Players who wield inordinate amounts of power at their club?

[Fortitude]

'Lionel Messi runs Barcelona' widely accepted as truth and by the way the higher ups step on eggshells there in order not to displease him, it's hard to argue against him being the Godfather.

So with Lionel removed, who else that is currently active do you believe has any serious power of influence at their club?

Historically, Alfredo Di Stefano was a god at Real Madrid deciding who he would and would not work with and famously having Didi, a legend in his own right, carted off for daring to try and control any part of midfield.

Johan Cruyff was said to run things in conjunction with Michaels at Ajax and basically had Barcelona at his feet (much to their benefit).

Franz Beckenbauer simular at both Bayern and the mannschaft. In fact, he and Cruyff, given their influence just transitioned straight over into management and further, probably top this for all-time.

Anyway, who else is there outside of the aforementioned? Would be great to hear some stories to go along with the names, or even some names who would normally not get a look in because of these guys.

What was Platini like at Juve, for example?

 

[David De Gea]

Kepa

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Neymar. Sister's birthday annually food to miss even CL games!

 

[Mr Smith]

Neymar. Sister's birthday annually food to miss even CL games!

Would argue Mbappe holds much more power at PSG than Neymar.

 

[Ish]

Would argue Mbappe holds much more power at PSG than Neymar.

Or (star) player power, in general, over there at PSG is/was out of control. Think maybe it’s become better since Tuchel arrived. But I speak with little knowledge on it tbf.

 

[11101]

Totti at Roma

Rooney here towards the end

Terry & Co at Chelsea

 

[roonster09]

I don't think anyone comes close to Messi and how much influence he has on Barca and Argentina. Makes sense too.

 

[Wilt]

I’d say any player on a massive wage contract holds an element of power.

Bringing it closer to home, Rooney (£300k per week) throwing his balls out of the pram ‘till he became the Prems highest paid player back In 2014. The ongoing saga of De Gea (£375k pwk) running his contract down. Then there’s Pogba (£290k pwk) with no one knowing if he’ll bother to perform or not.

Slightly off topic, I think we can all agree it‘s the agents who hold the real power.

 

[Sassy Colin]

How long before someone has a rant at Pogba?

 

[Posh Red]

How long before someone has a rant at Pogba?

Less than the time it took you to type this post it seems

 

[NewGlory]

Messi at Barca is all in his own category. He runs that club, there are no other comparable examples. Not even Cristiano at Real. And obviously Fergie didn't allow anybody to even think about themselves in that way. Ever.

 

[DVG7]

It’s the way it should be. If a player is the most valuable asset at the club, he has a right to make his voice heard so long as it’s for the right reasons. It’s like any job really, if you’re performing at an exceptional level, your voice matters. This would be like a lawyer who almost never loses a case And brings a firm massive amounts of money, having a pop at the way the firm was run. No way the partners just cut loose.

 

[Gio]

Mancini ran the show at Sampdoria - identifying players to sign, recruiting managers, etc.

 

[Jibbs]

In recent years, United have given in to player power on three occasions and it has affected the club in a negative way. Rooney should have been sold in 2012, De Gea should not have been awarded such a huge contract and asked to leave, similarly Pogba should have been sold last summer when he made his intentions to leave public.

 

[Dancfc]

Every successful club has player power to a certain degree, even United under Ferguson.

You don't win titles with submissive choir boys.

 

[tjb]

In recent years, United have gave in to player power on three occasions and it has affected the club in a negative way. Rooney should have been sold in 2012, De Gea should not have been awarded such a huge contract and asked to leave, similarly Pogba should have been sold last summer when he made his intentions to leave public.

The problem was, we gave power to the wrong players. Rooney was the only player that deserved it. DDG at 300k plus a week is ridiculous....that wage is ridiculous for any keeper. We really should have let him go and given Romero a season or two between the sticks. We would still have been where we are, and would have used Henderson as our no.1 by this point. Pogba is even worse. For the past two years specifically, his absence of appearances and form has led us to the same position we would have been with him. He should have been sold a while ago. His influence on gameplay is far more limited than people would expect of his wages. We could have sold him at a cost that would have enabled us to buy at least two quality players ( Fernandes was just bought for 40-50m), maybe even a solid bench player in addition.

 

[momo83]

John Terry

 

[TheReligion]

Suarez. He got the whole of Liverpool FC to turn into massive racists before he fecked off to Barca.

 

[Skills]

I’d say any player on a massive wage contract holds an element of power.

Bringing it closer to home, Rooney (£300k per week) throwing his balls out of the pram ‘till he became the Prems highest paid player back In 2014. The ongoing saga of De Gea (£375k pwk) running his contract down. Then there’s Pogba (£290k pwk) with no one knowing if he’ll bother to perform or not.

Slightly off topic, I think we can all agree it‘s the agents who hold the real power.

I'd argue its value more than wage. Players aren't just employees, they're assets. Any player that is worth in the £100m+ range will hold influence over his club

 

[harms]

What was Platini like at Juve, for example?

I don't think that it was comparable to those examples. Although of course he was a very important figure and his introduction required some changes. For example, Platini was pretty shit in the first half a season, but then Agnelli famously said "it's pointless to have Platini, when the game runs through Furino's feet". Furino was Juve's captain at the time, a legendary holding midfielder without much finesse or playmaking traits to be honest, and also ageing. Still, Furino was benched, Bonini was put on for him and Platini ended the season as a league's top scorer. Lately Agnelli would catch him in the dressing room smoking, but Platini would point out that he shouldn't be worrying about it, what he should worry about is that Bonini doesn't start smoking, as he does all the running for him.

All in all, sounds more anecdotic than machiavellian, especially since we can look at the transfers, like Juve selling Boniek in 1985 (he was a huge fan and said that Boniek would make any striker a capocannoniere; funnily enough, it was Boniek's new teammate Pruzzo who won it the next year) or Juve signing Laudrup as Platini's replacement while Michel was still around.

 

[harms]

It's funny, because the first example that came to my head was Maradona at Napoli, but after some thinking I think that it's probably a bad one. They haven't let him go when he asked them to — although I'm not sure if Barca would do the same for Messi until he goes back to Argentina aged 38. Aside from that, he could do everything he wanted. Those were probably the most intense player/fans relationships ever and you don't want to go against the fans.

 

[Peyroteo]

Barcelona right now is an extreme case where Messi has enough power to change who gets elected president of the club... that's pretty much unprecedented. It's not his fault he has that power but it is what it is.

Player power is a must at every top club though, the pillars of the dressing room should always be consulted before the club makes any sort of big move and they should trust the players' opinions.

 

[RoyH1]

Steven Gerrard and Raul back in their days for Liverpool and Real Madrid

 

[Fortitude]

I don't think that it was comparable to those examples. Although of course he was a very important figure and his introduction required some changes. For example, Platini was pretty shit in the first half a season, but then Agnelli famously said "it's pointless to have Platini, when the game runs through Furino's feet". Furino was Juve's captain at the time, a legendary holding midfielder without much finesse or playmaking traits to be honest, and also ageing. Still, Furino was benched, Bonini was put on for him and Platini ended the season as a league's top scorer. Lately Agnelli would catch him in the dressing room smoking, but Platini would point out that he shouldn't be worrying about it, what he should worry about is that Bonini doesn't start smoking, as he does all the running for him.

All in all, sounds more anecdotic than machiavellian, especially since we can look at the transfers, like Juve selling Boniek in 1985 (he was a huge fan and said that Boniek would make any striker a capocannoniere; funnily enough, it was Boniek's new teammate Pruzzo who won it the next year) or Juve signing Laudrup as Platini's replacement while Michel was still around.

Cool lore

It's funny, because the first example that came to my head was Maradona at Napoli, but after some thinking I think that it's probably a bad one. They haven't let him go when he asked them to — although I'm not sure if Barca would do the same for Messi until he goes back to Argentina aged 38. Aside from that, he could do everything he wanted. Those were probably the most intense player/fans relationships ever and you don't want to go against the fans.

I was going to mention Maradona, but Napoli of that time, and Maradona himself were just insanity personified, like something out a movie. Don't know if qualifies as 'football'.

Barcelona right now is an extreme case where Messi has enough power to change who gets elected president of the club... that's pretty much unprecedented. It's not his fault he has that power but it is what it is.

Player power is a must at every top club though, the pillars of the dressing room should always be consulted before the club makes any sort of big move and they should trust the players' opinions.

No doubt, but there are times when top dogs become more than just that - to the point their influence is overwhelming, which is more what this thread is reserved for.

Of course, these players earned the right via amazing performance and storied success, but it is a fascinating phenomena in itself.

 

[Jibbs]

Ronaldo would have enjoyed the same power at United had he stayed here, won us couple more Champions Leagues and 3,4 additional league titles. We'd probably be unveiling his statue outside Old Trafford.

 

[United58]

Ronaldo would have enjoyed the same power at United had he stayed here, won us couple more Champions Leagues and 3,4 additional league titles. We'd probably be unveiling his statue outside Old Trafford.

The saddest thing about losing Ronaldo is that we were actually far better than Madrid in 2009 - if only he hadn't had that desire to leave, or stayed until his late 20s like Henry

 

[ariveded]

Actually every top level player nowadays. Contracts have literally no true meanings. A player with new contact, 6 months later could ask to leave club or even another new contract...

 

[BBRBB]

Or (star) player power, in general, over there at PSG is/was out of control. Think maybe it’s become better since Tuchel arrived. But I speak with little knowledge on it tbf.

I don't know about that. This weekend we saw that Mbappé had no agenda about when he could be subbed off and he would receive serious backlash if he showed discontent. There's been a million speculations about wishes from Neymar at PSG of which almost none came to fruition. Few signs of real power.

Overall the current process at PSG is to further affirm the strength of the institution over player power. Neymar and Mbappé will have power over negociations starting this summer but it's unlikely to translate into something positive if they don't collaborate with the PSG interests.

 

[Schneckerl]

Messi does have a lot of power, but I'm not convinced that he uses it a lot. Up until now at least.

For me, Cruyff is the prime example. He was a person who loved to be involved in everything and he had the means to do it.

 

[Green_Red]

I think clubs and managers allow their players to voice their opinions and seem important so long as they are bringing success to the football club. Once they're past their sell by date they are brown bread. We've seen a couple here over the years.

 

[Ish]

I don't know about that. This weekend we saw that Mbappé had no agenda about when he could be subbed off and he would receive serious backlash if he showed discontent. There's been a million speculations about wishes from Neymar at PSG of which almost none came to fruition. Few signs of real power.

Overall the current process at PSG is to further affirm the strength of the institution over player power. Neymar and Mbappé will have power over negociations starting this summer but it's unlikely to translate into something positive if they don't collaborate with the PSG interests.

Yeah, like I stated in my post - I speak from a point of ignorance (just an opinion, or a perception). I think when they started the project, there was definite player power, but its been getting better gradually, over time. I've seen a change since Tuchel came in over Emery as well - Tuchel seems to have much more power, and he's gone about building the squad a bit more "modestly" as well - trying to balance the "star" power with players who have a strong team ethic etc.

But yeah, I probably have very little clue about what I am talking about anyway