Football fights: 7 times team-mates fell out in a big way

Training ground bust-ups seem to be all the rage this summer, don't they?

It seems almost weekly that another ‘shocking’ video emerges of some star player, who just happens to be linked with a big-money move, sparring with his team-mates.

In July, RB Leipzig's Naby Keita - who also happens to be a Liverpool transfer target - was caught on video making an absolute horror tackle on team-mate Diego Demme. They’ve since patched things up in this weird photoshoot, where Keita shows things are all good by stroking his victim’s quad affectionately and grinning at the camera…

Only a few days later, want-away striker Neymar was captured trying to instigate a bit of fisticuffs on the training ground with then-Barcelona team-mate Nelson Semedo…

Meanwhile, in a strangely familiar narrative arc, one of the young men tipped to replace him at the Nou Camp was busy ruffling feathers in the Dortmund camp…

And there are more examples – see also, Monaco's Kylian Mbappe who's rumoured to have caught the attention of PSG…

Now, the cynics amongst you might say that this all looks a bit like a ploy to force through a move. We couldn’t possibly say.

However, it does seem like a good excuse though to take a look back through the archives at a few other times that those on the same side have engaged in a bit of friendly fire.

Maxi Lopez vs Mauro Icardi, 2013 - well, ongoing...

The two Argentinians were team-mates at Italian side Sampdoria, but their relationship broke down after Icardi started seeing, and later married, Lopez’s ex-wife, Wanda Nara.

Chances of peace braking out probably aren't helped by Icardi’s who posts pictures of himself with Nara and the three boys she had with Lopez…

The pair have both moved on to new clubs but Lopez has repeatedly refused to shake Icardi's hand during the pre-match rituals whenever they come face-to-face.

When the pair met last year in a Serie A clash between Inter Milan and Torino, Maxi Lopez not only eschewed a handshake from his opponent, but also instead chose to grab his own crotch.

We’re not entirely sure what message was being conveyed there, but it probably wasn’t ‘nice to see you’.

Mario Balotelli vs Roberto Mancini, 2013

Roberto Mancini’s attitude towards his temperamental Italian forward was that of the beleaguered parent.

Having previously signed Balotelli from Inter Milan, Mancini stoically endured off-field antics from his young star that included throwing darts at a youth team player, external and his house being set alight, external with an indoor fireworks display on the eve of a top-of-the-table derby clash with Manchester United.

However, when Balotelli lunged in with a dangerous challenge on Gael Clichy in training, Mancini had finally had enough. A paparazzi rather embarrassingly caught Roberto attempting to haul his player to the ground by the bib.

He must have remembered how a bib had proved to be the Achilles heel for Balotelli before, external, and this time around, the spat ultimately spelt the end of Balotelli’s time at City.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic vs Oguchi Onyewu, 2010

If you haven’t been assaulted by Zlatan Ibrahimovic at some point then can you really say you’ve played in the same side as him?

A black-belt in Taekwondo, with a fondness for acrobatically kicking his team-mates, Zlatan once threatened to break Rafael van der Vaart’s legs, external at Ajax and punched Juventus team-mate Jonathan Zebina, external in the face too.

Probably his most high-profile fracas however, came when he took on beefy, ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic defender Oguchi Onyewu, whilst both were at AC Milan.

In Ibra’s autobiography, he writes, with undisguised relish:

“I head-butted him, and we flew at each other. We wanted to tear each other limb from limb. It was brutal. We were rolling around, punching and kneeing each other. We were crazy and furious — it was like life and death.”

Emmanuel Adebayor vs Nicklas Bendtner, 2008

In 2008, a bloody clash between the two Arsenal strikers really was the icing on the cake on what had been a miserable day for the Gunners.

Arsenal were already 4-1 down to their local rivals Tottenham, when the pair started pushing and shoving. Bendtner eventually came away with a bloody nose.

In what you may think is a rather typical response, Arsene Wenger claimed not to have witnessed the incident.

But what could have sparked such animosity?

Adebayor has since explained that his beef with Nicklas Bendtner first started over a refusal by the latter to take off his trainers indoors, external.

Keep an eye out for Adebayor's column in Good Housekeeping.

Craig Bellamy vs John Arne Riise, 2007

Back in 2007, Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise featured in the same Liverpool team, but apparently weren’t singing from the same hymn sheet.

The story goes that Bellamy attacked Riise with a golf club over his refusal to join in on some team-bonding karaoke.

Liverpool had been given a bit of down-time before a Champions League tie with reigning champions Barcelona and then-manager Rafael Benitez had apparently allowed the boys one beer each, but, as Riise has since explained, external, "some had more".

When Riise refused to get up and do a song, despite repeated goading from the Welshman, Bellamy was miffed.

So much so, that he later sneaked into the sleeping Norwegian’s bedroom and taking to Riise's backside with the aforementioned golf club.

In the resulting match with Barcelona, both players scored as the Reds secured a famous 2-1 win in the Nou Camp. Bellamy celebrated with a hilarious simulated golf swing.

'Just top banter all round', as Richard Keys might say.

Kieron Dyer vs Lee Bowyer, 2005

The Magpies were already 3-0 behind and down to 10 men against Aston Villa when an argument between team-mates Dyer and Bowyer escalated into a fight.

Manager Graeme Souness said he’d "never seen anything like" this, which is a big claim, coming from the man who once made this ‘tackle’, external during the 1988 European Cup.

David Batty vs Graeme Le Saux, 1995

Only four minutes into Blackburn’s away leg at Spartak Moscow, England internationals Batty and Le Saux started going at one another. An errant pass from Le Saux earned him some strong criticism from Batty, which quickly moved onto throat-grabbing.

Anyway, Blackburn ended up losing 3-0 (4-0 on aggregate) and Spartak coach Oleg Romantsev quipped, external after the game: "Before the match I told my players they will be playing against 11 guys ready to fight for each other for 90 minutes - not with each other."

You cad, Oleg…

Batty and Le Saux had made up by the time they appeared together in the same 1997 England squad featured above, though the body-language doesn't tell that story, does it?

Well, there you go. By no means exhaustive list either. For instance, we haven’t mentioned Joey Barton once. Amazing.