Footballers' rows with pundits have frequently exploded, with the players hitting back at those who criticise them over both radio and TV for their performances in the Premier League.
Graeme Souness, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have all faced a backlash from stars following their outbursts. One incident that has recently blown up is Souness' blast of Manchester City star Jack Grealish.
A bemused Grealish hit back at the former Liverpool manager this week, claiming he did not know what Souness' 'problem' with him is.
Here, Mirror Football looks at six infamous player versus pundit rows amid Grealish's tiff with Souness.
Jack Grealish v Graeme Souness
Souness launched a bizarre attack on Grealish earlier this week after the winger scored his first goal of the season. The Reds legend dismissed him as not being a "great player" despite City spending £100m on him last year.
“He is a good footballer. He is not a great player. He is a good player who got a big move and is yet to do it at Man City. I see the same Grealish I saw at Villa a few years ago. I understand why people think he is better than what he actually is because he runs with the ball and he gets you on the edge of your seat, but he doesn’t deliver enough," he told talkSPORT.
Grealish fired back at Souness following those comments, admitting his bemusement at the situation. He defended his playing style, insisting that he was following the instructions from his manager Pep Guardiola.
“I don’t know what his problem is with me,” said Grealish. “He always says stuff about me. Listen, he was obviously a great player and won a lot but I don’t know what it is with what he says about me or what problem he has got. I know my own ability,” he said.
“I know before that he (Souness) used to say a lot of stuff about me not moving the ball quicker but when I’m playing for a manager like Pep Guardiola and he’s telling me to keep the ball as much as I can and have the balls to take it everywhere, then that is what I will try to do.”
HAVE YOUR SAY! Was Graeme Souness right to criticise Jack Grealish? Comment below.
Harry Maguire v Paul Merson
When Harry Maguire was made the world's most expensive defender back in 2019, Paul Merson blasted the fee Manchester United were paying. Merson questioned if Maguire's performances had warranted such a high transfer spend.
"Maguire for £80 million is ridiculous at the highest level. You have to remember he ripped it up for England in a three. And when you play in a three at the back, you do that for one reason only - the defenders are not good enough and you do not trust them. He done well at England," he told Sky Sports.
"But you have to remember when he plays for Leicester, they play, they drop back and defend on the edge of their box, there is no space behind. The ball comes in the middle, he heads it out, he comes out running with the ball.
"He kicks off now with Man Utd and you are on the halfway line and all of a sudden you are playing against Arsenal and you are on the halfway line and balls are going over the top for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and for Man City for Sergio Aguero and it is pace, pace, pace."
Merson's rant has gone on to regularly trend on social media whenever Maguire endures a poor performance. And the pundit revealed this week that he has personally called the defender to apologise for his comments.
“I don’t want to be right on that - I’d rather be wrong. I want England to win the World Cup and Harry Maguire to get the winning goal. It was just my opinion. I rang up Brendan Rodgers and said, ‘Can you get me Harry Maguire's number?’" Merson told the Telegraph.
"I didn't feel comfortable with myself. I needed to ring him and say, ‘I don’t agree with the £80m but I shouldn’t have said that and I'm sorry'. I went a little bit too far. He couldn't believe it. Probably thought it was a joke. I don't think he has had a fair crack. He’s struggling and he’s playing on the left when he's right-footed.”
Jamie Carragher v Adrian Durham
Presenter Adrian Durham had branded Jamie Carragher a 'bottler' when he retired from international football in 2007. Carragher was only 29 when he made the decision and called into the programme to fire back against the talkSPORT presenter.
“It would be interesting to see if you’ve got any bottle. Come down to Liverpool and say it to my face, then we’ll see. Don’t call me a bottler on national radio in front of thousands of people, I’ve been proving myself for eight years,” Carragher said.
"There's that many people McClaren has played ahead of me. They are younger than me, they are all going to improve and maybe I won't at my age. He played Ledley King, who is a top player but he's been injured all season. So how would you feel in my situation?
"I'm 29, I've been doing it for eight years and obviously I haven't proved it enough so it's not going to change now is it? It's not like I've just got in the squad and jumped out. If he's chosen people ahead of me, then I don't think anyone can really complain if I would rather concentrate and save myself for Liverpool games."
Amazingly, Durham actually took Carragher up on his offer and travelled up to Liverpool to meet the defender. Instead of being greeted with a hostile Carragher though, Durham was given a gift.
“We arranged it all, we were in a bar he had. He walked in and threw a carrier bag at me with full force, and it had one of his shirts in it. I was totally blown away. We didn’t know we were going to get each other gifts, but I got him one as well," Durham revealed.
Paul Pogba v Graeme Souness
Arguably the most famous clash of modern times has been Souness' annoyance with former Manchester United star Paul Pogba. The row started as soon as Pogba arrived back at Old Trafford, with Souness questioning the fee United paid.
"It's not the poor lad's decision, he didn't decide how much was going to be spent on him, but I think £89m is way too much. For that money, you're expecting to get the finished article. He's a long way off from that," he said.
A matter of months later, Souness followed that up by blasting Pogba's lack of a "football brain". He said: "We get kidded by his athleticism. When you see him move he is an absolute Rolls Royce. Does he have a football brain? He has still to develop his football brain."
Pogba was a frequent target for his criticism all the way up until his second spell at United came to an end. As he was deciding whether to sign a new contract or not, Souness insisted the Red Devils' rivals would like the midfielder to stay.
“I’d question if you want him around your club with the people who appear to be advising him. All United’s rivals will want Pogba to stay this summer, which is an indictment in itself, and I often wonder if it’s more about Instagram followers than giving his heart and soul to his football," he told The Times.
Pogba hit back against Souness only once, which came on United's official podcast. Curiously, the Frenchman claimed to have had no idea who Souness was when he first arrived.
"I didn’t even know who [Souness] was. I heard he was a great player and stuff like that. I don't know the face but the name [I do]. I’m not someone that watches a lot of [punditry], I watch a lot of football but I don’t stay after the game to listen to what they say about ‘Why they did this’ or ‘why they did that’. I like to focus on football," he said.
John Terry v Robbie Savage
John Terry was in the midst of a dreadful season at Chelsea when he was hauled off by Jose Mourinho. Former Blackburn star Robbie Savage then questioned how long Terry had left at he top level.
“I’m convinced it sent a different signal – the beginning of the end for Terry as the indispensable rock at the heart of defence. Terry will be 35 in December, and age is finally catching up with him. There is no shame in that," he said.
“I believe it was a simple message to Terry that his time is nearly up, in the same way another Blues legend, Frank Lampard, was politely shown the door 15 months ago. Terry has been a fantastic servant to Chelsea and is a winner. But when do you admit that, as a player, you can no longer do what you used to do?”
Terry hit back furiously against that criticism, insisting he would only listen to those who had played at an elite level. He was disparaging of Savage's career, though the former midfielder can count the League Cup among his honours.
“I’ve come under criticism, individually, from certain players and individuals, players I’ve looked up to and played alongside. I’ve taken that on the chin: Rio, Carra, Neville, the very best I’ve come up against in the game. I take that on the chin," Terry said.
“When others speak, maybe I don’t take it on the chin. When players have not had a career, played at a really bad level in their career… Robbie Savage being one. He’s dug me out a couple of times. You take it as a footballer, as an individual. I’ll take it from the Rios, Carraghers and Neville. All day long. From others? Nah.”
Loris Karius v Gary Neville
Loris Karius had come in for frequent criticism due to his performances at Liverpool. Matters came to a head after a defeat to Bournemouth, with Neville slamming the keeper for his poor displays.
"It's tough to win the league without a good goalkeeper… he's not good enough that goalkeeper. He looks nervous and he isn't good enough," Neville insisted the following day on Monday Night Football.
Karius fired back at that criticism in an interview with the Daily Mail. The under-fire Liverpool star made light of Neville's ill-fated spell as a manager at Valencia as he shrugged off his comments.
“It wasn’t easy but I should have caught it and I don’t need anybody to tell me it was bad…because I know. I am sorry that it cost us a point. What critics say right after the game, I don’t know what I think. If you asked them again would they say it now?" Karius said.
"And I don’t care what Gary Neville said. He was a manager for a short bit and now he is back to being an expert again. But he is always very critical. I think he does it to everyone. I just hope that when I do well he will comment on that. We will see in the future.”
Neville then took the opportunity to again criticise Karius days later in an appearance on Sunday Supplement. The Manchester United legend slammed the keeper's decision to deliver the interview.
"I said Karius transmitted anxiety and nervousness to his team-mates. The other two stories have disappeared to the point at which no one can remember them, that's how I would expect press departments of football clubs to deal with these things," he said.
"Once Karius did his newspaper interview I knew he would be out of the team in four or five days, I knew he brought pressure upon himself. From our point of view as pundits, we've done our job. We created the debate. I'd say we were more guiding him as an ex player or a coach, saying 'this is not a fight for now'."
