10 Most Infamous Player-Manager Bust Ups Of All Time (Ranked) | OneFootball

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Nobody is bigger than the club and this is a message every top manager uses in football to combat inflated egos and the star power that comes along with it.

Nevertheless, sometimes lines are crossed and bitter feuds spill out from the changing rooms into the mainstream news and social media platforms. It's every team's biggest fear. However, there have been plenty of fights and fallouts over the years.

Often to the delight of opposing teams' fan bases, once the sacred manager-player bond is broken there is usually not much room to mend it.

This article has been generated based on substantiated reporting, coupled with research. We will explore and rank some of the biggest manager-player bust-ups football has seen over the years, with boots to the face and everything in between.

10 Anelka vs Domenech

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Nicolas Anelka was one of football's most fearsome forwards, but he also had a knack for falling out with just about every coach he played under.

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa was the scene and Anelka launched a foul-mouthed assault on then France national team coach Raymond Domenech after the country's 2-0 defeat to Mexico.

The striker was sent home following his verbal antics and the news of disaster in the French World Cup camp hit the front pages of every newspaper in the world.

France were eliminated from the tournament shortly after and it could be suggested that Anelka was in the right for this little outburst of his.

They have, however, gone on to win a FIFA World Cup and reach the final of the competition since, so maybe Anelka's outburst and this fallout were all meant for something greater.

9 Shearer vs Barton

Alan Shearer was tasked with trying to keep Newcastle United in the Premier League with eight games to spare and had to manage Joey Barton in the process. A thankless task for even the best of tacticians, let alone had little to no experience in the dugout at all.

Barton ultimately let himself and Shearer down in a game against Liverpool, with the midfielder clattering Xabi Alonso, receiving a red card and a subsequent three-match ban during a critical stage of the 2008/09 season. A classic Barton move and one that didn't help the Magpies' Premier League safety hopes and dreams, finishing 18th in the standings and were relegated to the Championship.

Shearer claimed Barton let himself and the club down and delivered a "few home truths" to the midfielder in the dressing room after the game at Anfield. We can only imagine what these "home truths" were, but something tells us that the former Newcastle striker didn't hold back.

We can only imagine some of the expletives that were chucked around in that one, although, we would love to have been a fly on the wall in that dressing room.

8 Sancho vs Ten Hag

The freshest manager-player bust-up on our explosive list, Jadon Sancho and Erik ten Hag's relationship seems to have completely broken down.

Following Manchester United's 3-1 loss to Arsenal in the Premier League, Ten Hag was questioned on the exclusion of Sancho, something he claimed was down to the winger's poor training sessions.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Sancho said: "Please don't believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is (sic) completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week.

"I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won't go into, l've been a scapegoat for a long time which isn't fair! All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team."

There will likely be a few more twists and turns in this one, however, as long as ten Hag remains in control of the Red Devils it's hard to see any way back for Sancho at the club now.

Where next for the once highly-rated winger? He needs a change of scenery to get his career back on the straight and narrow.

7 Clarke vs Di Canio

Many of you might have never heard of this manager-player bust-up, but with the fiery Italian Paulo Di Canio involved, you already know it was very explosive. Former Swindon Town striker Leon Clarke and ex-manager Di Canio came to blows after a League Cup match against Southampton and their less than amicable exchange was captured by the television cameras filming the game.

The Italian grabbed Clarke by his shirt and dragged him into the tunnel where reportedly blows were exchanged between the pair. Clarke never kicked a ball for Swindon again and one week later was sent packing to Chesterfield on loan for the rest of the season.

6 Mourinho vs Pogba

SEVILLE, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 21: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United speaks to Paul Pogba during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 First Leg match between Sevilla FC and Manchester United at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on February 21, 2018 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

With two star names, two huge egos and one bitter feud, Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba falling out was never going to end well. Pogba questioned Mourinho's tactics after a Premier League match against Wolves and was subsequently stripped of his vice-captain position at Manchester United.

"We are at home and we should play much better against Wolves. When we are at home we should attack, attack, attack. That’s Old Trafford. We are here to attack," Pogba said. The Frenchman ended up outlasting Mourinho at Old Trafford, however, he never lived up to the expectations fans thought he'd hit either.

5 Keane vs McCarthy

A bitter spat with Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy in 2002 robbed the ex-national team captain Roy Keane of his one chance to play in a second World Cup.

Keane was bemused by McCarthy's preparations for the national team heading into the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, something he let the manager know.

His tirade then went as follows: "Mick, you're a liar… you're a f****** w*****. 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 f****** w***** and you can stick your World Cup up your a***. The only reason I have any dealings with you is that somehow you are the manager of my country!"

The midfielder left the World Cup camp after this moment of rage leaving McCarthy and the Irish national team in the wilderness heading into the tournament.

Roy always struggled to keep his rage refined onto events on the pitch and the Irishman was left with his tail between his legs in this one, missing out on the chance to represent his country at the highest level. Ouch.

4 Balotelli vs Mancini

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In the 2012 Manchester City pre-season tour of the United States, the enigma that is Mario Balotelli attempted to score a one-on-one with an audacious back-heel, which didn't come off. Something which infuriated Roberto Mancini.

The furious tactician brought Balotelli off the pitch immediately after his failed showboating antics and the pair exchanged fiery words with one another in front of a worldwide audience.

This wasn't the only time Balotelli and Mancini came to blows either, with the duo clashing in a Citizens training session, where Balotelli proceeded to grab Mancini by his collar.

3 Bellamy vs Souness

Now this is a tasty clash, two massive tough-talking personalities who could have earned a pretty penny if they let their blowout take place on PPV.

Craig Bellamy and Graham Souness came to blows at Newcastle United after a string of offences from the Welshman occurred, including a trip to the police station for Souness to bail the winger out of trouble.

Reportedly Souness told Bellamy that he would knock him out after the Welshman reacted badly to some criticism received in a team meeting at the club, with Alan Shearer intervening to break up the pair from fighting.

As far as folklore football tales go, this one is up there with the best. Unfortunately, we'll never fully know just how close the duo came to throwing fists.

1 Beckham vs Sir Alex Ferguson

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We just had to put this iconic manager-player bust-up at the top of our list and the duo whose relationship was likened to that of a father and son saw a messy end.

Beckham emerged through the academy into the first team as part of the 'Class of '92' but this all fell to pieces in 2003 after a dressing room hair-drying session with the Scottish manager.

Ferguson reportedly kicked a football boot in the direction of Beckham which ended up hitting the star footballer in the face, something which left him with a cut above his eye.

Paparazzi were quick to get pictures of Beckham leaving the ground and arriving to training the next day with the mark that was left by Sir Alex on his face.