5 players who are loved by their own fans but hated by rivals

As arguably the biggest worldwide sport of them all, the best footballers on the planet are usually amongst the world’s most popular athletes, too. The likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane have legions of fans from all continents, and are largely popular with fans of many different clubs.

The same can’t be said for a handful of players, though, who are treated as heroes by the supporters of their own clubs – but despised by rivals for a myriad of reasons. The following 5 players have a “love-to-hate” quality that’s simply rare in any sport – and can often be found acting as football’s pantomime villains.

Here are 5 players who are loved by their fans – but hated by their rivals.

---

#1 Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos is a master of football's dark arts

The fact that Real Madrid and Spain captain Sergio Ramos’s red card for Los Blancos in their recent Champions League loss to Manchester City was the 26th of his career probably says a lot about exactly why he’s greatly disliked by fans of rival teams.

Simply put, while Ramos is a tremendous player – marshalling his side from the centre of defence with excellent defensive instincts while also providing a serious goal threat – he’s also renowned for making a nuisance of himself in almost every possible way on the pitch.

It’s nearly impossible to catalogue all of the moments that Ramos has made himself despised by opposing fans – there are simply too many to mention – but some of his stand-out incidents would include the way in which he injured Liverpool’s Mo Salah in the 2018 Champions League final with a challenge that appeared to come straight out of the UFC, a stamp on the chest of Malaga player Eliseu back in 2008-09, numerous horrible challenges on Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, and the unsavoury way in which he purposely earned a red card in order to sit out a Champions League dead rubber back in 2010.

Ramos is equally disliked when playing for his national team; despite the fact that he’s never earned a red card in the colours of Spain, he has earned the most yellow cards for La Roja with a total of 24 and uses his expertise of football’s dark arts to the maximum.

A great example of how much opposing fans despise him – even at international level – came after England’s 2-3 win over Spain in 2018. The victory was arguably the Three Lions’ best performance in nearly 20 years, and yet a post-match poll by Sky Sports to decide England fans’ favourite moment of the match was won not by any of their goals – but by Eric Dier’s crunching tackle on Ramos in the early part of the game!

#2 Scott Brown

Scott Brown is a true footballing pantomime villain

The current captain of Scottish giants Celtic, Scott Brown isn’t just disliked by fans of the club’s bitter rivals Rangers, but he’s essentially despised by the fans of every other team that The Bhoys face off with. The veteran midfielder is beloved by Celtic fans for his all-action style as a box-to-box midfielder, but he’s also a master of football’s darker arts and he isn’t afraid to use them to get into the head of opposing players.

Renowned for his somewhat reckless tendencies on the pitch, Brown regularly finds himself being shown the yellow card and has also been sent off on numerous occasions during his career, but it’s his tendency to attempt to wind up opposition players that has earned him the most hatred from the fans.

Perhaps his most infamous moment came in a match against Rangers in 2011; after scoring a goal, Brown stood directly in front of striker El-Hadji Diouf with his arms outstretched, attempting to goad the Senegal international into a reaction. He’s also found himself in hot water for antagonising and laughing at various opponents, and even ate a punch from Rangers’ Ryan Kent in 2019 after a little too much taunting.

Essentially, Brown is a classic footballing villain, showing an insane amount of passion for his own side while also seemingly willing to go to any possible lengths in order to gain an advantage over his opponents. It’s hardly a surprise that he’s so disliked.

#3 Neymar

Neymar's histrionics in the 2018 World Cup earned him a lot of criticism

Flashy players often earn the ire of opposition fans simply for their willingness to embarrass their opponents, but in the case of players like Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo, that ire is often accompanied by a begrudging sense of respect and awe. However, that isn’t the case for Brazil and Paris St. Germain forward Neymar – who is simply too easy to completely dislike.

It isn’t that Neymar is just a flashy, showboating superstar capable of dismantling even the best defence on his day. It’s not even that he scores boatloads of goals, particularly for PSG, where he’s plundered 67 goals in 78 appearances. It’s more that despite all of his talents, the Brazilian seems far too willing to go to extreme lengths to gain an advantage on his opponents, particularly when it comes to simulation.

Admittedly, Neymar does find himself the target of opposing defenders, who are often willing to foul him in order to stop him – but even so, nobody in football seems to throw themselves to the ground quite as willingly as the Brazilian, who was massively criticised for this in the 2018 World Cup and even earned himself a yellow card against Costa Rica for his unsavoury attempts to win a penalty.

He’s become so infamous for his histrionics on the pitch that French legend Eric Cantona once compared him to a suitcase on wheels, stating “you barely touch it, and yet it turns round for hours and hours”.

Add in the media circus that seems to follow him around wherever he goes, a product of his attempt to usurp Messi and Ronaldo as the world’s most famous player, and it’s easy to see why, despite his talents, most opposition fans simply can’t stand the Brazilian striker.

#4 Diego Costa

Diego Costa earned the dislike of plenty of fans during his time at Chelsea

One of the most successful strikers of the last decade, Diego Costa has won league titles with both Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, and at his peak, was easily one of the most reliable goalscorers in Europe. An old-school target man, Costa’s physical style makes him a handful for any defence, and he’s also a tremendous finisher from any range with both feet and his head.

However, the Spain international is arguably more renowned for his dark side; Costa brings together the histrionics of Neymar, the taunting and goading of Scott Brown and the foul temper of older legends like Roy Keane to make one extreme package – a package beloved by fans of the sides he’s representing, and hated by rivals like few others.

Costa’s run in the Premier League with Chelsea brought a new spotlight on this dark side; within a handful of games he’d earned the ire of Everton fans for taunting Seamus Coleman after the Irish defender scored an own goal, while January 2015 saw him stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can.

Things didn’t change in his second season at Stamford Bridge; a 2-0 win over London rivals Arsenal saw him goad Gabriel Paulista into a reaction that earned the Brazilian a red card that was eventually rescinded, while Costa’s own actions in the game – including a slap to Laurent Koscielny – meant the FA banned him for 3 games.

For his part, the Spanish striker claimed that his style was “strong but noble” – but also admitted that “the bottom line is that sometimes the little things I do on the pitch provoke exaggerated reactions”. With that attitude, it’s hardly a surprise that he’s so beloved by his own fans – but disliked by all others.

#5 Dele Alli

To many opposing fans, Dele Alli embodies the arrogance of youth

The reason that rival fans dislike Tottenham Hotspur’s Dele Alli – who is widely beloved by the Spurs faithful – comes down to a simple thing; the England international, who emerged into the spotlight in late 2015 at the age of just 19, is seen as the embodiment of the arrogance of youth. And while the truth of that idea is debatable, it’s definitely meant that Alli has become a villain in the eyes of many over the last few seasons.

Alli’s skills on the pitch – a mix of his tremendous work-rate and athletic ability but also complimented by a natural instinct for spotting opportunities that other players simply don’t – have gained him rave reviews and plenty of goals and assists, but like Neymar, he’s also become renowned for going down under what appear to be soft challenges a little too easily.

He’s also not afraid to clash with opposing players; 2018 famously saw him tell Manchester United’s Ashley Young to “retire with a zimmer frame” after a brief fracas, while 2016 saw him banned by the FA for 3 matches for punching West Brom midfielder Claudio Yacob in the stomach following an off-the-ball incident.

Off the pitch, Alli has also courted controversy – being photographed whilst intoxicated in the summer of 2019, and most recently finding himself in hot water with the authorities following an ill-advised Snapchat joke about the coronavirus epidemic.

Essentially, Alli’s on-pitch abilities should earn him the respect of opposing fans like that offered to his teammate Harry Kane – but without his combative style, who knows whether he’d be as effective? To that end, the likelihood is that he’ll remain loved by Spurs fans – and disliked by everyone else –for some time yet.