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The most controversial footballers ever

greg lea

Wed, 5 Feb 2025, 0:15 pm

From on-field assaults and nightclub fights to spitting and biting incidents, these players generated headlines for the wrong reasons

26. Pepe

25. Billy Bremner

24. Lee Bowyer

23. Vinnie Jones

22. Ben Thatcher

21. Kevin Muscat

20. Ashley Cole

19. Craig Bellamy

18. Marco Materazzi

17. Romario

16. Diego Costa

15. Sergio Ramos

14. Andoni Goikoetxea

13. Carlos Tevez

12. El Hadji Diouf

11. Rene Higuita

10. Edmundo

9. John Terry

8. Roy Keane

7. Nicolas Anelka

6. Mario Balotelli

5. Joey Barton

4. Paolo Di Canio

3. Luis Suarez

2. Eric Cantona

1. Diego Maradona

From on-field assaults and nightclub fights to spitting and biting incidents, these players generated headlines for the wrong reasons

Footballers are human beings like the rest of us, and while we shouldn't expect them to never make mistakes on or off the pitch... they do.

But the following went above and beyond in their courting of trouble. Here are the most controversial footballers of all time.

Getty Images

From on-field assaults and nightclub fights to spitting and biting incidents, these players generated headlines for the wrong reasons

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