Isak-Newcastle Saga: Five other players who have refused to play for their club

The relationship between Newcastle United and Alexander Isak has taken a bitter turn, whereby the player accuses the club of breaking promises and losing his trust, saying: «These relationships cannot continue.»

The club, on the other hand, refuted the statement of Isak and said that no promises were made and emphasizes that he is under contract and that they would welcome him back if he is willing to join the team again.

Read more about the subject: Newcastle United Issue Response on Alexander Isak

Heavy to make a switch to Liverpool this summer, Isak has seen the possibility that this was blocked from now on after the Magpies have rejected an £ 110 million from the Reds. The situation has further complicated every potential transfer, whereby Newcastle is apparently not prepared to sell.

With the relationship that is bitter every day, Sports star Looks at similar cases where players fell with their club.

Raheem Sterling

When Raheem Sterling was a Liverpool player, he refused to join the Reds during their 2015 Pre-season Tour, after he was speculated to become a member of Manchester City.

The English attacker did not report for training and told the then Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers that he was sick. Shortly thereafter he joined City.

During his time in Liverpool, many fans also found that Sterling did not give his 100 percent, and the forced movement was the last nail in the coffin with the relationship between Sterling and Liverpool that became hostile, of which to this day can even be seen.

Carlos Tevez

In 2011, the football world saw a bitter saga between Carlos Tevez and Manchester City. In September of that year, in a Champions League match against Bayern Munich, the then city manager Roberto Mancini started Tevez on the couch.

When the Italian asked Tevez to stand up, the Argentinian flagrant, who raged the Italian. Tevez was suspended for two weeks and he only had to train after returning to England.

Although Mancini extended the olive branch and said that Tevez could join the team with an apology, the last flew back to Argentina.

The Saga lasted about five months and it was only in February 2012 that Tevez admitted his misconduct. In the end it was a happy ending when he came to the team and City a few months later helped to win his first Premier League title.

Thibaut Courtois

Thibaut Courtois, during his time in Chelsea, expressed the desire to move to Spain to be closer to his family and to leave the club of his intention to make a movement.

This was not going well with the club and the relationship between Courtois and Chelsea was quickly soured. The Belgian did not report for training after the summer vacation and, according to Media reports, went under AWOL to put pressure on the club to sell it.

Because Courtois was in the later stages of his contract with the blues, the London Club decided to sell him and work out a deal with Real Madrid for a fee of £ 35 million.

The Belgian later apologized to the fans and admitted that this was not the best to leave the club.

William Gallas

William Gallas’ Saga With Chelsea is one for the centuries and is certainly one of the greatest examples of a relationship between a player and club that has become sour.

Although it was a well -known fact that Gallas wanted a move, Chelsea claimed that the player threatened to score his own goals if his wishes were not achieved. Gallas, however, denied the claims later and accused Chelsea of lack of class.

Chelsea’s explanation was: «He initially refused to play against Liverpool in the FA Cup Semi-final last season to force an increased contract offer. As is now well documented, he refused to add mistakes to the team in Los Angeles.»

Gallas eventually sealed a movement to Arsenal.

Javier Mascherano

In 2010, Javier Mascherano refused to play for Liverpool in a match against Manchester City when the Reds rejected an offer for the player from Barcelona.

Speaking about the Saga, Mascherano said: «There was an agreement between us that if Liverpool received a decent offer for me, I could leave. We had spoken about expanding my contract, but it seemed as if the drivers couldn’t care about me. But Liverpool looked the other way.»

The Argentinian eventually managed to get it in his way and moved to the Catalan club later that year.

Published on August 20, 2025