'F*ck your mothers & your grandmothers!' - Ribery, Maradona, Mourinho & football's most infamous rants

"Let's set things straight in 2019.

"Let's start with the envious, the angry, the people that have been spawned from a broken condom. F*ck your mothers, your grandmothers and even your family tree.

"I owe you nothing, my success is thanks to god, myself and my family and friends who believed in me. The others were always merely stones in my shoes.

"Secondly, to the pseudo-journalists that always criticised me and my actions (last example, the price of my food!).

"When I give [to charity] (because I've been taught to always give when I receive a lot) why no big national media is talking about it?

"You would rather talk about the vacation that I spent with my family, you watch my every move, what I eat and so on... You’re always here for this kind of futility."

- Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery kicked off 2019 in style by sending Twitter into meltdown with a foul-mouthed tirade against those who criticised his visit to Salt Bae’s restaurant during the Bundesliga winter break.

"I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people. 

"There are some guys who, when they are at home, have a big telescope to see what happens in other families. 

"He speaks, speaks, speaks about Chelsea.”

- In alluding to repulsive insults aimed at former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho stepped so far over the line that the line was a dot to him.

"I didn't injure you on purpose and you know that. If you accuse me again, I'll break both your legs, and that time it will be on purpose."

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic did not take to kindly to Rafael van der Vaart's claim that he had deliberately injured his then Ajax team-mate.

"Go f*ck yourself, you son of a whore."

- Nicolas Anelka reacted negatively to some constructive criticism from coach Raymond Domenech at half-time in France's 2010 World Cup loss to Mexico. He was promptly substituted and then sent home, sparking a strike that went down in football infamy.

"If they want to go to England then in the end they're going to go.

"But they need to understand this: the English live badly, eat badly and their women do not wash their genitalia.

"To them, a bidet is a mystery."

- Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis put diplomacy to one side while warning in-demand attackers Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani against a move to England.

"Deschamps gets by because he always gives 100 per cent but he will never be anything more than a water carrier.

"You can find players like him on every street corner."

- Eric Cantona was never very appreciative of Dider Deschamps' industry in midfield.

Credit to Deschamps, though, he responded to the Manchester United legend's criticism by asking: “How many players can you find on street corners who have won two European Cups?"

"Do you think I would get into a contract with that mob? Jesus Christ, no chance! I wouldn’t sell them a virus."

- Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was initially reluctant to agree to allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to join Real Madrid in 2009...

"Carreras, Santi and Otero are no good. They can die. I mean it: some of the players deserve to die."

- Former Atletico Madrid president Jesus Gil never reacted well to poor performances.

"You were a s**t player, you are a s**t manager. The only reason I have any dealings with you is that somehow you are manager of my country and you're not even Irish, you English c**t.

"You can stick it up your b****cks."

- Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane didn't hold back when it came to explaining his decision to withdraw from Republic of Ireland's squad for the 2002 World Cup to manager Mick McCarthy.

"To those who did not believe: now suck my c**k - I'm sorry ladies for my words - and keep on sucking it.

"I am either white or black. I will never be grey in my life. You treated me as you did. Now keep on sucking c**ks. 

"I am grateful to my players and to the Argentinian people. I thank no one but them. 

"The rest, keep on sucking c**ks."

- Diego Maradona had some very particular advice for his critics in the press after securing Argentina qualification for the 2010 World Cup.

"I am a coach, not an idiot. Two or three players were weak like an empty bottle. These players complain more than play.

"And Strunz! Strunz has been here two years, has played 10 games, is always injured. How dare Strunz?!

"I am tired of defending these players. I always get the blame instead of the players."

- Former Bayern Munich boss Giovanni Trapattoni switched between German, Italian and his own Milanese dialect during one of the most passionate – and amusing – press conference rants in football history.

"No, no, no, I’m not a wheeler-dealer, no. F*ck off. I did not make my name as a f*cking wheeler-dealer. I’m a f*cking football manager."

- Harry Redknapp did not react kindly to being praised for his transfer market acumen during an infamous interview with Sky Sports.

"It is none of your f*cking business. What the f*ck are you going to do? You ain't got the balls to be a f*cking manager. F*cking day off. Do I want your opinion?"

- A small excerpt from an incredibly hostile press conference involving former Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear, who was enraged by a journalist enquiring as to why he had taken off his first official day on the job.

"Off the pitch, Mourinho's already won. In the press room, he's the f*cking chief, the f*cking man... I don't want to compete with him in here."

- After refusing to respond to one outrageous claim after another from then Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola finally bit back ahead of a crunch Clasico in 2011. 

"I will love it if we beat them! Love it!"

- Alex Ferguson's mind games finally got to Kevin Keegan during the closing stages of a dramatic Premier League title race in 1997, with the then Newcastle United manager lashing out at his Manchester United counterpart for questioning whether Leeds would take it easy against the Magpies because of their rivalry with the Red Devils.

“Ranieri? I guess he’s right with what he said. I am very demanding of myself and I have to win to be sure of things. This is why I have won so many trophies in my career. 

"Ranieri, on the other hand has the mentality of someone who doesn’t need to win. 

"He is almost 70 years old. He has won a Supercup and another small trophy and he is too old to change his mentality. He’s old and he hasn’t won anything. 

"I studied Italian five hours a day for many months to ensure I could communicate with the players, media and fans. 

"Ranieri had been in England for five years and still struggled to say ‘good morning’ and ‘good afternoon.'"

- Jose Mourinho didn't consider Claudio Ranieri a worthy rival during their time together in Serie A. Remarkably, the Italian subsequently became a dear friend, albeit only after winning the Premier League with Leicester.

"You have no balls... You are sh*tting yourself because of Jose Mourinho. You can go to hell!"

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic was not a fan of Pep Guardiola's coaching style during their solitary season together at Barcelona.