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Sporting rivalries are often an underrated but essential part of the sport. In all sports, there are rivalries between great players; from the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier rivalry in boxing to the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry in tennis, such events make the game feel more alive.
Football is no different. From great onfield rivalries like Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer to certain bitter off-the-field incidents, footballing rivalries tend to spice up matches and give fans something to talk about.
The enmity between the players is more often than not limited to the field, but sometimes it might spill over. However, there is no denying that the likes of Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira have made matches extremely fun to watch due to their strong and aggressive personalities. On that note, we look at the:
5 most famous player rivalries in football.
#5 MAURO ICARDI - MAXI LOPEZ
Mauro Icardi and Maxi Lopez were teammates at Sampdoria, and there existed a good friendship between the two forwards, as Lopez helped Icardi settle in Italy.
However, it was soon revealed that Lopez's wife Wanda Nara was having an affair with Icardi, resulting in their divorce and the subsequent marriage of Nara and Icardi. By this point, Icardi had moved to Inter Milan, and in a Serie A match between Sampdoria and Inter Milan, Lopez refused to shake Icardi's hands. The press dubbed the fixture the "Wanda derby".
Icardi currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain, with Nara as his agent. Lopez, on the other hand, plies his trade with Crotone. It has been suggested that the close friendship between Lopez and Lionel Messi is the reason Icardi hasn't been called up to the Argentina squad more often.
#4 WAYNE BRIDGE - JOHN TERRY
In a similar scenario to the Mauro Icardi- Maxi Lopez fallout, Wayne Bridge and John Terry do not enjoy the most cordial of relationships.
In 2010 news broke that then-England captain John Terry had a four month affair with Vanessa Perroncel, who was the ex-girlfriend of Bridge. A super-injunction was imposed by a High Court judge preventing the media from reporting allegations; the injunction was lifted a week later.
On February 2010, Manchester City and Chelsea faced each other, with Manchester City's Bridge refusing to shake hands with Chelsea's Terry. Terry was temporarily stripped of his England captaincy as well.
#3 ROY KEANE - PATRICK VIEIRA
One of Premier League's greatest midfield rivalries, Manchester United's Roy Keane and Arsenal's Patrick Vieira were well-known for their strong personalities.
Perhaps the most famous incident between the two came in the Highbury tunnel in 2005, where the players were lining up before the match. Cameras caught the event perfectly, with Keane and Vieira shouting at each other and referee Graham Poll trying to contain Keane as Arsenal players dragged Vieira away.
Two of the greatest midfielders in the Premier League, Keane and Vieira were strong competitors on the field as well, resulting in many memorable fixtures between the two clubs.
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#2 PATRICE EVRA - LUIS SUAREZ
Luis Suarez has never been short of controversies throughout his career, and in 2011 the then-Liverpool striker was accused of racially abusing Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra.
After a 1-1 draw against Manchester United in 2011, Suarez was accused of using racial slurs against Evra, a fact which the Uruguayan denied. However, he was banned for eight games and fined £40,000, with Liverpool's conduct throughout the whole controversy widely condemned as well.
When the two teams met next time in 2012, Suarez refused to shake Evra's hands; both the striker as well as the manager Kenny Dalglish were forced to apologise for this.
#1 LIONEL MESSI - CRISTIANO RONALDO
Arguably the greatest rivalry in football as far as fans are concerned, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are widely regarded as the two of the greatest footballers to have played the game.
The footballing rivalry between the two existed from an early stage, but truly found semblance when Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid in 2009. Messi and Ronaldo faced each other at least twice every season in the El Clasico, one of the highest viewed sporting events in the world, till Ronaldo left for Juventus in 2018.
While the two superstars have often stated that they do not see each other as competition, their fans tend to differ. Due to their contrasting personalities, and their allegiance to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, Ronaldo and Messi are often seen as the perfect sporting rivalry.
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