Ranking the five biggest ever player feuds in the Premier League is no easy task, as England’s elite division has certainly produced some colourful moments over the years.
A whole host of players and managers have clashed and not seen eye-to-eye for a variety of different reasons, and there’s certainly been some feuds that will stand out more than others.
Roy Keane And Alan Shearer
Roy Keane and Alan Shearer are two of the greatest players to have ever featured in the Premier League, and in a heated clash between Newcastle and Manchester United at St James’ Park in 2001, the pair quite literally almost came to blows.
Shearer was trying to wind the clock down with the Magpies on the cusp of a famous victory and unsurprisingly, Keane didn’t take too kindly to his tactics, especially after Shearer thwarted a quick throw-in. A melee ensued after Keane threw the ball at Shearer and angled a punch towards the former England striker. Keane was duly given his marching orders.
Luis Suarez And Patrice Evra
Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra’s Premier League feud is one of the most heated not just in England, but world football. The Liverpool striker and Manchester United defender clashed in a Premier League fixture in 2011, when Suarez was accused of racially abusing Evra. Naturally, the French full-back didn’t take too kindly to Suarez’s behaviour.
Suarez was duly banned for eight games and fined £40,000 after being found guilty by the FA. The controversy and feud didn’t end there, as Suarez refused to shake hands with Evra the next time they faced each other on the pitch. Tensions have simmered between the players now, but the row will always be etched in to the minds of players and fans alike.
On this day, exactly 20 years ago, Roy Keane ended Alf-Inge Håland's career with one of the most horrific tackles you'll ever see on a football pitch. Pre-meditated revenge for an innocuous challenge from Håland on Roy in 1997 (a thread). pic.twitter.com/s2TZHXnPet
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) March 5, 2021
Roy Keane And Alf-Inge Haaland
One of the original Premier League player feuds started in 1997 and came to a crashing halt in 2001. Roy Keane and Alf-Inge Haaland first had their differences when the latter accused Keane of feigning injury in a fixture between Leeds and Man United at Elland Road. Keane was seriously injured after a fall in the box and Haaland wasted no time in telling him what he thought.
Fast forward four years, Keane got his revenge in some style. By this time, Haaland was playing for Manchester City and Keane saw an opportunity to almost end his career. The Irishman studded Haaland straight in the knee and the former confessed in his autobiography he didn’t regret it and actually enjoyed seriously injuring the City man.
El Hadji Diouf And Jamie Carragher
Premier League bad-boy El Hadji Diouf had many a feud with Premier League players during his time in England but his astonishing rant about former Liverpool teammate Jamie Carragher is perhaps the most famous. The former Senegalese star ripped into the former Reds defender saying he only played for the club due to his origin.
“Jamie Carragher, he has two left feet. He’s a right-footed player who has two left feet and he played because he was a Scouser,” Diouf claimed. Carragher has since hit back at the former Liverpool striker and the pair are never likely to see eye-to-eye.
Roy Keane And Patrick Vieira
The biggest ever player feud in the Premier League era surely goes to Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira. The legendary skippers often clashed on the pitch as Manchester United and Arsenal regularly went h2h for the title in the late 90’s and early 00’s.
Red cards, on-field scuffles, tunnel arguments and crunching late tackles inspired a brilliant rivalry and heated feud between two players, who most likely, still hold a solid mutual respect to each other’s game even to this day.
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