5 players who betrayed their managers?

The word betray is one of the most common words used in today's world. Obviously, in a place like this, where money and power are valued above everything else, people tend to turn their backs even on the ones closest to them.

From Mir Jafar to Alauddin Khilji, history has been built upon the pillars of betrayal - and it is no different in the scope of football. We have seen many instances when players stabbed their own managers in the back, at the time when they needed them the most.

As a result, here is a list of 5 players who betrayed their respective managers:

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#5 Emmanuel Adebayor

Like almost every other African player that made his way to the top, Emmanuel Adebayor came from a humble background. Indeed, as a child, he couldn’t even walk until the age of four – and that, too, changed because of a miracle.

Later in his career, after some good performances in France, Arsene Wenger snapped him up for Arsenal, where he had his best time as a footballer – scoring 30 goals in all competitions in his second full season at the club.

After that, however, he craved for more money and left Arsenal for a mega-rich Manchester City. At that time, from his perspective, maybe it was understandable given that he came from a really humbling background.

However, it won’t be surprising if a part of him now regrets that move, given that it was an act of betrayal against a manager who showed faith in him and took him to the top echelons of European football.

#4 Robin van Persie

The second Arsenal player on this list – one could almost say that Wenger has faced more betrayals than arrogantly overconfident conquerors did from their closest generals – Robin van Persie was among the most beloved players at Arsenal, adored by the Gunners' devout fans.

Despite being very talented, the Dutchman could never really reach his peak due to niggling injuries every other season. Wenger spotted his talent and snapped him up from Feyenoord, but Le Professeur was powerless to the fragility of his former player.

However, he got past his injury demons and had a terrific 2011-12 season as he scored 37 goals in 48 games for the North London outfit. The following summer, however, he refused to sign an extension with the club – he had only one year left on his contract – and technically forced his way out to Manchester United.

This was particularly disturbing for the Gunners and Wenger, since they stuck with him through thick and thin, but he, on the other, left them when he peaked

#3 Carlos Tevez

A list like this without Carlos Tevez is no list at all. For starters, he forced his way out of Corinthians after refusing to play for them. Three years later, he joined Manchester City after spells with West Ham United and Manchester United.

Not that one could blame him as he received a lot of money in wages at the Etihad. However, that didn’t stop him from going against his manager when things didn’t go the way he liked – and the worst of it came in Munich when he refused to warm up after being instructed to do so by his then-manager, Roberto Mancini.

He later apologized and was brought back to the first-team after a gap of almost 6 months. Some years later, in December 2016, to be precise, he joined Chinese club - Shanghai Shenhua, to become the highest-paid footballer in the world, with rumours claiming that his wages exceeded £600,000-a-week.

His arrival marked the entire system being rebuilt around him even at the expense of club legend, Giovanni Moreno, being sidelined.

But, Tevez being Tevez, he ‘misses’ home and is unsettled in China. Imagine shattering the world-record for wages to bring in someone who then doesn’t feel settled at the club and intends to go back home – and that, too, after Gus Poyet, his current manager, seems to be doing his best to make Tevez feel at home.

#2 Diego Costa

It is quite difficult to grasp the ramblings of the mind of any human being. In case of Costa, perhaps even he himself doesn't know what is it that he exactly wants. At first, he represented Brazil in a friendly, but the moment he got Spanish nationality, he decided to swap national teams and opted to play for Spain.

And when it comes to club football, the Brazilian-born player is equally confusing in his ways. Earlier this year in January, the former Atletico man wanted to move to China for a mega-money contract and was on the brink of the move, which collapsed at the last moment due to the foreign players-per-team rule in China.

After that, Chelsea tried to offload him to other clubs, but he was only interested in a move to Atletico Madrid and actually used his lawyer to legally push this deal. He was seen partying in Brazil in an Atletico Madrid shirt and did everything he could do to secure a move back.

And finally, he did as Atletico Madrid have signed him and he can once again play for them after their player registration ban expires in January.

#1 Luis Figo

And finally, the mother of all betrayals: Luis Figo's exit from Barcelona to Real Madrid. To this date, when people speak of players breaking the hearts of the fans of the club they once represented, Figo's name comes up on top.

The Portuguese was the king of the hearts of many Barcelona fans and was their best player during the late 90s. Barca were supposed to be led to many years of glory by the former Inter player, but then Florentino Perez happened.

Nobody expected Perez to win the election back in 2000, but the construction magnate made a promise to bring Figo to the capital club if he was chosen as the president. His words were not taken in a serious light by the Cules, especially after Figo himself claimed that he wasn't going to the Bernabeu.

But little did they know that their hearts would be pierced very soon. As soon as Perez became the president of Real Madrid, Figo changed sides - an act that was seen as the greatest betrayal on the manager, fans and everyone linked to Barcelona.