We all know players and coaches don’t always go along all the time due to disagreement over certain issues. Jose Mourinho was recently sacked after his relationship with Paul Pogba deteriorated. There were other reasons but his failure to get the best out of such a key player made his continued stay untenable.

Let’s see some player-coach burst-up in recent history.

Van Gaal against Rafael- Man United

Rafael Da Silva was enjoying his football at Manchester United until Dutch Coach Louis Van Gaal arrived at the club. The two did not get along well and according to the defender, it had nothing to do with his performance. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich Coach did not like Brazilians after a poor relationship with a few of them during his time at Camp Nou.

Rafael said:

“I know that he didn’t like me, but if that’s because I’m Brazilian, I don’t know.

“I know this history that he doesn’t like Brazilians, but I can’t say ‘Oh, he doesn’t like Brazilians’

“I don’t know, sincerely. I don’t know what to say about that, because I was the only one since Anderson left before.”

“I did the complete season when he [Ferguson] left. In 2012-13 I played almost every game, it was my best season at United, we were even champions.

“And that’s when they changed the manager. That change was fatal for me. I was going well, then Ferguson left.

“That’s what changed, so Valencia started playing as a right-back for Van Gaal. He’s also a great player, but I was doing well in that position.”

Mick McCarthy against Roy Keane- R. Ireland

In 2002, Republic of Ireland Captain Roy Keane was not happy with the Coaching staff. The no-nonsense Manchester United star at the time wanted to quit the national team few hours after arriving in Japan for World Cup. The reason was simple, they wanted the players to train on the same day they arrived after a tiring 17 hours journey from Europe.

The midfielder agreed to stay after a phone conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson but later he spoke to the media. The Coach coincidentally arrived when he was speaking to the press and the skipper rage was directed towards him.

“I didn’t rate you as a player,” Keane said.

“I don’t rate you as a manager and I don’t rate you as a person. You can stick the World Cup up your b*******.”

Ruud Gullit against Alan Shearer- Newcastle

Premier League all-time best scorer Alan Shearer once made a manager get sacked. The Newcastle United legend did not rate Dutch Coach Ruud Gullit and the Coach did not fancy him either. The two were involved in a tug of war and this time the player won. The tipping point was a 2-1 defeat against local rivals Sunderland in 1999/2000 season. The Coach had decided to drop the famous striker and the fans were not happy after the defeat. The AC Milan and Chelsea legend was sacked shortly after the game.

Gullit said:

“It was plain he didn’t want to play for me. I told him to his face he was the most overrated player I have ever seen.”

Van Gaal against Lucio – Bayern Munich

Inter Milan signed Lucio from Bayern Munich in 2009 and he helped defeat his former team in UEFA Champions League in 2010. The Brazilian was not happy with how Louis Van Gaal pushed him out of the Bundesliga team. He was enjoying his game but the Dutchman poor relationship with him meant he had to leave. Jose Mourinho took advantage and they delivered a treble a year later.

“It’s a known fact that every trainer has his own ideas and methods. However, Van Gaal simply treated me disrespectfully. I deserved better than this.”

“Van Gaal hurt me more than anyone else in football. He didn’t even speak with me before making it clear that I was no longer needed. That’s really disappointing. I had a beautiful time at Bayern and we won a lot of trophies. Nevertheless, it’s just not right how things went. I won the Confederations Cup twice, I’ve been a World Champion with Brazil and I was crowned best defender of the Bundesliga. I’m not a youngster who needs to prove his worth to a new coach.”

Sir Alex Ferguson against David Beckham- Man United

In the early 2000s, David Beckham was reportedly more famous than the Queen of England. The winger was enjoying his football at Manchester United. The media could not get enough of him but his boss Sir Alex Ferguson was not happy with it. He wanted the player to concentrate more on his football.

In 2003, the relationship between the two was irreconcilable and David Beckham was sold to Real Madrid against his will. There are reports that Fergie threw a boot towards him. He got a cut above his eye. The legendary Scott had seen the winger come through the ranks at Old Trafford and there was no way the manager was going to let his ego get in the team.