."
 

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Published: 05/28/2020