No slowdown in football: European clubs raked in 9.3 bn euros last year

Gattuso and Pirlo were teammates at AC Milan, but they never saw eye to eye. Pirlo — who is known for his elegance on the field and off — often picked on Gattuso for his lack of refinement. “He (Gattuso) has tried to kill me with a fork. I used to torment him when he got his verbs wrong, which was pretty much the whole time,” writes Pirlo in his autobiography. “I ended up missing games because of one of his fork attacks, even if the official explanation from the club was one of ‘muscle fatigue,’” Pirlo said.

The two English defenders, who now share barbs on live TV, used to be at each other’s’ throats during their playing days. Neville, who captained United, has made no bones about his dislike for Liverpool, and Carragher, in particular. During a match at Old Trafford, an altercation in the tunnel at half time led to a scuffle on the field. Carragher was booked for a rash challenge on Nani. Neville took exception to the tackle, and grabbed Carragher by the collar. They subsequently made up when on international duty, but some of the old acrimony still persists in their interactions in the studio.

The American defender Onyewu, a fringe player at AC Milan, accused Ibrahimovic of “trash talking” opponents to wind them up. Onyewu allegedly told him he wouldn’t be “psyched out” by it. Zlatan retorted, saying that he was a man of action, not words. Onyewu lunged at him in training, studs up. The tackle missed its mark, and the Swede headbutted Onyewu. Zlatan, who is given to self-aggrandizement, writes in his autobiography, “The weirdest thing happened afterwards. Onyewu started praying to God with tears in his eyes. He made the sign of the cross, and I thought, what is this? I got even more furious. It felt like a provocation, and at that point Allegri, the manager, came over and said, ‘Calm down, Ibra.’”

In arguably the most notorious incident in Premier League history, Dyer and Bowyer, both Newcastle players, were sent off for brawling on the field during the Magpies’ game against Aston Villa. Newcastle were already a goal down, and a man down, when Bowyer saw red. As their teammates were surging forward on a counterattack, Bowyer and Dyer squared up, with the former landing the first punch. He was miffed because he believed Dyer was deliberately not passing the ball to him. Dyer was left with a bloodied nose, while Bowyer’s shirt was ripped at the front. Newcastle United fans watched in disbelief. Aston Villa players defused the situation, and separated the warring teammates. They were both sent off. Newcastle lost 3-0. Dyer probably lost a tooth or two.