10 footballers who hated their manager

The player-coach relationship can be a power struggle in football, but sometimes, a manager feels like he has too much power, which can make players turn against him and envy him.

Jadon Sancho was brought to Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund for big money in 2021, but when Erik ten Hag came in in 2022, Sancho disappeared from the team. After Manchester United lost 3-1 to Arsenal, Ten Hag explained he had left Sancho out due to his poor training.

Sancho fired back after Ten Hag's remarks, stating: "I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won't go into; I'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." The Englishman never got back on Ten Hag's side and was shipped on loan to Dortmund and now Chelsea.

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With two stars and two huge egos, Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba clashed regularly at Manchester United, with Pogba saying the relationship was that of a "boyfriend and girlfriend."

At the start of the 2018/19 season, Mourinho regularly benched Pogba amid poor form and being labelled a virus in the dressing room. The Frenchman also questioned his tactics in the media, saying, "That is Old Trafford; we are here to attack." He didn't become a regular again until Ole Gunnar Solksjaer took over.

When Ruud Gullit arrived as the Newcastle United manager in 1999, the Dutchman left his experienced players out and brought in young players. One key player he started to leave out was England captain Alan Shearer. The fallout between them has been dubbed the 'Battle of the Alphas.'

According to former Newcastle star Kieran Dyer, "Shearer didn't like him (Gullit), and he didn't rate Shearer. He sees all this adulation Shearer was getting, and he was like, 'He's nowhere near as good as I was.'" In August 1999, Gullit left Shearer out of the derby match against Sunderland and started Sunderland fan Paul Robinson. Newcastle lost the game, which was the beginning of the end for Gullit.

In 2022, football icon Cristiano Ronaldo famously called out Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, claiming, "I don't have respect for him (Ten Hag) because he doesn't show respect for me."

In October 2022, Ten Hag boldly put Ronaldo on the bench in their 6-3 loss to Manchester City. The relationship worsened, as Ronaldo refused to enter the game as a sub and walked down the tunnel during United's 2-0 win over Tottenham.

David Moyes was pivotal in giving Wayne Rooney his Premier League debut at Everton. However, in 2004, Rooney made a blockbuster move to Manchester United, beginning a strained relationship.

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Moyes sued Rooney for libel in 2008 after claiming that Rooney leaked confidential information about his desire to leave Everton in his autobiography. Rooney admitted he "hammered" Moyes for how he was treated at Everton, but later admitted he was immature and wrong.

A 2002 spat between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy robbed Keane of a chance to play for his country at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. The Manchester United legend was shocked at the appalling conditions the Irish team had to train in during preparation for the tournament.

In classic Roy Keane fashion, he berated McCarthy, saying: "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." Keane left the World Cup camp and didn't play in his second World Cup.

Alan Shearer was tasked with keeping Newcastle United up with eight games left of the 2008/09 season. He also had to manage the temperament of midfielder Joey Barton, who received a straight red card against Liverpool in one of the season's final games.

With Barton absent, Newcastle were relegated, and Shearer didn't hold back from delivering some "home truths" to the midfielder after the game at Anfield. We can only imagine those home truths, but Shearer publicly claimed that Barton let himself and the club down.

At Newcastle again, Craig Bellamy and former manager Graeme Souness came to blows for many reasons on and off the pitch, including Souness's trip to the police station to bail Bellamy out of trouble.

The tension peaked at a meeting when Bellamy kept shaking his head at what Souness said. Souness allegedly offered Bellamy a fight, claiming in his autobiography: "That's when I physically got hold of him and asked him to come into the gym with me. I left that meeting and thought: 'What am I doing? Is this the job for me?'" Bellamy was sold a few months later.

Legendary Welsh manager John Toshack was known for his hard-nosed approach and keeping a tight ship, but nothing could prepare him for his first stint at Real Madrid and keeping a reign on outspoken star Michel.

Michel threatened Toshack before he arrived in Madrid, claiming the new boss had to apologise for anti-Madrid comments he had made in the past. The threat set the tone for the season, with Toshack constantly in a power struggle with the dressing room.

This one may not be at the same level of football as the others, but Leon Clarke's bust-up with Paolo Di Canio during his time at Swindon Town was there for everyone to see.

During their League Cup game against Southampton, the Italian grabbed Clarke's shirt and walked him off the pitch. The pair got into a tussle down the tunnel, and Clarke chose to never play for Swindon after that, joining Chesterfield a week later.

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