10 Most Disrespected British Players in Football History [Ranked]

It’s sometimes easy to forget that footballers are human when watching them in action almost every weekend of the year. They can frustrate us with a poor pass, leave us awestruck with a 90th-minute winner and shape our mood for the week in victory or defeat.

Criticism of players is a murky topic because fans’ passion can lead to a line being crossed. It’s understandable to show frustration if they falter because they are paid the big bucks to help guide your team to success.

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire is a prime example of a player who came under fire in unfair circumstances. Fans and the media ripped into the England international even when he performed well.

Maguire pointed out that footballers aren’t robots and have emotions. The world’s most expensive defender is one of many past and present British players who have arguably been in the firing line unjustifiably.

Here, we rank the top 10 Brits who felt the wrath of fans and press for various reasons, such as underperforming, high transfer fees, and personality. The ‘disrespect’ aimed at players includes those overlooked or whose contributions were unrecognised.

10 Jonny Evans

Nation: Northern Ireland

Sir Alex Ferguson ‘couldn’t believe’ Manchester United sold Jonny Evans to West Bromwich Albion for just £6 million two years after his retirement. The versatile left-footed centre-back was viewed as one of the brightest defensive prospects at Old Trafford, a potential heir to Rio Ferdinand.

The post-Sir Alex era started with many frowned-upon recruitment decisions, and Evans’s sale was one of them. The higher-ups cashed in, refusing to invest their time in the Northern Irish defender with three Premier League title wins under his belt. He proved a point with the Baggies and later Leicester City, part of a Foxes side that won the FA Cup in 2021.

Evans, 36, returned to United in the summer of 2023, initially as a squad player but playing his way into Erik ten Hag’s starting XI. He’s proving that age is just a number with impressive performances, including a Man of the Match display in a 0-0 draw against high-flying Aston Villa (October 6).

9 Steve Bruce

Nation: England

While Evans was dismissed by United, Steve Bruce, one of the club’s all-time greats, was overlooked by England. The courageous Bruce was at the heart of the Red Devils’ defence in the early and mid-1990s when the club won titles and doubles while achieving European glory.

Bruce was a threat going forward, famed for attacking the ball with his head. He managed a remarkable tally of 47 goals in 393 games for United, but that wasn’t enough to convince Bobby Robson or Graham Taylor to call him up for international duty.

By the time Terry Venables rang to propose an England appearance, it was too late for Bruce. He claimed in his autobiography that he didn’t want a sympathy cap. The former Norwich City defender ended his career having only turned out for the nation’s B team on one occasion.

8 Chris Iwelumo

Nation: Scotland

Footballers dream of proudly representing their country and wearing the nation’s badge. Chris Iwelumo was handed his international debut in a World Cup qualifier against Norway in 2008. It was a reward for a fine season with Charlton Athletic, bagging 10 goals in 46 EFL Championship games in the 2007-08 season.

Iwelumo’s dream Scotland debut became a nightmare when he produced an astonishing open-goal miss. The social media pitchforks and the Scottish press’ feather quills were soon out. ‘Was that the worst miss of all time?’ read one headline while the popular Sky Sports morning programme Soccer AM wheeled out their ‘Taxi‘ segment. Iwelumo said:

The Coatbridge-born frontman put his miss behind him to fire 14 goals in 31 Championship games for Wolves. Unfortunately, any feats achieved by Iwelumo after his miss were tainted, and his career has been defined by that moment.

7 Gareth Southgate

Nation: England

It’s not often an Englishman gets to play and coach the Three Lions, and Gareth Southgate did so with pride. There was fair criticism over his brand of football, but he won the hearts of fans across the nation for most of his eight-year reign. Men fled to their local M&S to buy his trademark Euro 2020 waistcoat.

The love for Southgate came after a long period in which the English media maligned him for his penalty shootout miss at Euro 1996. The former Villa defender couldn’t beat Germany goalkeeper Andreas Kopke, and England crashed out in the semi-finals on home soil.

Southgate featured in a Pizza Hut advert that mocked the former 57-cap England international and fellow penalty-missers Chris Waddle and Stuart Pearce. He wore a paper bag over his head and later admitted that he wished he hadn’t participated. The miss stuck with him even during his managerial reign, as his troops fell at the final hurdle of two consecutive European Championships.

6 Gareth Bale

Nation: Wales

Gareth Bale lived a footballing double life at the back end of his Real Madrid career. The five-time Champions League winner struggled with injuries, a deteriorating relationship with his coach, Zinedine Zidane, and a scornful Madridistas fanbase. This wasn’t the case for Wales, whom he captained to World Cup qualification in 2022 for the first time since 1958.

The Spanish media were onto Bale like a flea. They refused to let a player, who’d written his name in Madrid’s history book, breathe in the latter stages of his career. The Welsh wizard had enough of the constant ridicule that came his way and hit back at ‘slanderous’ journalism after one publication called him ‘a parasite’.

Bale left the Santiago Bernabeu in July 2022, jetting off to the United States for a swansong with Los Angeles FC. There were obvious issues with his motivation in the twilight of his playing days, but he deserved more respect in Spain for his contributions to Los Blancos’ success.

5 Jordan Henderson

Nation: England

Mohamed Salah, Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, and Sadio Mane are the names many would consider the heroes of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. The German tactician ended the Reds’ 30-year wait for a league title in 2020 by guiding the Merseysiders to Premier League glory.

Jordan Henderson was captain and lifted the title in the same fashion as he’d galvanised the team for years. The 81-cap England international’s performances went under the radar. He was the beating heart of Klopp’s heavy metal style, doing the hard work while others took the plaudits.

The current Ajax man is a divisive figure, not least because of his controversial move to the Saudi Pro League after leaving Anfield. Yet, his abilities are always, and groundlessly, questioned despite his prominence in Klopp’s title-winning team and a Three Lions side that rose under Southgate in the late 2010s to early 2020s.

4 Harry Maguire

Nation: England

One of British football’s biggest scapegoats, Maguire, paid the price for United, paying a world record £73.3 million fee for a defender in 2019. His stock was sky-high at Leicester City, with talk of Man City’s Pep Guardiola wanting him at the Etihad.

Maguire, 31, has been vilified throughout his Old Trafford career, and the abuse hurled at him has gone overboard. The veteran centre-back’s mother publicly called for an end to the ‘abusive comments’ aimed at a proud Englishman.

It wasn’t just fans who were at fault, though. Roy Keane recently conceded he was too harsh with some of his punditry comments, and Maguire accepted an apology from the iconic ex-United captain.

Maguire is also now a former Red Devils skipper after losing the armband amid his difficult period two years ago. Named in the 2022 World Cup Team of the Tournament, he’s since enjoyed a career renaissance and spoke proudly of how he’s acted in troubling times.

3 David Beckham

Nation: England

Time stood still for every England fan when David Beckham was sent off against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup. The nation’s hopes rested on the Three Lions’ No.7 throughout his career, but a moment of petulance, kicking out at Diego Simeone, led the country to turn its back on the Man United legend.

Beckham was enemy number one on English shores, a damning indication of how volatile football can be. It was, at times, disturbing the level of hate directed at the then-23-year-old winger. A pub hung an effigy, his manager, Glenn Hoddle, blamed him for ‘costing‘ the Three Lions, and he was left ‘clinically depressed‘.

Fortunately for Beckham and British football, the six-time Premier League champion put that dark period behind him. He became unquestionably the most famous footballer in the history of the British game. His name was on every fan’s lips worldwide, and he was a Hollywood-level megastar at Madrid, LA Galaxy, AC Milan, and PSG.

However, fame comes with a price, and the Inter Miami co-owner’s celebrity status often makes fans forget just how talented he was on the pitch. His crossing abilities were second to none. A set-piece mastermind, he was a leader who inspired his teammates.

2 Emile Heskey

Nation: England

The evolution of social media has played a significant role in giving football fans a voice, but it comes with its flaws. There are a plethora of ‘meme’ accounts on X/Twitter that can quickly respond to a player’s downfall with a viral clip or picture. Today’s usual Premier League victims are Maguire, Mykhailo Mudryk and Darwin Nunez.

Emile Heskey was often the brunt of British football fans’ ‘banter’ during his playing career. He was often ‘memed’, such as being called ‘the Chuck Norris of football’ in a song by YouTuber KSI. Such jesting was sometimes lighthearted but unjust given the imposing striker’s influence on his teams, forming a formidable partnership with Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen for Liverpool and England.

The ex-Leicester City frontman was a powerful target man who could bring others into play. He wasn’t the most prolific centre-forward but played with an unselfishness that went without the deserved recognition.

His peers constantly spoke of Heskey’s kind-hearted personality, a prominent fixture in Three Lions teams during his career. This was occasionally met with moans and groans from fans who rolled their eyes at his selection. Heskey spoke about the criticism he faced:

1 Raheem Sterling

Nation: England

With a record of 20 goals and 27 assists in 82 England caps, including three strikes at Euro 2020, Raheem Sterling should have the respect of his country. The pacey winger hasn’t just excelled on international duty, breaking onto the scene at Liverpool with aplomb, he then cemented himself as one of the most important players of the Guardiola era at City.

Yet, 12 years into Sterling’s trophy-laden career, he’s still a scapegoat of British football, lambasted for one bad day at the office while a stellar display goes without recognition. The 29-year-old has won it all domestically and been instrumental in his trophy success, hitting 131 goals in 339 games at the Etihad.

Sterling’s criticism has, at times, gone beyond the pale, receiving abhorrent racial abuse from fans and character assassination from the press. The four-time Premier League champion has advocated against the media’s constant attempt to tarnish his and other players’ reputations.

There’s a reason why Arsenal, Chelsea, City, and Liverpool signed Sterling during his career. When he’s at the peak of his powers, he’s one of the most talented attackers in European football and deserves his flowers.

Statistics in this article are courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 26-10-24.