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#3 Yaya Toure - Pep Guardiola (Barcelona, Manchester City)
If you thought the Yaya Toure - Pep Guardiola beef started in Manchester, you'd be wrong. Toure had a falling out with Pep during his stint with Barcelona. Pep simply preferred Sergio Busquets to Yaya Toure in defensive midfield. The Ivorian even played at centre-back multiple times before he was allowed to leave in the summer of 2010.
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Yaya Toure would go on to become a club legend at Manchester City and establish himself as one of the greatest central midfielders of the Premier League era. Guardiola's history when it comes to dealing with players that don't suit his style of play has always been sketchy. Look at Samuel Eto'o or Zlatan Ibrahimovic for example.
Unfortunately for Yaya Toure, Guardiola was appointed Manchester City manager in 2016. That very season, he decided to omit Yaya Toure from City's Champions League squad. He didn't inform the player of the same before dropping the bombshell on the world.
Toure's agent, Dimitri Seluk, didn't hold back as he criticized Pep.
“It is Pep’s decision and we must respect that. “If he wins the Champions League for City this season then I will travel to England and I will say on television that Pep Guardiola is the best manager in the world.
“But if City don’t win the Champions League then I hope that Pep has got the balls to say that he was wrong to humiliate a great player like Yaya. This is Pep’s decision and we must respect it."
It only got worse from there. Pep told Yaya Toure that he won't play anymore unless his agent issues an apology. Seluk responded with more scathing comments and likened Pep's treatment of Yaya to that of his treatment of players like Eto'o and Ibrahimovic.
The midfielder apologized for everything that was said and left the club in 2017. After that he had no reason to hold back.
Yaya Toure has since accused Pep Guardiola of being biased against players of African origin, a statement the Ivorian has since apologized for. But it's safe to say that the relationship between the player and the manager is likely to remain awkward.
#2 Angel Di Maria - Louis van Gaal (Manchester United)
When Manchester United signed Angel Di Maria in the summer of 2014, he was the hottest winger on the planet. The Argentine had just played a stellar role in Real Madrid's La Decima Champions League triumph. The Red Devils paid £59.7 million to secure his services for Los Blancos.
Di Maria got off to a flying start and his individual brilliance shone through as he became an instant hit with the Old Trafford faithful. But Louis van Gaal did not know how to use a player like Di Maria. For Van Gaal, it was all about possession or sideways passing, as justifiably frustrated United fans would tell you.
You can't blame them though. Manchester United were utterly boring under the Dutchman's tutelage. Di Maria had become a peripheral figure by the end of the season and was continuously played out of position.
He left the club that summer and has since made multiple comments that has soured his relationship with Manchester United. Di Maria's latest jibe in that general direction came against Louis van Gaal. Speaking to TyC Sports last week, Di Maria absolutely laid into Van Gaal. He said:
"My problem at Manchester was the coach. Van Gaal was the worst of my career. I would score, assist, and the next day he would show me my misplaced passes. He displaced me from one day to the other, he didn't like players being more than him."
#1 Miralem Pjanic - Ronald Koeman (Barcelona)
Miralem Pjanic joined Barcelona from Juventus on a questionable deal in the summer of 2020. The Catalans sent a young and promising Arthur Melo the other way to sign the 30-year-old Bosnian international. Pjanic did not pr be a great fit for Barcelona and started just six La Liga games in his debut season at the Camp Nou.
Fast forward to this summer and Pjanic wanted to leave the club just as badly as Barcelona wanted him offloaded. He has finally found a way out of the club, albeit on loan to Besiktas. Since joining Besiktas, Pjanic has offered his thoughts on what happened with manager Ronald Koeman.
He said:
"Right now, today, I don't know what he wanted exactly. He didn't try to explain things to me or find a solution. I would go to ask him what he wanted from me, positionally or what I was doing well or badly. I wanted to adapt as quickly as possible to the team and be useful.
He added:
"I know what I can bring to a team, but you need confidence and dialogue and things to be said to your face. I'd have preferred things to be said to me directly, but it was what it was. It was a very odd way of communicating and it's the first time I've ever experienced this.
"I've had a very good relationship with all of my coaches. I don't know what happened, I honestly don't know. He didn't want responsibility or confrontation, because I guess that couldn't be handled."
Koeman seems to have iced Pjanic out of the team but going by the midfielder's words, there was clearly no communication. That is quite disrespectful, especially since Pjanic is one of the best holding midfielders of his generation.
