5 superstar captains who were stripped of captaincy
Being a club captain comes with a lot of responsibility. Not only do you have to lead by example and be a role model for your teammates, but you also need to be accessible and transparent. Successful clubs have always had big personalities and a proper leader.
Take, for example, the treble-winning Manchester United side of 1999. A belligerent Roy Keane is someone you'd want to accompany to a war. Or Patrick Vieira of Arsenal's 'Invincibles'. Liverpool's Steven Gerrard is another legendary captain. Of course it's a double sided coin.
When it's all sunshine and rainbows, captains have a great time basking in the glory. But when the going gets tough, they are the first ones to be put under scrutiny.
In light of recent incidents, let's take a look at five superstar captains who were stripped of the captaincy.
#5 Joey Barton (Queens Park Rangers)
Joey Barton is no stranger to controversies or disciplinary problems. He was a bit of a ruffian on the football pitch and the sort of character who often escalates issues to unnecessary heights.
Manchester City's dramatic 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the 2011-12 season was the Premier League at its peak. What's often forgotten or is overshadowed by Sergio Aguero's career defining last-minute heroics is Joey Barton's villainy in the same game.
It's worth noting that Barton played for City between 2002 and 2007 but wasn't too keen on civility.
QPR needed at least a draw or Bolton Wanderers to lose their game on the final day of the season to stay in the Premier League. However, their captain was Joey Barton and he elbowed former teammate Carlos Tevez in the face. He didn't stop there and kicked Sergio Aguero in the back of his knee after being shown the red card.
He also tried to headbutt Vincent Kompany and start a fight with Mario Balotelli before being dragged away by Micah Richards. Barton rightfully suffered in the aftermath. He was stripped of the captaincy and loaned off to Marseille.
The former Manchester City man ought to be grateful that the incident happened on a football pitch.
"So I kneed Aguero thinking he'd react"
@Joey7Barton tells us the story behind THAT red card for QPR at Man City... 😂 https://t.co/I11Z4pQAVR
#4 Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan)
For a while it looked like Mauro Icardi had a good thing going on at Inter Milan. He had become one of the youngest captains in the club's history and was scoring a lot of goals. The Nerazzurri seemed to be a good fit for the controversial Argentina international.
However, he ticked the Inter ultras off by throwing flak at them in a book. His wife Wanda Nara then ranted about Inter Milan's players and management in a show called Tiki Taka. That ended up being the last straw as far as Icardi's captaincy was concerned.
The club was simply not going to let the captain and his wife undermine the institution. He was immediately stripped of the captaincy. Did Icardi take it well? Nope. He refused to play for Inter Milan in a Europa League match against Rapid Wien the next day.
OFFICIAL: Inter Milan have replaced Mauro Icardi with Samir Handanovic as their new club captain. https://t.co/GNIIhLPnQk