5 players who went on strike to force a move

Football may be the beautiful game but not everyone involved displays such pleasant characteristics. Sometimes the beautiful game gets ugly when players decide they want to leave a club. Moving on is, of course, a part of life but it’s the way in which they go about the process that leaves all those involved irate. Some players follow the rule book by handing in transfer requests and waiting for the club to respond. Others take the matter into their own hands in a bid to quicken the process.

Forcing a move by going on strike has always been frowned upon by the sporting community. But the players on this list did exactly that, ultimately getting the result they desired.

Here are 5 players who went on strike to force a move.

#5 Morgan Schneiderlin

Over the past few years, no club has been ransacked more than Southampton FC. The Saints have lost star player after star player but against all odds, still retained their mid-table Premier League status.

In the summer of 2014, Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Calum Chambers and Rickie Lambert all left the St. Marys for greener pastures.

Morgan Schneiderlin subsequently felt he could do the same, however, after several high-profile departures the board were not willing to sell the Frenchman too.

Schneiderlin reacted badly and refused to play certain pre-season games that summer. From then on relations were strained and the Frenchman was allowed to leave the following summer.

#4 Raheem Sterling

Raheem Sterling is still only 22 years old

Nowadays, any young English talent with an ounce of talent is ridiculously advised by their agent to leave their home club instantly. Sterling’s agent literally told Liverpool that the youngster wouldn't be signing a new contract in 2015.

He infamously said: ‘I don’t care about the PR of the club. He’s definitely not signing.’ This further escalated the situation to the point where Liverpool wouldn't let the 19-year old leave for anything less than £50m.

The saga dragged out through the entirety of the summer, with Manchester City having several bids rejected. To quicken the process, Sterling pulled a couple of suspicious sick days in pre-season, things further escalated when the youngster refused to go on the club’s pre-season tour of East Asia. Eventually, City forked out £49million for the winger and Sterling got his wish.

#3 Dimitri Payet

Dimitri Payet completed 2,032 passes at West Ham

One year ago, Dimitri Payet committed his future to West Ham by signing a £100,000/week. This pay rise was a reward for the Frenchman’s amazing domestic season and Euros showing.

In 48 appearances for the Hammers, Payet scored 11 goals and produced 18 assists. He was undoubtedly Slaven Bilic's star man, but a few months into the 2016/17 season and Dimitri was ready to return home.

The star man notified the club that he would not be playing for them again, effectively going on a strike. This created a vicious stand-off between the club and the player, resulting in David Sullivan finally giving in to a £25million bid from Marseille.

#2 Carlos Tevez

Tevez left the country in protest, flying back home to Argentina

In this extraordinary case, the player in question actually flew out of the country to go on strike. Back in 2011, Carlos Tevez made it clear to the whole world that he was tired of playing at the Etihad. This was best shown by his refusal to come on as a substitute against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

His outward show of descent resulted in a club suspension and financial fine. The Argentinean responded by flying away back to his homeland.

While he was away, he instructed his agent to negotiate deals in Italy, to no avail. After a few months on strike, Tevez was forced come back in January and play a few games. However, his antics did leave a sour taste in the mouth of fans and the striker left Manchester a year later.

#1 William Gallas

William Gallas played for six clubs over 19 years of senior football

Let us just remind everyone that William Gallas is the only man to have played for Chelsea, Arsenal AND Tottenham. Loyalty doesn’t seem to be in his vocabulary.

In 2006, the former French international wanted to leave Chelsea so badly that he went on strike in the FA Cup. The following season he threatened to score an own goal on the opening day of the season if he was forced to start.

In the end, the troublemaker was used as a bargaining chip in the controversial Ashley Cole transfer. It’s safe to say that not one Chelsea fan missed the outlandish figure.