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Wind-up merchants add quite a unique appeal to the modern game. Whether it's through snide foul play, sneaky tactics or sheer showboating, these type of players thrive off a rare ability to rile up their opponents and get under people’s skin.A fascinating attribute, these vexatious players inject a heavy dose of mischief into nearly every match-day they engage in and add an extra dollop of excitement and drama along the way. Sure, they're not the most widely loved, but things would be a lot more boring without them around, you can b sure.History has always thrown classic examples at us such as Paul Gascoigne, Dennis Wise and plenty of others. But what about today? Who are the best at antagonizing their opponents in the present day's beautiful game? Let’s take a look.
#5 Neymar Jr.
Playful prankster or sly showboater? Neymar Jr. has been the subject of much discussion in recent times about whether his tricky tactics and sublime skills should be seen as a work of art or conflict.
Even Ajax legend Mario Melchiot asked the question in a tweet recently.
In the past, the Brazil international has annoyed plenty with his displays of grandstanding in high-tensions matches. Of course, no matter how much heat he always gets for looking to apparently goad his opponents, the 24-year-old continues to vow that he will never change.
On numerous occasions the Barca attacker has gone out of his way to get a reaction from his markers and fellow duellists but that has always been his style and it seems as if the former Santos man gets energy from their annoyed reaction each and every time; it drives him on to be the best he can possibly be.
Who could forget the many teasing snapshots of genius that infuriated both Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and other players during 2015?
#4 Emmanuel Adebayor
After months out of action without a club, Emmanuel Adebayor has only recently returned to top-flight football in the red and blue of Premier League outfit Crystal Palace.
Attempting to jumpstart a faltering career under manager Alan Pardew, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Togolese star make headlines for some sort of outburst or crazy celebration than for an outrageous piece of skill or consistently excellent performances for the Eagles.
Despite the fact he's netted 96 Premier League goals, the 31-year-old has definitely moved beyond his best days and it's difficult to see just how he'll overtake Didier Drogba as the highest-scoring African in Premier League history.
In truth, if he wants to help them climb up the table, he might need to rely more on his wind-up tactics to get under the skin of his defenders, rile them up and fluster them.
Interestingly, it's when he's full of confidence that he seems more liable to offend and irritate the opposition, and memorably he was full of self-belief when he ran the full length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans after scoring for Manchester City at the Eastlands back in 2009, his most famous outburst of antagonism to date.
Might we see more this year?
#3 Luis Suarez
Currently, the Uruguay international is forming one-third of one of the deadliest attacking tridents the world has ever seen alongside fellow Barcelona stars Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. Together, they have netted so many goals and are a joy to watch when they're in full flow.
Nevertheless, Luis Suarez packs a mean punch to offset his elegant one and although he can excite and amaze with trickery, pace and skill moving through the final third, he can also disgust with displays of sheer barbarism and mindless selfishness.
Infamously, he's bitten three different players, been involved in racism scandals on the field of play and although he's steered clear of controversy during much of his time he was accused by many of stamping on Valencia CF's Aymen Abdennour in a La Liga match just a few short months ago.
Perhaps he's matured and realised the best way to wind up your opponent is to rattle the back of the net. On the other hand, he might just be going through a rare, quiet period of calm before the inevitable eruption. Time will tell.
#2 Diego Costa
He's feisty, he's controversial, he's full of pride – and he doesn't mind getting opponents' backs up.
Diego Costa is one of the most recognisable strikers in the Premier League, and he's doing his best to shake off the tag of merely being a cocky upstart as he's hitting a rich vein of form for the struggling defending champions.
Under Guus Hiddink, the Brazil-born marksman has either scored or assisted seven goals in six Premier League games (per Squawka), which is a massive improvement on his form for ex-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho this season.
As good as he has been in front of goal, Costa remains a fiery footballer who's never far from revealing his recalcitrant flaws, something epitomised by his recent “handbags” brawl with Watford's Juan Carlos Paredes. He's stamped on opponents, never been afraid to get physical and has always prospered in the midst of close attention from defenders and he feeds off the jeers that are regularly thrown his way.
In the heat of battle, many clubs would love to have him leading the line which is precisely why he's been closely linked with a return to La Liga giants Atletico Madrid in the summer.
#1 Gerard Pique
A man obsessed with getting one over on Real Madrid and their fans, Barcelona's defensive champion Gerard Pique has a habit of kicking Los Blancos when they're down, and he makes no apologies for it either.
He simply couldn't hide his joy when Madrid were in danger of getting thrown out of the Copa del Rey after former manager Rafael Benitez naively decided to include the suspended Denis Chersyev in the team.
The Blaugrana defender wasted no time in sending out a tweet mocking their rivals soon afterwards, and it wasn't the first time he's gone out of his way to irk the Madridistas.
As reported by 90min, he’s since had another dig at the 10-time Champions League winners by reminding them of the last time he was in the Spanish capital, and that was when Barca beat their bitter rivals 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Oh dear.
His antics and vitriol of anti-Madrid hatred has attracted the ire of fellow Spain internationals Alvaro Arbeloa and Sergio Ramos and has even drawn a lot of negative attention from Spanish football fans – he's regularly been booed by La Roja supporters during training sessions but has remained dedicated to their progress and success.
