10 great footballers who were incredibly difficult to manage

#7 Carlos Tevez

Carlos Tevez

While Carlos Tevez remains one of the most prolific goalscorers of his generation, he was a constant magnet for scandals and controversies.

According to several reports, the Argentine had one of the worst training regimes. Many managers questioned his work ethic. In his professional career, he had a falling out with the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Roberto Mancini and Alejandro Sabella.

One of Tevez's most infamous antics took place during Manchester City's crucial game against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Despite being called on by the manager for a substitute appearance, Tevez did not move an inch from the bench, and refused to come on.

The three-time Premier League winner displayed a 'RIP Fergie' placard during Manchester City's victory parade, and drove around the UK without a valid driver's license.

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#6 Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho Gaucho

In football and in life, the geniuses and highly talented people tend to be a little crazy, and Ronaldinho was no different.

The Brazilian followed the footsteps of many legendary footballers that have come out of his country. Ronaldinho is one of the most talented footballers in the history of the game, but he also had a strong liking towards parties and skipping training sessions.

A young Ronaldinho learning to play football from his older brother. pic.twitter.com/qqOjP2ykis

— 90s Football (@90sfootball) August 15, 2021

In an interview with SFR Sport, Ronaldinho's former PSG teammate Jerome Leroy said:

"Ronaldinho did not train at all on any day of the week. He would just turn up on the Friday for a game on the Saturday."

He added,

"That was Ronaldinho. I believe he tried to follow in the footsteps of Romario, who also went out every night, but did not have the same success. In the mornings, Ronaldinho would turn up in sunglasses. He would get dressed, and go directly to the massage rooms to sleep."

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#5 Romario

Romario (left)

Another legendary Brazilian on our list is Romario, who convinced Johan Cruyff to let him miss training and substitute him early.

Cruyff is arguably the greatest mind in the history of the game, and was known for naming well-drilled and well-oiled teams. However, Cruyff treated the genius of Romario slightly differently from the rest.

The legendary Dutchman recalled:

"Once, Romario asked me if he could miss two days of training to return to Brazil for the carnival. I replied: 'If you score two goals tomorrow, I'll give you two extra days rest compared to the other players.'"

Cruyff added:

"The next day, Romario scored his second goal 20 minutes into the game and immediately gestured to me asking to leave. He told me: 'Coach, my plane leaves in an hour.'"

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#4 Ronaldo Nazario

Ronaldo Nazario

Regarded by many as the best footballer to have graced the beautiful game, Ronaldo was one of the hardest players to manage in the game.

Much like Ronaldinho, the legendary Brazilian did not feel the need to put too much effort into training sessions. While that did not affect his game in the early stages of his career, Ronaldo started to gain weight in the twilight of his Real Madrid career.

Fabio Capello was appointed as the manager of Real Madrid in 2006 when he noticed that the legend was struggling with obesity and a lack of fitness. In an interview with AS, he said:

"Look, he weighed 96 kg (15 stone). I asked 'how much did you weigh when you won the World Cup (in 2002)?"

Ronaldo was 84 kg when he won the historic 2002 FIFA World Cup for Brazil.

Just finished a fabulous interview with @Ronaldo and it turns out he’s a big fan of @BBCMOTD. What a fella. 👌🏻 pic.twitter.com/d8RpjKcDCg

— Gary Lineker 💙 (@GaryLineker) August 11, 2021

Capello had asked Ronaldo:

"Can you go down to 90 kg (14 stone) at least?' And he didn't…" The Italian manager recalled that Ronaldo had no intention of getting fit, which made him very hard to manage.

However, Capello describes Ronaldo as the 'best by far' of all the players he ever worked with.