The 50 Most Hated People In Football

[Jordinho]

This should get interesting, but they've obviously gotten the order wrong.

https://twitter.com/x/status/935146284222173185

50 SERGIO RAMOS

"Open a dictionary at the entry for ‘pantomime villain’, and the definition might simply be a picture of Sergio Ramos, perhaps waving an imaginary yellow card at a browbeaten referee."

49 ALAN PARDEW

"His public personality straddles the line between smug and sleazy – it’s probably encapsulated by the nauseating touchline dance when Crystal Palace took the lead in the 2016 FA Cup Final"

48 ROBBIE SAVAGE

"A media career which mimics who he was as a player. Robbie Savage, the combative, provocative player became ‘Sav’, the opinion-on-absolutely-everything pundit."

47 TONY PULIS

"Pulis has been scorned by many a snookered manager in his time but none more frequently or indignantly than Arsene Wenger, who has variously labelled Pulis's team "cowards", "horrendous" and practitioners of "more rugby than football"."

46 PEPE

"Portugal’s master of the dark arts is – to English eyes at least – everything that’s wrong with football."

45 ALAN GREEN

"His real crime was likely that his presence - his voice, his tone, his demeanour - made any game sound like an attritional battle in the mud. The marmite of British commentary."

44 STAN KROENKE

"A man whose bank balance soars thanks to a team that meekly treads water is never going to be worshipped by that club's fans - and so it has proved with the American sports tycoon"

43 BEN THATCHER

"Once is an accident. Twice is coincidence. But unfortunately for a player whose elbowing controversies numbered at least three during a red-and-yellow-flecked 18-year career, thrice is very much a trend."

42 NEIL WARNOCK

"To catalogue his fall-outs would take more than the allotted space here, but suffice to say the aptly anagrammed managerial veteran has his fair share of enemies."

41 SERGIO BUSQUETS

"Few dislike Messi and only a philistine would object to Iniesta, so what are you left with? Who provided the outlet for the world’s seething jealousy? The big, awkward looking guy in the middle, of course, with his fondness for theatrics and dalliances with the dark arts."

 

[Jordinho]

40 STEVE EVANS

"Evans has a reputation as one of the most hated managers in lower-league football, from spells at Boston, Crawley, Rotherham, Leeds and now Mansfield."

39 VINCENT TAN

"Despite overwhelming opposition from fans, Tan pushed through a rebrand from the City’s traditional blue to a red hue favoured in Asia. The change lasted just 3 years, but Tan’s total disregard for a club’s tradition won him no friends in south Wales."

38 VINNIE JONES

"It would be interesting to drop Crazy Gang era Vinnie Jones into a flowing game of modern Premier League football and see how long he lasted before being dragged off the pitch by stewards with Theo Walcott’s blood all over his face."

37 ROBERTO ROJAS

Sept 1989; a promising Chile side were losing to Brazil in a crucial qualifier, & on the verge of missing out on the World Cup. Then, 65 mins in, a flare thrown from the stands seemed to hit their goalkeeper Roberto Rojas but all was not as it seemed...

36 JOHN FASHANU

"It was his public ostracisation of his brother – the openly gay footballer Justin – which has left the most toxic legacy."

35 GRAHAM WESTLEY

"Perhaps Westley can be summed up in one quote, a magical mixture of arrogance and nonsense: “My kids don’t call me Dad,” he once said. “They call me Medal Winner.”"

34 ANTONIO RATTIN

"The foul-mouthed Argentina captain during the 1966 World Cup was sent off by the German referee after 35 minutes of their quarter-final against England for “violence of the tongue”."

33 TIM SHERWOOD

"A spell at Aston Villa ended in relegation and the anger stopped getting results, while his bullish attempts to take credit for Harry Kane come across as a bit desperate. Also, his arms must be really cold."

32 MARK VAN BOMMEL

"Although the Dutch midfielder’s reputation was crystalised in the 2010 World Cup Final – a one-match campaign to obtain a red card that Howard Webb manfully ignored – Van Bommel’s villainy is really a body of work."

31 FRANCESCO BECCHETTI

"After two relegations, one failed reality TV show, one winding-up order from the high court, a money laundering investigation and a six-match ban from his own stadium for kicking the Orient manager, he was finally hounded out."

 

[Lemonade Money]

Did you see the one on the 30 most hated teams? We're not in it, Arsenal have about 4 teams in it, and every Millwall team are included from the day they were founded to the present day.

 

[billyiddo]

Tim Sherwood? But we were told it's only online spurs forums where he isn't liked

 

[Baleforce]

I've not seen the whole list, gerrard is top right, surely

 

[Baleforce]

Tim Sherwood? But we were told it's only online spurs forums where he isn't liked

I can't remember who but someone was claiming that they had multiple villa supporting mates who thought sherwood did a good job there

 

[Mr_B]

Ken Bates, John Terry, Dennis Wise, game over, you can close this thread now.

 

[Kandi1977]

38 VINNIE JONES

"It would be interesting to drop Crazy Gang era Vinnie Jones into a flowing game of modern Premier League football and see how long he lasted before being dragged off the pitch by stewards with Theo Walcott’s blood all over his face."

I'd pay to see that!

 

[Jordinho]

30 ALEX FERGUSON

"The most successful manager in British football history stands as fairly sound proof that the surest way to foster resentment from all angles is to win everything in sight."

29 MIKE DEAN

"His signature self-congratulatory flamboyance has quickly passed from annoying quirk to full-blown internet sensation."

28 JOE KINNEAR

"When he was brought back in as director of football in 2013, there was outrage. Fans threatened a boycott as, in a bizarre radio interview, he insulted the intelligence of #Saudi Sportswashing Machine fans and mispronounced the names of several players- Yohan Kebab, anyone?"

27 SILVIO BERLUSCONI

"In human terms, the ex-Italian prime minister, bunga bunga veteran and former Milan chairman has [deep breath] been on trial for defamation, extortion, perjury, mafia collusion, false accounting, embezzlement, money laundering and many more."

26 DENNIS WISE

"Chelsea’s horrible little Napoleon. Had it not been for inconveniences like his personality and distaste for taxi drivers, the world might remember that Dennis Wise could absolutely play."

25 ROMAN ABRAMOVICH

"Whatever the Russian’s motivations – and you suspect they had more to do with politics than football – his impact on the Premier League has been undeniable."

24 KEVIN MUSCAT

"Once voted football’s dirtiest ever player, Kevin Muscat spent a career honing his reputation as a hot-headed endangerment to his peers with a litany of shocking tackles."

23 RICHARD SCUDAMORE

"The currency he's raked in on behalf of England's top flight hasn't been converted into public goodwill, largely because the dollar-signs-in-eyes approach to his job has resulted in such fan-friendly ideas as staging a 39th fixture overseas."

22 GRAEME SOUNESS

"Although he played in an age of combative midfielders, Souness seemed to approach winning the “ball” like a Game of Thrones character going in for the kill: one hefty thwack, and then a pause to wipe the blood out of their facial hair."

21 ANDONI GOIKOETXEA

"“I just felt the impact, heard the sound – like a piece of wood cracking,” recalled Diego Maradona of the moment that earned the Butcher of Bilbao his epithet."

 

[awesome dawson]

Wheelchair had better be in the top ten.

 

[Jordinho]

20 PAOLO DI CANIO

"Di Canio occupies an uncomfortable position as both a Premier League legend and a fascist sympathiser."

19 ASHLEY COLE

"Cole was guilty of awful PR if nothing else, his infamous account of the episode in his autobiography betraying a hilarious lack of perspective and creating a money-grabbing persona."

18 DIEGO COSTA

"Plenty of strikers like a personal battle with their marker but Costa made it his life’s work to amass as many blood-spattered battlefield victories as possible."

17 MIKE ASHLEY

"Saudi Sportswashing Machine’s owner for more than a decade now has seen protestations over the http://SportsDirect.com hoardings, the renaming of St James’ Park and the many dreadful transfer and recruitment decisions, and waved them all off with a dismissive smirk."

16 LUIS SUAREZ

"Here are a selection of the sub-headings from Suarez’s Wikipedia entry:

First biting incident
Racial abuse incident
Second biting incident
2013/14 season, Player of the Year
2014 World Cup, third biting incident

And that, in a nutshell, is the issue"

15 KEN BATES

"Highlights include describing a supporters’ club as “parasites” and the then-recently deceased club legend Matthew Harding as “evil”."

14 JOEY BARTON

"Stubbing out a cigar in a youth player’s eye, beating up then-team-mate Dabo, being jailed for assault and affray, sucker-punching Pedersen, plus being banned from football for gambling on matches, stand out among his more humdrum efforts."

13 DIEGO MARADONA

"His foremost crime to British audiences was haymakering the ball past Peter Shilton in 1986 (and then, by his own admission, urging his team-mates to throw the ref off the scent by celebrating as though nothing had happened)."

12 KARL OYSTON

"In November 2017, it was revealed that Karl and Owen Oyston had been asset-stripping the club by paying out millions to their own companies. They’ve now put the club up for sale, so perhaps the nightmare is finally almost over."

11 BERNARD TAPIE

"Over the past 25 years he has managed to be declared bankrupt, been banned from football (obviously) and prohibited from running for public office, while also squeezing in a prison sentence."

 

[Jordinho]

10 JOHN TERRY

"Chelsea fans love him because he is the living embodiment of their club. That could be why everyone else absolutely despises him, and why ‘the slip’ in 2008 provoked such glee."

9 PETE WINKELMAN

"While it can be argued that much good came from that in the form of a triumphant AFC Wimbledon, that doesn't render Winkelman's role in the shameful saga of a new club essentially buying a place in the Football League any less, well... shameful."

8 EL HADJI DIOUF

"He dived, he spat at opponents and he seemed to adore being hated. According to Jamie Mackie, he was also partial to the taunting of seriously injured players. He hasn’t mellowed in retirement, either."

7 LUCIANO MOGGI

"In the 2004/05 Serie A season, Juventus had Gianluigi Buffon, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alessandro Del Piero and absolutely no need to cheat. But that’s exactly what their general manager Luciano Moggi did, repeatedly"

6 CRISTIANO RONALDO

"Put simply, lots of people – be it opposition fans, neutrals and even on occasion his own supporters – haven’t taken to a man who even Sepp Blatter once derided as self-absorbed."

5 RICHARD KEYS

"The life of the disgraced former Sky Sports presenter is a daily battle to stay relevant, and he refuses to show any sort of contrition for the comments which saw him and his partner-in-bantz Andy Gray removed from their positions at the broadcaster."

4 MICHEL PLATINI

"As FIFA began to crumble, Platini seemed like a ray of light and the exception to the rule about football’s legislators. Alas not: a murky payment was found, a watch was not handed back, and this champion of Qatar 2022 became another one of them"

3 HARALD SCHUMACHER

"German goalkeeper Schumacher once finished above Adolf Hitler in a newspaper poll of France’s most despised people. The hatred stems from an infamous tackle at the 1982 World Cup"

2 JOSE MOURINHO

"His position as elite football’s pantomime villain, was given a more sour edge two years ago when his treatment of Eva Carneiro crossed the line between siege mentality theatrics and indefensible bullying. It won him few friends. Not that he’ll mind"

1 SEPP BLATTER

"It took decades, but the web of greed and corruption of the company that Blatter sat at the head of eventually unraveled in spectacular style – and took down much of football’s governing structure with it."

 

[awesome dawson]

10 JOHN TERRY

"Chelsea fans love him because he is the living embodiment of their club. That could be why everyone else absolutely despises him, and why ‘the slip’ in 2008 provoked such glee."

9 PETE WINKELMAN

"While it can be argued that much good came from that in the form of a triumphant AFC Wimbledon, that doesn't render Winkelman's role in the shameful saga of a new club essentially buying a place in the Football League any less, well... shameful."

8 EL HADJI DIOUF

"He dived, he spat at opponents and he seemed to adore being hated. According to Jamie Mackie, he was also partial to the taunting of seriously injured players. He hasn’t mellowed in retirement, either."

7 LUCIANO MOGGI

"In the 2004/05 Serie A season, Juventus had Gianluigi Buffon, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alessandro Del Piero and absolutely no need to cheat. But that’s exactly what their general manager Luciano Moggi did, repeatedly"

6 CRISTIANO RONALDO

"Put simply, lots of people – be it opposition fans, neutrals and even on occasion his own supporters – haven’t taken to a man who even Sepp Blatter once derided as self-absorbed."

5 RICHARD KEYS

"The life of the disgraced former Sky Sports presenter is a daily battle to stay relevant, and he refuses to show any sort of contrition for the comments which saw him and his partner-in-bantz Andy Gray removed from their positions at the broadcaster."

4 MICHEL PLATINI

"As FIFA began to crumble, Platini seemed like a ray of light and the exception to the rule about football’s legislators. Alas not: a murky payment was found, a watch was not handed back, and this champion of Qatar 2022 became another one of them"

3 HARALD SCHUMACHER

"German goalkeeper Schumacher once finished above Adolf Hitler in a newspaper poll of France’s most despised people. The hatred stems from an infamous tackle at the 1982 World Cup"

2 JOSE MOURINHO

"His position as elite football’s pantomime villain, was given a more sour edge two years ago when his treatment of Eva Carneiro crossed the line between siege mentality theatrics and indefensible bullying. It won him few friends. Not that he’ll mind"

1 SEPP BLATTER

"It took decades, but the web of greed and corruption of the company that Blatter sat at the head of eventually unraveled in spectacular style – and took down much of football’s governing structure with it."

#6 has just won a 5th Ballon D'Or

Kind of predictable but also annoying that he's now level with Messi.

 

[mephitis]

So Ramos is only at 50 and there's no Pique? And while we're on the spanish theme where's Figo?

I was there...

Cue pig jokes

 

[philipadams]

I can fully agree with the presence on this list of Ramos, Blatter, Di Canio and Diego Costa. But I don't know why there is no Roy Keane and Eric Cantona? The first didn't know how to play without fouls and beating other players, the second - beat a fan with his feet (whether this act is less serious than the Busquets simulation, which was never repeated again)

 

[Baleforce]

I can fully agree with the presence on this list of Ramos, Blatter, Di Canio and Diego Costa. But I don't know why there is no Roy Keane and Eric Cantona? The first didn't know how to play without fouls and beating other players, the second - beat a fan with his feet (whether this act is less serious than the Busquets simulation, which was never repeated again)

Probably because they were both brilliant and all of their actions were perfectly justified. I’d have killed to have either in our team.

 

[K.D.D.D.D.Soc]

Think you are going to have to make room for Dele on that list!