Infamous bust-ups between players and managers

Football would lose something if players and managers all lived in perfect harmony, let’s be honest.

And for those of us who love the (admittedly sometimes petty) inter-employee drama that goes on in the beautiful game, incidents such as these can enhance the fan experience...

Let’s get straight into our look at some of the most infamous footy bust-ups!

There was surprise when Jadon Sancho wasn’t named among Manchester United’s squad for their September 2023 trip to Arsenal. Manager Erik ten Hag later confirmed that he had omitted the winger due to “his performance in training”.

Clearly, Sancho didn’t see eye to eye with his boss on the matter, taking to social media to vehemently contest Ten Hag’s view and claim that he had “been a scapegoat for a long time”.

As a result, the England international was excluded from the United first team, returning to Borussia Dortmund on loan in January.

With the 2019 League Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City heading for penalties, Maurizio Sarri wanted to change goalkeepers – not exactly unheard of in such circumstances.

But he wasn’t able to make the substitution… Kepa Arrizabalaga defied his manager by refusing to leave the pitch and stayed on for the shootout – which Chelsea lost.

Sarri subsequently claimed that it had all been a misunderstanding. Hmm…

Graeme Souness was not one to mess with as a player, and the same went for the ex-Liverpool and Scotland captain’s managerial career.

Craig Bellamy – who got embroiled in more than his fair share of… disagreements over the years – felt Souness’ wrath during the pair’s time together at Newcastle – quite literally: allegedly, Souness once tried to grab him by the throat and had to be pulled away by Alan Shearer.

Iker Casillas undoubtedly goes down as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, but such world-class quality wasn’t enough for Jose Mourinho to see through the Real Madrid legend’s fraternising with the enemy…

Keen to ease tensions between the Real and Barcelona elements of the Spanish national team – which he captained – Casillas held peace talks, of sorts, with club rival and international teammate Xavi.

That did not go down well with Mourinho, and Casillas believes that their relationship broke down as a result.

Brian Clough didn’t suffer fools gladly, as Nigel Jemson found out during his time at Nottingham Forest…

Less than pleased with Jemson’s showboating in a reserve game, Clough made the striker get to his feet in the dressing room at half-time. “Have you ever been punched in the stomach?” the Forest boss asked.

Jemson replied that he hadn’t – and received a swift hook to the gut. “You have now, son,” said Clough. “Don’t you ever try those fancy tricks again while your mum and dad are in the stand.”

Egos aren’t exactly a rarity in modern football, but Zlatan’s is on another level – on more than occasion, the stern Swedish frontman compared himself to God.

It was no great surprise, then, that he firmly aired his dissatisfaction at the way Pep Guardiola used him at Barcelona – following a big money move from Inter in 2009. “You bought a Ferrari, but you drive it like a Fiat,” he memorably said, in a dig at his boss.

Mario Balotelli helped Manchester City win their first Premier League title, but there must have been numerous occasions when Roberto Mancini wondered whether his controversy-courting compatriot was more trouble than it was worth.

Things really came to a head on the training ground in January 2013, when the pair heatedly confronted each other and had to be separated – the incident apparently stemming from an overzealous tackle by Balotelli on teammate Scott Sinclair.

Louis van Gaal lived up to his reputation as a disciplinarian when he dropped Luca Toni in part for “goofing around to much at breakfast” with Bayern Munich.

But the most important meal of the day wasn’t the only one at which the Italian striker thoroughly cheesed off the dramatic Dutchman: one lunchtime, Van Gaal grabbed Toni by the ear in front of the whole squad. His crime? Slouching at the table.

Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho’s relationship seemed to deteriorate steadily over a number of years at Manchester United.

Mourinho stripped Pogba of his status as United’s vice-captain amid apparent concerns about the £89m French midfielder’s attitude, and reportedly called him “a virus” in front of his teammates.

Pogba’s criticisms of Mourinho including taking aim at his tactics and accusing him of “going against players” – so he probably wasn’t too sad to see him sacked in December 2018…

Cristiano Ronaldo’s acrimonious second exit from Manchester United in November 2022 came amid a very public rift between the Portuguese superstar and manager Erik ten Hag.

Dropped after refusing to come on as a substitute against Tottenham – and even walking down the tunnel in a huff before the end of the game – Ronaldo never did patch things up with Ten Hag, telling Piers Morgan in an interview following his departure that he felt “betrayed” by the Dutchman.

CR7 reignited the feud in September 2024, deriding the club and his former boss for a supposed lack of ambition.

Roy Keane is a Manchester United legend, but he left Old Trafford in 2005 under something of a cloud.

The notorious Irish hardman played under Sir Alex Ferguson for more than a decade, enjoying immense success, but that counted for nothing when Keane openly criticised his teammates on the club’s TV channel.

A series of rows with Ferguson ensued, culminating in the famously fiery Red Devils gaffer jumping over his desk to try and get at Keane.

Who’d have thought that a plate of chicken wings could be such an effective weapon? Presumably not Ivano Bonetti until Grimsby Town manager Brian Laws chucked one at him.

This legendary incident occurred in the wake of Grimsby’s defeat to Luton in February 1996 and left Bonetti – who, the story goes, Laws felt wasn’t pulling his weight – with a fractured cheekbone.

If the picture above is anything to go by, the pair made up – although Bonetti departed at the end of the season.

A bust-up that was nearly a punch-up, this… disagreement cost Delio Rossi his job as Fiorentina boss.

After Adem Ljajic reacted to being substituted by sarcastically applauding, Rossi completely and utterly lost his head, shoving the Serbian striker then jumping on him in the dugout and taking a swing at him (but, thanks to the intervention of other staff, failing to connect).

Fiorentina sacked Rossi without hesitation, and he was banned from Italian football for three months.

David Beckham found out the hard way that it wasn’t a good idea to swear in front of an irate Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Scot was seething following Manchester United’s 2003 FA Cup fifth-round exit to Arsenal – and his anger levels surged when Beckham swore in front of him. Fergie kicked a boot that was lying on the dressing room floor and it smacked Becks in the head, a stud leaving him with a nasty cut to his eyebrow.

“I think I said the F-word too many times,” Beckham conceded in his 2023 Netflix documentary series.

France’s embarrassing group-stage exit from the 2010 World Cup came against the backdrop of a mutiny in the camp – which stemmed from Raymond Domenech’s decision to send Nicolas Anelka home from South Africa.

Anelka was expelled from the French squad for verbally abusing his manager, reportedly producing an expletive-laden outburst.

In solidary with their banished teammate, the remaining Les Bleus players refused to train (until the French Football Federation gave them a right ticking off).

Roy Keane is said to have told Sir Alex Ferguson (when they were still on good terms) that he was going to the 2002 World Cup “to win it”; as it happened, the Republic of Ireland captain didn’t play any part in his country’s run to the last 16.

Dissatisfied with the national team’s pre-tournament preparations, Keane initially decided to go home – only to change his mind.

But an interview he gave to The Irish Times – in which his displeasure with the set-up became public – sparked a heated argument with manager Mick McCarthy – which escalated into a full-blown, foul-mouthed tirade by Keane at his boss.

That was the final straw for McCarthy – who, in the midst of their quarrel, had accused his skipper of feigning injury during the tournament qualification play-off against Iran (unsurprisingly, Keane didn’t take too kindly to that) – and Ireland’s main man was sent home in disgrace.