It might be unbelievable but there are some teammates that actually could not stand the sight of each other. An average football team is considered a family. The players are expected to bond for good morale and connection on the pitch. However, it is practically impossible to have over 20 grown-up men in a single team without personal differences and rancor. All teams have such experiences and manage it quite well.
On the other hand, there are some issues between teammates that even the manager could not do anything about. The relationship between these players so degenerated that some of them became vocal about their hatred for the other player. Here are some instances of hatred between players on the same team.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale
Ronaldo and Bale’s hatred for each other started when bale made the wrong decision of not passing the ball to Ronaldo, instead, he went for a goal himself and missed even after getting a wonderful opportunity which leads to losing the La Liga. Ronaldo was so furious and wasn’t shy in showing it. To add to this ‘dislike’ stems is fact that Real Madrid paid an exorbitant sum to Gale but the figure remained undisclosed as it had the potential of upsetting Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s not a news report to be believed the Real Madrid heroes are not much happy with each other on the pitch, Nether is it strange to see Cristiano Ronaldo throwing temper tantrums on the pitch. From the look of things seems this was one of the major reasons why Ronaldo finally left Real Madrid controversially.
2. Kolo Toure and William Gallas
The situation here is strange. Gallas and Toure were partners in Arsenal’s central defense but the two guys did not like each other. How will a team survive when their center-back pairs do not even communicate? Reports have it that Gallas’ reaction after a 2-2 draw with Birmingham was responsible but the Ivorian says the feud was way before that game. No one knows for sure why they hated each other.
3. Romario and Edmundo
Romario like most South American footballers returned to his boyhood club Vasco da Gama in 2000. He was re-signed by the club to partner with Edmundo in attack but there has been trouble before then. Edmundo replaced Romario in Brazil’s World Cup squad in 1998 and Romario would later make a joke of the situation. He put a large picture of Edmundo in front of a toilet door in his bar. The joke did not go down well with Edmundo.
4. Sheringham and Cole
Sheringham and Cole were devastating when on the pitch together. A record of a goal every 85 minutes is not a joke but these two lethal finishers hate each other. The feud between the teammates began the day Cole was going to make his England debut in 1995. Cole was to come on for Sheringham but his handshake was snubbed by Sheringham. The two never connected since then. Here is what Cole had to say- “I would rather sit down and have a Cupa with Neil Ruddock, who broke my leg in two places in 1996, than with Teddy Sheringham”
5. Bellamy and Riise
Here is a strange one as it is safe to say this occurrence is not enough to cause a feud between teammates. Bellamy had requested Riise to sing Karaoke on a night out in Spain which the Norwegian declined. They returned to the hotel room where the Welshman spanked Riise’s butt with a golf club. The two players went on to score in the game against Barcelona with Bellamy’s celebration saying a lot.
6. Ibrahimovic and Van Der Vaart
You probably do not remember this but Ibrahimovic and Van Der Vaart were on the same team in the Netherlands starring for Ajax. Their feud, however, began on the international stage when the Dutchman said Ibrahimovic intentionally injured him. Ibra denied it was not so and threatened to break Van Der Vaart’s legs if he did not apologize in a meeting with Ronald Koeman. Typical Ibrahimovic!
7. Nasri and Frimpong
Here is another Arsenal pairing on our list of teammates that hated each other. The fight started after Nasri’s last game for Arsenal in 2011. Wenger’s men lost the game by 2-0 and Frimpong was sent off. The Frenchman stood up in the locker room and said Frimpong was responsible for the loss. Nasri soon left for Manchester City after the game and Frimpong took a swipe at the midfielder on social media. Nasri responded by threatening Frimpong over the phone. The Ghanian has not been able to hide his hatred and lack of respect for Nasri since then.
8. Robben and Lewandowski
The situation here is quite easy to understand. Robben is the most efficient selfish player football has seen in recent times. The former Bayern Munich winger prefers to take on opposition defenders and score all by himself even when his teammates are open. This style of play definitely frustrated a goal poacher like Lewandowski who could not establish any form of connection with Robben.
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9. Lehmann and Almunia
Lehmann has a volatile and competitive personality. He hates being number two which can be clearly seen in his feud with the legendary Oliver Kahn on the international scene. Almunia had been signed by Arsenal in 2004 and soon became Wenger’s first choice in goal at the expense of Lehmann. The German would not take it lightly, aiming digs at Almunia in the press. All of these would later culminate into a training ground bust-up. Almunia could only wonder what he had done that warranted such intense levels of hostility.
10. Rio Ferdinand and John Terry
John Terry features 10th on the list of football teammates who hated each other. Terry had ‘allegedly’ gone off on one at Anton Ferdinand and after their investigation, the FA took up this matters. From the footage used as evedence, You will clearly see that some derogatory and racial slur – spewed out of Terry’s potty mouth. Lip readers got involved and while no one could ascertain what was said exactly, they concluded that Terry had referred to Anton’s race and skin color – he wasn’t shouting about how beautiful he looked! He was eventually charged with “abusive, insulting words and bad behaviour in reference to the ethnic and race of Ferdinand.” Terry was also stripped of the England Team captaincy. Terry’s England teammate wasn’t happy, and this ended their friendship for good.