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Professional footballers are also people just like us. The only difference is that even details of their personal lives get dragged into the open because of the popularity they enjoy and the interest and intrigue they generate.
That's why celebrities and scandals go hand in hand. Footballers are no strangers to such controversies either. A life of excess comes with its own set of downsides.
As footballers end up spending most of their time training and playing games, their social lives get intertwined with that of their teammates.
Friendships and circles are formed and they spill over from the footballing side of things and into their personal lives. While this can be a great thing at times, it could also lead to some really unsavory situations.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five sets of footballers who fell out over WAGs (wives and girlfriends).
#5 Christian Lell and Michael Ballack
Christian Lell is a former Bayern Munich right-back. Lell was not exactly a superstar of the sport but he did rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in the game at the time. Among his most high-profile teammates was modern day German football icon Michael Ballack.
However, Lell does not think fondly of Ballack since the latter had an affair with his now-ex wife Daniella Aumann. This happened during the time both Lell and Ballack played for Bayern Munich. Lell even spoke out about the issue later saying (via Epress):
“Ballack enters into other people’s private lives and ruins them without further thought. But maybe when you are the Germany captain that’s how you think.”
Unfortunately for Lell, it wasn't exactly a one-off bad incident. Another teammate of his, Mesut Ozil, is also rumored to have had an affair with one of his former partners. Melanie Rickinger reportedly got involved with Ozil when she was in a relationship with Lell.
#4 Jamie Vardy and Wayne Rooney
Jamie Vardy and Wayne Rooney are two of the finest strikers England has produced in the 21st century. Unfortunately, in addition to the football pitch, the pair met each other in a courtroom as well earlier this year.
It started when Coleen Rooney publicly claimed that Jamie Vardy's wife Rebekah Vardy was providing private information about her to The Sun for money. Vardy's wife decided to file a defamation suit against Coleen Rooney but eventually lost the case.
The two English strikers had to take a backseat and watch their wives battle it out while the UK press watched with great interest.
#3 John Terry and Wayne Bridge
John Terry has a great reputation on the pitch. Away from the pitch, though, it gets a little nasty. Premier League fans won't forget the Terry - Wayne Bridge fallout. The former Chelsea captain was rumored to have had an affair with Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child Vanessa Perroncel.
The affair reportedly happened after Vanessa had split with Bridge. News broke about the alleged affair and both Vanessa and Terry denied the accusations. However, the media was persistent and Terry tried to get an injunction order filed against the publication on the same.
However, it was rebuked by the court and Terry's former Chelsea teammate Bridges did not take kindly to the actions of the two. Bridge famously refused to shake hands with Terry prior to a game between Manchester City and Chelsea on February 27, 2010.
It happened again in April 2011 when Bridge was playing for West Ham United and the players ignored each other when they were supposed to shake hands before the game.
#2 Thibaut Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne
Thibaut Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne still play together for Belgium and seem to get on decently. However, their relationship suffered a major blow when the Manchester City midfielder's ex-girlfriend got involved with Courtois way back in 2014.
De Bruyne's ex-girlfriend Caroline Lijnen revealed that she had a fling with the Real Madrid goalkeeper after the City star had cheated on her with her best friend. Speaking to Story Magazine (via Tribuna) in 2014, Lijnen said:
“Kevin cheated on me.
"I did not say anything for months because I couldn't say anything, as Kevin's parents said they would take legal action if I gave my story.
She added:
“I was under pressure and I could not have contact with Kevin. I respected everything. But in his book Keep it Simple Kevin wrote a passage about my affair with Thibaut. So, I decided to remain silent no longer.
“In the summer of 2012, Kevin told me that he had an affair with my old best friend. I gave him the choice: her or me. I was ready to give him another chance, but our relationship was never the same afterwards."
She also admitted to have 'found comfort in the arms of Thibaut [Courtois]'.
#1 Mauro Icardi and Maxi Lopez
The Mauro Icardi - Wanda Nara -Maxi Lopez love triangle blew up to unprecedented levels and it rocked the world of football for a while. Icardi and Lopez were teammates at Sampdoria in Serie A and shared a good friendship.
However, things went awry when Icardi got involved with Wanda, who was married to Lopez at the time. It's worth noting that Wanda and Lopez have three kids together. Things did not stop there. Icardi went on to marry Wanda and also made her his agent.
If that wasn't enough, Icardi also got the names of Lopez's three children tattooed on his arm. Similar to Bridge and Terry, Lopez refused to shake Icardi's hand when the pair came up against each other as Sampdoria faced Inter Milan in 2014.
