When players break dressing-room code by airing their grievances publicly, the result is almost always the same: a breakdown of trust and an unceremonious exit. After Mohamed Salah became the latest to express his dissatisfaction, we look at the others whose explosive comments sealed their fate.
Roy Keane
After Manchester United’s 4-1 defeat against Middlesbrough in October 2005, Keane recorded a segment for the club’s in-house TV channel, MUTV, titled Roy Keane Plays the Pundit. The interview was an incandescent, 30-minute tirade in which he shredded his own teammates for a lack of effort and character, shaming several players including Rio Ferdinand, who was at fault for the second goal. “Just because you are paid £120,000-a-week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham you think you are a superstar,” the captain said. In his autobiography, Keane claimed he also said his wife could tackle better than Darren Fletcher. The video was so damaging that Alex Ferguson banned it from being aired and, two weeks later, Keane’s 13-season stint at United ended by mutual agreement.
William Gallas
In 2008, Gallas accused an unnamed Arsenal player of disrupting team morale and questioned the character of his younger teammates. He said the team needed to be “soldiers” and revealed dressing-room arguments, including a half-time dispute during a draw with Tottenham. The act of airing dirty laundry was seen as a betrayal of his leadership role; Arsène Wenger dropped the defender from the squad and stripped him of the captaincy. The two mended their relationship publicly but Gallas’s demands during his contract renewal were deemed too high and he left the club when his deal expired in 2010.
Luis Suárez
Salah is not the only Liverpool player to have been at odds with the club. In August 2013, Suárez aired his frustrations at a transfer standoff which revolved around a disputed contract clause. The striker claimed he had a verbal agreement and a written clause allowing him to leave if Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League, provided a bid exceeded £40m. Arsenal tested this with a £40,000,001 bid. Liverpool’s position was that the clause only obliged them to start negotiations, not sell. Suárez sought to force the move, while Brendan Rodgers called his words a “total disrespect of the club – a club that has given him everything”. Suárez stayed for the 2013-2014 season, scored 31 goals, was sensational throughout, and finally got his move the following summer – to Barcelona.
Raheem Sterling
Less than a year after Suárez left Liverpool, Raheem Sterling gave an unsanctioned BBC Sport interview which served as his defence for refusing a reported £100,000-a-week contract. He denied being “greedy”, saying he would assess his future at the end of the season and his decision would be about his desire to win trophies. “I don’t want to be perceived as a money-grabbing 20-year-old. I just want to take the time to think what I need to do to get better as a player,” Sterling said. His £49m move to Manchester City three months later was seen by Liverpool fans as a contradiction of his stated priorities, though, in Sterling’s defence, he went on to win 10 major honours at the Etihad Stadium.
Mauro Icardi
Icardi’s exit from Inter in 2020 was less about his own words and more about the weekly public statements made by his wife and agent, Wanda Nara, on Italian television. Appearing as a pundit on the Tiki Taka programme Nara commented on Icardi’s contract status, claimed he was “not protected” by the club and said he needed “five decent passes per game”. The constant public commentary angered Inter’s then manager, Luciano Spalletti, and several players and led to Icardi being stripped of the captain’s armband. The forward responded by refusing to play, citing an unverified knee injury, leading to a long standoff where he was frozen out of the squad. He was soon shipped out to Paris Saint-Germain.
Romelu Lukaku
Less than six months into his £97.5m record-breaking return to Chelsea in 2021, Lukaku told Sky Sport Italy that he was “not happy with the situation” at the club, claiming Thomas Tuchel had chosen to play a system that did not suit him. Most damagingly, Lukaku apologised to Inter fans for his exit and expressed a fervent desire to return to the club while he was “good enough to win trophies”. Tuchel, citing the “noise” created, dropped Lukaku from the squad and the striker was reportedly fined. A few days later he made a public apology on Chelsea TV and, while Tuchel said a comeback was not “impossible”, Lukaku returned to Inter on loan in the summer.
Cristiano Ronaldo
In an interview with Piers Morgan in November 2022, Ronaldo delivered a scathing critique of Manchester United, saying he felt “betrayed” by the club and had “no respect” for the manager, Erik ten Hag. The forward also said the club’s infrastructure had been the same since his first stintat Old Trafford, claiming “the progress was zero” since Alex Ferguson’s retirement. Ronaldo also accused senior figures – who he said lacked empathy after his newborn son died in April – of trying to force him out. Within days United announced they had mutually agreed to terminate Ronaldo’s contract. By the turn of the year he was at Al-Nassr.
