The most iconic and explosive Premier League outbursts

There have been some iconic rants and outbursts – from both managers and players – throughout the history of the Premier League.

Some of them were measured and planned, others came in moments of frustration. And then every now and again there was just plain anger.

Mohamed Salah, for instance, deliberately picked his moment on Saturday to say he had been “thrown under the bus” by Liverpool. But it is not always so calculated.

Everyone knows about Kevin Keegan’s “I would love it” remark from the 1995-96 season.

If Salah stops to speak to the media, it is usually for a good reason.

After a 3-2 win at Southampton in November 2024, Salah dropped the bombshell that he was “probably more out than in” with regards to his Anfield future.

The Egypt international had moved into the final year of his Liverpool contract and at that stage, looked unlikely to sign a new deal despite a desire to stay put.

There had also been speculation about a potential move to the Saudi Pro League and Salah felt the need to set the record straight.

Salah’s comments ramped up the pressure on the Liverpool hierarchy as his goals propelled the club towards the Premier League title.

According to Opta, Salah’s goals and assists had been worth 17 points to Liverpool at that point – the most of any player in the division.

What happened next: It took another five months, but Salah did eventually sign a new two-year deal in April.

He has not been able to live up to his previous hot form, with five goals and three assists across 18 appearances this season.

It was 29 October, 2005, and Manchester United had just been thrashed 4-1 by Middlesbrough at the Riverside.

After the game MUTV, the club’s in-house television channel, spoke to an injured Roy Keane for a segment in which he would analyse the match. And what came next was classic Roy Keane.

The captain criticised most of his team-mates in the interview. Rio Ferdinand, Darren Fletcher, Edwin van der Sar, Alan Smith, John O’Shea and Kieran Richardson in particular were singled out.

Yet this interview has never been seen, because Sir Alex Ferguson ordered that it must not be broadcast and the tape destroyed.

What happened next: Keane’s glittering 12-year career at Old Trafford abruptly ended as his contract was mutually ripped up on 18 November, 2005.

“I want to talk about facts,” Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez famously said in January 2009.

It was the beginning of a long and planned speech about Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

Reading from a piece of paper, Benitez hit out at Ferguson for his treatment of referees, and for his complaints about the fixture list.

The bizarre part was the random nature of it, delivered during the pre-match press conference before a game against Stoke City. Liverpool were not due to play Manchester United until March.

Benitez said he did not “want to play mind games too early,” but it seemed like Ferguson had already won that battle.

What happened next: Liverpool’s form nosedived, first drawing 0-0 at Stoke. They drew four games in a row, and won three of the next 10.

Transfers from Chelsea to Arsenal have become commonplace in recent years. Noni Madueke, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Kai Havertz and Jorginho being just four examples.

But back in 2006 this very much was not the case. No senior player had moved between the clubs for 23 years.

Then came the explosive transfer which saw Ashley Cole move to Stamford Bridge, with William Gallas going in the opposite direction.

A few days after the deal was done, Chelsea released an incredible statement on their official website outlining a number of complaints about Gallas’ behaviour and refusal to play games.

Chelsea claimed that Gallas had threatened to “score an own goal or get himself sent off” if he had to play in the opening match of the 2006-07 season against Manchester City.

What happened next: While Gallas admitted he had asked to leave Chelsea, he denied he had ever threatened to deliberately score an own goal.

Gallas had just won back-to-back Premier League titles under Jose Mourinho, but he didn’t win a single trophy in four years at Arsenal.

In that time Chelsea won the Premier League, three FA Cups and the League Cup.

Wayne Rooney said in his latest podcast episode that Salah was “destroying his legacy at Liverpool” with the Egyptian now fighting for his Anfield future.

Rooney has been there himself – but has proved there can be a way back.

It was October 2010 when Sir Alex Ferguson said in a press conference that Rooney had asked to leave the club.

Then, hours before a Champions League game against Bursaspor, the striker issued his own statement.

Rooney said he had not received assurances “about the continued ability of the club to attract the top players in the world.”

What happened next: In a miraculous u-turn, two days later Rooney signed a new five-year contract at Old Trafford.

For Salah in 2025, read Cristiano Ronaldo in 2022.

Ronaldo had returned to Manchester United to much fanfare in August 2021, scoring twice on his second debut in a 4-1 win over Newcastle United.

Gradually, it turned sour for the Portuguese and on 14 November, 2022 he gave an interview where he said he felt “betrayed” and that “fans should know the truth.”

On manager Erik ten Hag, he added: “I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me.”

Rejecting a contract is one thing, how you go about it is a whole different ball game.

Sterling was only 20 when he told the BBC in April 2015 that he was stalling on signing a new Liverpool contract with remarks which suggested he could win more trophies elsewhere.

A deal worth £100,000-a-week was on the table, and the forward insisted it was “not about the money at all.”

Although he had not expressed that he wanted to quit the club, it was not hard to read between the lines. Liverpool fans didn’t buy it.

A few weeks later reports emerged that he had asked to leave. It led to a frosty final few weeks of the season with the supporters.

What happened next: Sterling joined Manchester City in July for an initial £44m.

He got the trophies he desired, winning four Premier League titles, the FA Cup and five League Cups.

After seven Premier League games without a victory, Leicester City had won four in a row in April 2015.

That was before they came right back down to earth with a bump having lost 3-1 at home to Chelsea. It left them a point above the relegation places and manager Nigel Pearson hit out at the press.

Pearson was attempting to pull off an unlikely escape from relegation. But he felt that some negative comments about his players were not helpful to their cause.

“If you don’t know the answer to that question then I think you are an ostrich,” Pearson told reporter Ian Baker. “Your head must be in the sand.”

Pearson went on to mimic the reporter as he grew increasingly frustrated during the exchange. He would later publicly apologise for the outburst.

What happened next: Leicester won three of their last four matches and ended up being six points clear of the bottom three at the end of the season.

But Pearson had a fractious relationship with Leicester’s owners and he was sacked in the summer.

When Joe Kinnear returned to management with Newcastle in 2008 it was an appointment that came out of nowhere.

Kinnear had been out of work for nearly four years after leaving Nottingham Forest in 2004. Newcastle opted for the former Wimbledon boss as an interim manager after Kevin Keegan’s departure.

Kinnear had only been in charge for two weeks when he laid into Daily Mirror journalist Simon Bird in a press conference. He felt he had been misrepresented in newspaper reports.

The rant lasted five minutes and included over 50 swear words, of many different varieties.

What happened next: Kinnear’s interim stint was eventually made permanent, but he had to leave the club in February 2009 after requiring a heart bypass operation.

He was not finished with Newcastle and was back as director football in June 2013. Eight months later he was gone again.

In November 2018, Southampton striker Charlie Austin lost his cool in a post-match interview after he had seen a goal ruled out for offside.

Southampton went on to draw 1-1 with Watford, so the decision was crucial.

There was no VAR in the Premier League at this point.

“The officials cost us two points,” Austin said. “They said it was offside, that is a joke.

“People go on about VAR, they clearly need help. If this is the best, most-watched league in the world then give them all the help they need. It is a joke.”