10 famous player-manager fall-outs

Footballers and their managers often share a very volatile relationship. Egos and differing opinions come in the way. Players do not like being told what to do by people who cannot play themselves, while managers are threatened by players whose presence threatens their authority in the dressing room. This is a look at some of the most controversial breakdowns of working relations between players and managers over the years (arranged chronologically).

#1 Hatem Ben Arfa and Alan Pardew

Hatem Ben Arfa has had an alarming number of clashes with his seniors over the course of what has been a highly promising career, if only in spurts. He clearly does not see eye to eye with whoever tells him what to do with or without the ball. He had to depart from Lyon after a scuffle with veteran defender Sbastien Squillaci in 2008.

At Marseille, he courted controversy by not warming up when ordered by manager Eric Gerets,and got into a much-publicized training ground argument with the subsequent manager, Didier Deschamps, which might have played a role inhurting his 2014 World Cup chances.

At Newcastle United, his showboating and seeming ability to conjure up moments of genius out of nowhere have made him a fan favourite, but his relationship with Alan Pardew has been steadily growing worse and has now reached an unbreakable impasse where either player or manager must depart. A strange turn of events from whenone had likened the other to Lionel Messi.

Ben Arfa has recently been relegated to training with the Newcastle U-21s, while the players agent has predicted that Pardew will soon get the boot and Ben Arfa will return to first team action. Football risks losing one of its most attractive practitioner unless this fall-out is resolved soon.