10 Football Players Sacked By Their Clubs
Footballers That Were Fired By Their Clubs
Employees get fired from their jobs every day - and football is no different.
But which footballers have been sacked by their clubs? And why?
Read on to find out about 10 football players that got the sack!
Controversial footballer Dennis Wise
Players can have their contracts terminated for disciplinary reasons, potentially losing out on millions of pounds while permanently damaging their reputation in the game.
Ishmel Demontagnac was sacked by Walsall in 2008 for off-field conduct after being arrested by the police and dealing with alcohol addiction.
Sergi Guardiola was sacked by Barcelona for offensive tweets. Nile Ranger was sacked by Southend in 2018 after a jail sentence - and he is just one of 10 English footballers to spend time locked up.
But who are the most high-profile sacked players? The Sporting Blog has picked out 10 big-name players to be fired by their clubs…
Patrice Evra (Marseille)
He was sacked in 2017 after assaulting a fan
He joined West Ham United after returning to football in 2018
He retired in 2019
Evra was sacked by Marseille in 2017 and banned by UEFA until 2018 after assaulting a supporter in his side’s Europa League defeat to Vitoria.
The former French international kung-fu kicked a fan who was allegedly abusing him on the sidelines, resulting in a red card and his contract being terminated.
Marseille wasted little time condemning his actions and quickly announced that he was effectively sacked.
The club did condemn the supporters provoking Evra but acknowledged that professionals must conduct themselves properly.
The left-back would go on to join West Ham United upon his return to football in 2018 and made five appearances before leaving on a free transfer. He retired from the professional game in 2019.
Adrian Mutu (Chelsea)
He was sacked in 2004 after testing positive for cocaine
He owes Chelsea £15m in damages
He also tested positive for cocaine while playing for Florentina
Mutu was sacked by Chelsea in 2004 after testing positive for cocaine. He was also banned from football until 2005 by the English Football Association.
The story was national news and the ex-Romanian international would be forced to pay £15m in damages to Chelsea - the largest financial penalty in FIFA history at the time.
Mutu joined the Blues on a five-year deal from AC Parma in 2003 and went on to make 38 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 goals with six assists.
He was sacked just one year into his deal at Stamford Bridge, however, which is why the Blues sought compensation.
The Romanian has tried to appeal the fine without success, but he hasn’t paid it back to Chelsea at the time of writing either.
The retired striker would be banned for a second time after testing positive for a banned substance while at Fiorentina too, so his reputation was in the mud.
Dani Osvaldo (Southampton)
He had a reputation for abusing teammates before joining Southampton
He made headlines for the wrong reasons
The Saints terminated his contract two years into a four-year contract
Big things were expected of Osvaldo after Southampton signed him from AS Roma in 2013, but his time at St Mary’s was short-lived due to his indiscipline.
The Argentina-born Italian international had a reputation for being abusive at Roma, allegedly punching a teammate for not passing to him and verbally accosting a caretaker manager for benching him, so then-manager Mauricio Pochettino was taking a big risk.
The gamble didn’t pay off as Osvaldo found himself making headlines for the wrong reasons on the South Coast.
He was fined and banned midway into his debut season for violent conduct, and he had a fight with a teammate weeks later.
Osvaldo was loaned out days after the incident and never played for the Saints again. His contract was terminated just two years into a four-year deal.
Mark Bosnich (Chelsea)
He was sacked by Chelsea in 2003
He struggled with substance abuse
He made only seven appearances in three seasons
Bosnich was another Chelsea player that had a problem with substance abuse, leading to him being sacked in 2003.
The Australian goalkeeper tested positive for cocaine and was suspended indefinitely before having his contract terminated.
He joined Chelsea from Manchester United in 2001 where he was accused of being a terrible professional by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Chelsea found out the hard way, with Bosnich struggling with his fitness and injury problems. He made only seven appearances for the Blues in three seasons before the failed drugs test ended his time at Stamford Bridge.
Kevin-Prince Boateng (Schalke)
He was sent home from the 2014 World Cup for disciplinary reasons
His contract was suspended by Schalke in 2015
He was accused of bad behaviour
Boateng’s had quite the career playing for Tottenham, AC Milan and Barcelona while representing Ghana in two World Cups, but his career hasn’t been without controversy.
The talented midfielder was sent home from the 2014 World Cup by Ghana due to disciplinary reasons, hours before their final group game. He allegedly verbally abused the former manager.
A year later and Boateng was in hot water again, this time for Schalke.
He joined the German outfit from Milan in 2013 and made 60 appearances in all competitions, but his four-year deal was cut short after being suspended in 2015.
Schalke blamed the midfielder for poor behaviour that led to Schalke’s below-par performances in the Bundesliga and ended up sacking him.
Nicolas Anelka (West Brom)
He signed with West Brom in 2013 but he didn’t last a year
He made an offensive gesture while celebrating a goal
He was banned for five games in February 2014
West Brom signed Nicolas Anelka from Shanghai Shenhua in 2013 but didn’t even last a year with the Baggies after being terminated for gross misconduct.
The ex-French international was rumoured to have walked out of the club just weeks after signing, but Albion rejected such reports.
Months later, however, and Anelka had sealed his fate at West Brom, making an offensive gesture while celebrating his first goal for the club.
He netted in a 3-3 draw against West Ham in December 2013 and performed the quenelle, a hand gesture called an inverted Nazi salute.
The FA banned him for five games in February 2014 and Anelka announced he was leaving Albion in March.
West Brom said the striker had given them no notice of his intention to leave, so they terminated his contract for gross misconduct.
Emmanuel Eboue (Sunderland)
He is remembered for his time at Arsenal
He signed with Sunderland in March 2016
He was banned for one year after failing to pay a former agent
Eboue is best remembered for his seven years at Arsenal, but the Ivorian international would return to the Premier League five years after his Emirates departure.
He signed a short-term deal with Sunderland in March 2016 but lasted only a few weeks after being handed a one-year ban for failing to pay a former agent.
The Black Cats released Eboue a month after his arrival without him making an appearance.
Joey Barton (Rangers)
He faced bans and fines for offensive comments, violent conduct and gambling
The Rangers signed Barton in May 2016
He made only eight appearances for the Bhoys before being sacked
Joey Barton has been embroiled in controversy throughout his playing career, being served with match bans and lofty fines for offensive comments, violent conduct and gambling, so Rangers were taking a gamble when they signed him on a two-year deal in May 2016.
Barton would make only eight appearances for the Bhoys before being suspended following a training ground incident with his teammate.
Two months later, Rangers terminated Barton’s contract.
Dennis Wise (Leicester)
He moved from Chelsea to Leicester in 2001
He made only 17 appearances in his debut season
He punched Callum Davidson - Leicester sacked him just a week later
Wise joined Leicester as a Chelsea legend in 2001, but his spell in the East Midlands couldn’t have gone worse.
The former England midfielder made only 17 appearances in his debut season and was sacked by the Foxes over the summer after assaulting a teammate.
Wise punched Callum Davidson and suffered a double fracture of his right cheekbone, causing him to miss the start of the season.
Just one week after the incident, Leicester held a disciplinary meeting and concluded he must be sacked.
This was weeks after Leicester went into administration and were relegated from the Premier League, so it was a low period for the club.
Papy Djilobodji (Sunderland)
Sunderland paid £8m to sign him from Chelsea
He was sacked two years after the move
He made only 23 appearances in his first season
Sunderland paid £8m to sign Papy Djilobodji from Chelsea in 2016, but he turned out to be a monumental waste of money after being sacked within two years of the move.
The Senegalese international made 23 appearances in his first season, losing his starting place after being suspended for violent conduct.
Sunderland suffered relegation from the Premier League that campaign and Djilobodji was allegedly told by new manager Simon Grayson that he wouldn’t play in 2017/18.
The Black Cats loaned Djilobodji out for the season but didn’t see him again until the new campaign had begun.
Sunderland had been relegated to League One and claimed the Senegalese defender didn’t report for pre-season until September while failing a fitness test.
He was sacked by Sunderland and reached an out-of-court settlement months later, to leave the club after going AWOL.
Do you remember any of these controversial football stars? Tell us in the comments!
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