A third of professional footballers have set out to deliberately injure an opponent, according to a new survey of more than one hundred past and present players.
The poll, carried out by The Athletic, also found that 42% of former stars do not miss taking to the field with a little more than half, 52%, of those quizzed believing it is more difficult to be a player now than in previous eras.
According to 31% of respondents, the role of social media makes playing now less appealing. Not everything about the modern game is rubbish because 57% consider the standard of refereeing to be better now than in the past.
The respondents named Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and new Chelsea head coach Graham Potter as the three they would most like to play for. But it was the number of players who have tried to cause an injury that stands out like a sore thumb.
Deliberately inflicting pain on an opponent is usually one of the great unmentionables in the sport with few players admitting on the record an intent to seek out a rival.
Roy Keane’s “take that you c***” stamp on Alfie Haaland in 2001 stands out. So too Wayne Rooney's recent revelation that he sought to hurt John Terry when playing for Manchester United against Chelsea in 2006.
"I was so upset that Chelsea were better than us and going to win the league that I went looking for John Terry in a game," Rooney said earlier this summer. "I left a stud in his foot and he left the ground on crutches.
"I signed my shirt and sent it to him a few weeks later - and asked if I could have my stud back.
“If you look back on the pictures after the game, JT is celebrating - but he’s on crutches from that tackle. We knew if Chelsea won then they had won the league that day but you knew they would win because you could feel they were a better team at that time.
“It was more frustration from the time. Jose Mourinho was there, JT, Lamps and they had a great team. I just knew it would get to me, that I could boil over and it was almost a protection of myself but also a feeling that if you can’t win then not let them enjoy it as much as they want to.”
In the coming days The Athletic's survey will explore the financial welfare of retired players, long-term health concerns, regrets over taking career-extending injections, divorce.
