Not all Premier League footballers get a welcomimg reception at venues across the country, there are always the ones who are jeered and booed by opposition fans. Players can be the subject of immense hate from a set of supporters, mostly due to their on-field as well as off-field antics.
Let’s take a look at the Top 5 Most Hated Premier League footballers over the last five seasons.
- Didier Drogba
Scored a controversial off-side goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2010 to deny the Red Devils their 19th league title that season. Always turns up against Arsenal and has been known to take Spurs to the cleaners, Drogba’s goalscoring record as well as his diving antics ensures the Ivorian is the subject of vociferous booing whichever away venue he plays in.
- Steven Gerrard
The Liverpool captain is right up there in the most hated list. Gerrard earned the name ‘Slippy G’ after he slipped for the second time in his career in a crucial game, this time letting the league title slip away last season when Demba Ba scored to sink Liverpool. Gerrard is known for winding up Manchester United fans and has often been on the receiving end of a mouthful at Old Trafford and several other venues.
- Wayne Rooney
When you get as much love as Rooney gets, you tend to get quite a lot of hate as well. The obvious is the hate from Liverpool fans, particularly at Anfield, thanks to his Everton connection. But, thanks to things about his private life coming to the fore, rumors about Rooney having handed two transfer requests in 3 seasons, and his foul-mouthed rant, Rooney earns as much hate as affection. A player who divided opinion among United fans at the start of last season when Jose Mourinho came hunting.
- John Terry
When you talk about John Terry, it’s not the silverware that he has achieved that comes to mind, not even his penalty miss in the Champions League final, but his much talked about affair with Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend. Terry was stripped of the England captaincy and became the most hated man in English football overnight. Other misdemeanors has kept John Terry at the very top of the hate list.
- Ashley Cole
A player Mourinho wanted nothing to do with when he arrived in England. Not because he wasn’t good enough anymore, but a manager would rather prefer not dealing with that kind of attitude. Ashley Cole has been a bad boy all along, and leaving Arsenal for Chelsea in ’06 didn’t do his reputation any favors either. But the series of affairs and escapades and cheating on Cheryl Cole made him one of the most hated men in Britain. And then, he was never too shy of moaning about his fat pay check.
Honorable mentions: Emmanuel Adebayor, Rio Ferdinand and Joey Barton.
