Playground mates turned enemies

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Hostility in football is self-evident, perhaps the first reason for the unconditional love of the game, where human nature usually tends to compete and struggle with others.

It is self-evident that we find competition between clubs or between players in different clubs, which is normal in football and its world, and is always repeated, of course.

Hostility with a competitor makes sense, but for your first enemy to be your teammate, it doesn't happen much.

It may now come from the nature of the game itself, and from the nature that players compete individually for scoring, getting more attention or becoming the most important star player in the team.

Kylian Mbappe and Neymar

The relationship between France's Kylian Mbappe and Brazil's Neymar, the stars of Paris Saint-Germain, has been significantly strained in the current season.

The crisis began after Mbappe's contract with the French club was renewed in the summer of 2022, earning many important advantages, most notably becoming the first penalty shooter in the team.

Paris Saint-Germain manager Christophe Galtier stressed more than once that the crisis was over, and that Mbappe was the first penalty shooter, but Neymar took a penalty after that statement, to get the coach out and confirm that it could change based on the players' agreement on the field.

William Gallas and Colo Touré

During their time at Arsenal, William Gallas and Colo Touré were a real safety valve in Arsene Wenger's books, before something changed between them in the 2008-09 season, where they did not speak to each other either on or off the field.

Gallas refused to speak to the Ivory Coast defender after the Frenchman lost the captaincy, following a rather bizarre reaction after a 2-2 draw with Birmingham City in the Premier League.

However, reports claim that the incident never sparked hostility between them, and because of Gallas Toure was sold next season to Manchester City.

Toure said then of his relationship with Gallas: "Our relationship has improved, but it's just a professional relationship, once we get on the pitch, we try to maintain a professional attitude and communicate."

However, the lack of communication between the pair affected Arsenal's chances of competition and by January Touré had asked to leave, but the club rejected that request, with the Ivorian defender continuing until the end of the season before leaving in the summer.

Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo

The relationship between Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo was very impressive while they were at Manchester United, until Portugal and England came up against them in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup.

The match saw Rooney sent off after running over a Portugal player, and Ronaldo stepped in to defend his team-mate.

The relationship between the pair had been strained for some time, and reports had emerged that the "Madeira missile" had decided to leave Manchester United after the end of the World Cup.

Ronaldo was booed at almost every stadium in England after that incident and fired Rooney, but Sir Alex Ferguson finally managed to contain the situation.

Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Błaszczykowski

A crisis erupted between Poland's Robert Lewandowski and his compatriot Jakub Błaszczykowski during the pair's presence in the German Borussia Dortmund ranks.

Lewandowski took advantage of Błaszczykowski's injury and earned the captaincy of Borussia Dortmund and Poland.

However, with Błaszczykowski returning from injury, Lewandowski refused to return the captaincy at either club or team for Błaszczykowski to decide to leave in the summer of 2015 for Fiorentina on loan Italy, before leaving permanently for Wolfsburg.

Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham

Although they were an exceptional partnership on the field, Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham, the former Manchester United stars, never got over each other.

As Cole himself asserted, the dispute began during his international debut for England against Uruguay, where he entered a replacement for Sheringham, who refused to shake his hand and give him some words of encouragement during the change.

Cole was shocked by Sheringham's disregard for him, writing in an article about the incident: "Sheringham's talent as a top-class footballer with clubs and his country is beyond doubt, but I personally hated him for 15 years."

Romelu Lukaku and Thomas Tuchel

Although Belgium's Romelu Lukaku returned to England in the summer of 2021 from Italy's Inter in order to help the team improve, his relationship with German coach Thomas Tuchel made things worse.

Tuchel, who left Chelsea in September 2022, after Lukaku was loaned to Inter, entered into an apparent clash with the Belgian.

The reason was an interview by Lukaku, who was not authorized by the coach with English network Sky Sports, during which he emphasized his deep nostalgia for Inter, and his thinking of returning again.

Ronaldo and Hector Cooper

The Argentine Hector Cooper, head coach of Italian club Inter from 2001 to 2003, was the main reason for the departure of Brazilian Ronaldo from "Neratzzuri."

Cooper has been in a direct clash with Ronaldo more than once, refusing to be admitted to a number of important games despite his full recovery from injury.

"I was happy in Milan, I felt unconditional emotion from the masses towards me in Italy and around the world," Ronaldo said in a dialogue with DAZN in 2020.

He added: "Cooper was coaching us, but I couldn't keep going, and he talked to Morati - the former Inter president - and I told him either to go or leave me, and he decided to keep him, the story ended badly and my story started with Real Madrid."

Ronaldo left Inter for Real Madrid in the summer of 2022 for 25 million euros, weeks after the World Cup with Brazil.