Spanning 27 years and two generations, the feud between Roy Keane and the Haaland family shows no sign of calming down anytime soon.
The former Manchester United captain continues to take pot shots at Erling Haaland‘s shortcomings from the Sky Sports studio, having clashed on the field with his dad Alf-Inge.
There was a brutal comparison of Haaland Jnr’s all-round game to a ‘League Two player’ a few weeks back and a suggestion the striker behaved like a ‘spoilt brat’ when subbed off against Wolves… having scored four goals.
Keane’s issue is that the target in the crosshairs of his typically acerbic comments is the world’s deadliest goalscorer – but it all makes for box office entertainment for Sky.
Meanwhile, Keane’s premeditated knee-high lunge on Haaland Snr during a Manchester derby in 2001 – calculated revenge for Haaland’s unsympathetic reaction to his ACL damage in 1997 – remains a moment to make you wince.
But Keane vs Haaland is just one of many simmering feuds between players that have added a tantalising sub-plot to games in recent years.
Roy Keane’s feud (right) with the Haaland family began with father Alf-Inge (left image, right) and has continued with punditry potshots taken at son Erling (left image, left)
The rivalry began when Keane damaged his ACL making this tackle on Haaland Snr during a clash between Leeds and Man United back in 1997
Keane waited four years before taking his revenge with a brutal tackle on Haaland during a Manchester derby in April 2001
Maxi Lopez vs Mauro Icardi
A love triangle worthy of a Hollywood film. Maxi Lopez and Mauro Icardi were team-mates at Italian club Sampdoria and good friends off the field, too, spending a lot of time together.
Lopez was married to the Argentine model and TV host Wanda Nara and they had three children together. But their domestic happiness swiftly changed when Wanda allegedly had an affair with Icardi.
She accused Lopez of repeated infidelity and the whole business was dragged through the courts in Argentina, garnering plenty of publicity.
Within six months of the divorce being confirmed, Wanda and Icardi were married, with Icardi even getting the names of her kids tattooed on his arm.
Mauro Icardi married model Wanda Nara – the ex-wife of former team-mate Maxi Lopez – just six months after they split up
Nara (left) had three children with Lopez and then a further two with Icardi
Lopez snubs the handshake of Icardi during the so-called ‘Wanda Derby’ back in 2014
Nara has acted as Icardi’s agent and negotiated his moves to both PSG and Galatasaray
Of course, this made future meetings between Lopez and Icardi all the more spicy, with an April 2014 Serie A game between Lopez’s Sampdoria and Icardi’s Inter Milan nicknamed the ‘Wanda Derby’ by the press.
Lopez refused to shake Icardi’s hand on that occasion, something repeated when they met again in April 2016.
Wanda and Icardi have two children together but it’s been an on-off relationship with the model accusing the footballer of being unfaithful.
In 2019, Lopez said he had forgiven Icardi, saying: ‘I turned the page on that a while ago and it does not affect me in any way.’
John Terry vs Wayne Bridge
Talking of famous handshake snubs, Wayne Bridge refused to acknowledge his former Chelsea and England team-mate John Terry ahead of a Chelsea vs Manchester City game in February 2010.
The pair fell out after it was reported that Terry had a four-month affair with Bridge’s former girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel in 2009.
Perroncel, a French lingerie model and former nightclub hostess, had a son with Bridge and the alleged affair started not long after they broke up.
Wayne Bridge’s (pictured right) Chelsea team-mate John Terry had a four-month affair with Vanessa Perroncel (left) shortly after they split up
The pair had been long-standing team-mates for Chelsea and England (pictured in 2006)
It led to Bridge snubbing Terry’s handshake when Chelsea played Manchester City in 2010
Such was the size of the scandal at the time, England manager Fabio Capello stripped Terry of the England captaincy ahead of the World Cup in South Africa and gave the armband to Rio Ferdinand.
After that 2010 game, Bridge’s City team-mate Craig Bellamy blasted Terry in an interview on Sky Sports: ‘Everyone knows what JT is like, nothing surprises me about him, so I’m not going to comment on that guy,’
Terry hit back: ‘People in glasshouses should not throw stones.’
As for the alleged affair, Bridge said in 2017: ‘I still don’t think anyone knows the full story…’
Sergio Ramos vs Gerard Pique
These two formed a formidable defensive partnership during a golden era for Spain’s national side. But when it came to club football and off-field stuff, Ramos and Pique had no time for each other.
They were on opposite sides of the fierce Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Jose Mourinho vs Pep Guardiola, Spain vs Catalonia divide in the early noughties.
Pique riled up Madrid fans when he held up five fingers to mark Barcelona’s 5-0 win in November 2010 and he mocked Real’s players for partying too much after Barca won the 2015 title.
There was his infamous description of Real defender Alvaro Arbeloa as a ‘cone’ for his apparently static defending, leading Ramos to accuse him of ‘disrespect’.
Sergio Ramos (left) and Gerard Pique (right) formed a formidable partnership for Spain
The duo were on opposite sides of the Real Madrid vs Barcelona rivalry for many years
After Pique complained that referees were biased against Barcelona, Ramos responded brutally: ‘We already know about Pique’s world, where everything’s a plot against him.’
Ramos claimed Pique’s attitude was damaging to morale in the Spanish national team camp and the tit-for-tat barbs kept on coming.
In November last year, Ramos posed for a picture with Pique’s ex-partner Shakira – who has dropped several diss tracks aimed at his ex – while presenting her with two awards at the Latin Grammys.
‘This is generational s***housery,’ was one reaction online.
Sergio Ramos posed with Shakira – the ex-partner of his former Spain team-mate Gerard Pique
Jens Lehmann vs Oliver Kahn
For several years they competed for the Germany No 1 jersey while regularly sniping at one another.
Frustrated at being Kahn’s understudy since 1998, Arsenal keeper Lehmann claimed in 2003: ‘I don’t think I am given the right respect in Germany… there are a lot of people there who don’t know anything about goalkeeping. I think I should be playing.’
He doubled down on those comments in December that year after some damaging defeats for Germany. ‘Maybe it’s time for the experts to reconsider certain assumptions. I deserve to play at Euro 2004 and if there is any justice, I will be playing.
The following year, Lehmann took a pop at Kahn for his 24-year-old Munich barmaid girlfriend Verena (he was 33 at the time), which forced Germany coach Rudi Voller to call them together for a meeting to settle their differences.
German goalkeepers Oliver Kahn (left) and Jens Lehmann (right) never saw eye-to-eye
Lehmann took a pop at Kahn for having a Munich barmaid girlfriend, Verena, younger than him
With Lehmann continuing to spout off about his superior ability, Kahn hit back in 2004: ‘He is constantly provoking and he’s been doing it for years. The situation is escalating and has to be resolved.
But Kahn wasn’t exactly innocent, having made fun of Lehmann when he lost his place to Manuel Almunia at Arsenal.
P.S. Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo
This is the greatest personal rivalry in modern football but doesn’t qualify as a feud.
The two most gifted footballers of their generation have always maintained a healthy respect, even if they’re never likely to be best friends.
Over the years, Messi and Ronaldo have set ever-higher standards and broken each other’s records but it’s largely been fans and the media confecting the rivalry.
‘Only the media, the press, who wants us to be at loggerheads but I’ve never fought with Cristiano,’ Messi said in 2012 on the matter.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had a strong on-pitch rivalry underpinned by respect
The two superstars have shared the stage – and accolades – at many awards ceremonies
In 2016, Ronaldo commented: ‘I think we push each other sometimes in the competition, this is why the competition is so high.’
By 2019, Ronaldo said he would ‘like to have dinner together in the future’, something Messi said he was very much open to.
As both move towards the end of their careers, most people have learned to admire and appreciate both of them after achieving incredible things.
