The pressure involved with any position in football can often spill out when managers are placed as the target of a room full of journalists.<\/p>\n
As Florentino Perez joined the long list of people to have a rant in front of the world\u2019s media, we are looking back at eight of the best press conference outbursts.<\/p>\n
Arsene Wenger\u2019s \u2018Why do you look at me?\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\nArsene Wenger was holding a press conference ahead of a Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich in 2013 but when a journalist asked a seemingly innocent question about a possible contract extension, the Arsenal boss took issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the wrong information. I think I worked for 16 years here in England, and I deserve a bit more credit than wrong information where only one intention is to harm.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s good information, who comes from nowhere, it\u2019s all right, but this is the wrong information who comes from nowhere, and is completely wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wenger then looked over to Sam Wallace and unprompted, said, \u201cI look at you, not because you give information. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s you. I don\u2019t know where information comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wallace, confused, replies \u201cme?\u201d<\/p>\n
Wenger asks in return: \u201cYeah. Why do you look at me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Wallace: \u201cBecause it\u2019s your press conference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fair point.<\/p>\n
Giovanni Trapattoni’s broken German outburst<\/strong><\/h2>\nGiovanni Trapattoni\u2019s German was not perfect but nobody who left the Bayern Munich press conference room in March 1998 was unsure of the message he was trying to impart.<\/p>\n
The German club\u2019s form had collapsed under the Italian and three successive defeats had the knives out. His own players spoke about a breakdown in a relationship between players and coach and Trapattoni took exception to that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese players complain more than they play!\u201d he said as he banged the table with his fist. \u201cStrunz! Strunz has been here two years, played 10 games, is always injured! How dare Strunz!\u201d<\/p>\n
Trapattoni called his players \u201cweak like a bottle empty\u201d before shouting \u201cIch habe fertig\u201d, meaning \u201cI have ready\u201d, when he intended to mean \u201cI have finished\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are certain situations in life when you need to raise your voice, and that press conference was one of those occasions,\u201d he later said in 2011.<\/p>\n
Strunz didn\u2019t mind though, later crediting that outburst with giving him the required notoriety for a media career.<\/p>\n
Rafa Benitez\u2019s facts<\/strong><\/h2>\nWhile Kevin Keegan is missing from this list due to that being an interview rather than a press conference, another one of Alex Ferguson\u2019s mind game victims has made it.<\/p>\n
Fergie suggested that Rafael Benitez\u2019s Liverpool side would choke under the pressure and the Spaniard took the bait.<\/p>\n
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and began to read, committing an act of reputational Seppuku.<\/p>\n
Benitez spoke as we all do when you are in the midst of an argument and run out of points to make. He kept saying \u201cfacts\u201d over and over again until the word had lost all meaning.<\/p>\n
Ferguson was presumably sitting at home with a smile from ear to ear and unsurprisingly, Liverpool did choke and Manchester United won the league.<\/p>\n
Eric Cantona\u2019s seagulls analogy<\/strong><\/h2>\nAfter serving a four-month ban for kung-fu kicking a Crystal Palace fan, Eric Cantona held a press conference but instead of apologising or explaining his actions, the Frenchman said: \u201cWhen the seagulls follow the trawler, it\u2019s because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n
He then got up and left.<\/p>\n
Cantona then produced the same trick at a 2019 FIFA Awards do when he said: \u201cAs flies to wanton boys, we are for the gods. They kill us for their sport. Soon the science will not only be able to slow down the aging of the cells \u2013 soon the science will fix the cells to the state. And so we will become eternal.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly accidents, crimes, wars will still kill us, but unfortunately crimes and wars will multiply.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love football. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
No, Eric. Thank you<\/em>.<\/p>\nAvram Grant and his monosyllabic answers<\/strong><\/h2>\nAvram Grant was not exactly in a chatty mood in April 2008.<\/p>\n
Despite Chelsea beating Everton and keeping themselves in the title race, Grant produced a five-minute and 39-second press conference that included just 137 words, of which eight were no, one was yes and 21 were \u2018I don\u2019t know.\u2019<\/p>\n
He also said \u201cI have nothing to say\u201d five times which was apparent even before he said it.<\/p>\n
Florentino Perez\u2019s outburst<\/strong><\/h2>\nIt\u2019s a new entry on the list as Florentino Perez produced an hour-long rant after a tense fortnight at Real Madrid.<\/p>\n
Having lost La Liga and seen his players literally knocking each other out, Perez announced a press conference in which many predicted he was going to retire.<\/p>\n
He did anything but.<\/p>\n
He called elections, something that Real Madrid\u2019s laws mean only he can realistically run for. He called out journalists by name. He called them all ugly. He said players fighting was normal and happened every season. He called Barcelona cheats.<\/p>\n
He did everything but take any proportion of blame for the mess his club had become.<\/p>\n
After the hour, a shocked media room wondered what exactly was the point of any of that<\/strong>.<\/p>\n![\"Fede](\"https:\/\/d3nfwcxd527z59.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/08104735\/Fede-Valverde-real-madrid.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Real Madrid writers run out of ideas and resort to violence in latest soap opera<\/strong><\/p>\nNigel Pearson\u2019s ostrich challenge<\/strong><\/h2>\nUpsetting Nigel Pearson at the best of times was the work of a person with a death wish, but doing so in the middle of a relegation scrap was particularly unwise.<\/p>\n
After a loss to Chelsea, Pearson said Leicester were battling against \u201ccriticism and negativity\u201d something that journalist Ian Baker sought to clarify.<\/p>\n
Baker: \u201cWhat criticism are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearson: \u201cHave you been on holiday for six months? Have you been away for six months?\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker: \u201cNo, I am just not quite sure what specific criticism you are referring to?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearson: \u201cI think you must have either your head in the clouds, or been away on holiday, or reporting on a different team, because if you don\u2019t know the answer to that question . . your question is absolutely unbelievable, the fact you do not understand where I am coming from. If you don\u2019t know the answer to that question then I think you are an ostrich. Your head must be in the sand. Is your head in the sand? Are you flexible enough to get your head in the sand? My suspicion would be no.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker: \u201cProbably not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearson: \u201cI can, you can\u2019t. You can\u2019t. Listen you have been here often enough and for you to ask that question, you are either being very, very silly or you are being absolutely stupid, one of the two because for you to ask that question, I am sorry son, you are daft.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearson has yet to prove whether he can in fact put his head in the sand like an ostrich.<\/p>\n
Joe Kinnear\u2019s sweary outburst<\/strong><\/h2>\nKinnear: \u201cWhich one is Simon Bird?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bird: \u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kinnear: \u201cYou\u2019re a c***.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bird: \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe Kinnear\u2019s Newcastle United press conference is the stuff of legend.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s September 2008. Joe Kinnear has just been appointed Newcastle manager and rather than spend his first press conference building hope for the fans, he attacked the media with an incredible sweary rant.<\/p>\n
He took issue with the reporting of Simon Bird who was the Daily Mirror\u2019s north-east football writer. He then went after Niall Hickman, football writer for the Express, telling him \u201cYou are out of order. Absolutely f**king out of order.\u201d<\/p>\n
But to be fair to the journalists, they did not just sit there and say \u201cyes Mr. Kinnear, sorry Mr Kinnear.\u201d they came back with retorts of their own, accusing Kinnear of never actually reading their copy which only served to set him off further.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is none of your f***ing business. What the f**k are you going to do? You ain\u2019t got the balls to be a f**king manager.\u201d<\/p>\n
And you know it\u2019s bad when someone who works for The Sun is suggesting it\u2019s all gone a bit too far.<\/p>\n
Newcastle\u2019s press officer tried to wrestle it back to football and even attempted to make it off the record; unsurprisingly, that did not go down well.<\/p>\n
Kinnear swore over 50 times in five minutes, making it one of the most memorable press conferences of all time.<\/p>\n
READ NEXT: Six of the closest races for Champions League qualification this season<\/strong><\/p>\nTRY A QUIZ: Can you name every stadium to have hosted Premier League football?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Giovanni Trapattoni\u2019s German was not perfect but nobody who left the Bayern Munich press conference room in March 1998 was unsure of the message he was trying to impart.<\/p>\n
The German club\u2019s form had collapsed under the Italian and three successive defeats had the knives out. His own players spoke about a breakdown in a relationship between players and coach and Trapattoni took exception to that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese players complain more than they play!\u201d he said as he banged the table with his fist. \u201cStrunz! Strunz has been here two years, played 10 games, is always injured! How dare Strunz!\u201d<\/p>\n
Trapattoni called his players \u201cweak like a bottle empty\u201d before shouting \u201cIch habe fertig\u201d, meaning \u201cI have ready\u201d, when he intended to mean \u201cI have finished\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are certain situations in life when you need to raise your voice, and that press conference was one of those occasions,\u201d he later said in 2011.<\/p>\n
Strunz didn\u2019t mind though, later crediting that outburst with giving him the required notoriety for a media career.<\/p>\n
Rafa Benitez\u2019s facts<\/strong><\/h2>\nWhile Kevin Keegan is missing from this list due to that being an interview rather than a press conference, another one of Alex Ferguson\u2019s mind game victims has made it.<\/p>\n
Fergie suggested that Rafael Benitez\u2019s Liverpool side would choke under the pressure and the Spaniard took the bait.<\/p>\n
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and began to read, committing an act of reputational Seppuku.<\/p>\n
Benitez spoke as we all do when you are in the midst of an argument and run out of points to make. He kept saying \u201cfacts\u201d over and over again until the word had lost all meaning.<\/p>\n
Ferguson was presumably sitting at home with a smile from ear to ear and unsurprisingly, Liverpool did choke and Manchester United won the league.<\/p>\n
Eric Cantona\u2019s seagulls analogy<\/strong><\/h2>\nAfter serving a four-month ban for kung-fu kicking a Crystal Palace fan, Eric Cantona held a press conference but instead of apologising or explaining his actions, the Frenchman said: \u201cWhen the seagulls follow the trawler, it\u2019s because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n
He then got up and left.<\/p>\n
Cantona then produced the same trick at a 2019 FIFA Awards do when he said: \u201cAs flies to wanton boys, we are for the gods. They kill us for their sport. Soon the science will not only be able to slow down the aging of the cells \u2013 soon the science will fix the cells to the state. And so we will become eternal.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly accidents, crimes, wars will still kill us, but unfortunately crimes and wars will multiply.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love football. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
No, Eric. Thank you<\/em>.<\/p>\nAvram Grant and his monosyllabic answers<\/strong><\/h2>\nAvram Grant was not exactly in a chatty mood in April 2008.<\/p>\n
Despite Chelsea beating Everton and keeping themselves in the title race, Grant produced a five-minute and 39-second press conference that included just 137 words, of which eight were no, one was yes and 21 were \u2018I don\u2019t know.\u2019<\/p>\n
He also said \u201cI have nothing to say\u201d five times which was apparent even before he said it.<\/p>\n
Florentino Perez\u2019s outburst<\/strong><\/h2>\nIt\u2019s a new entry on the list as Florentino Perez produced an hour-long rant after a tense fortnight at Real Madrid.<\/p>\n
Having lost La Liga and seen his players literally knocking each other out, Perez announced a press conference in which many predicted he was going to retire.<\/p>\n
He did anything but.<\/p>\n
He called elections, something that Real Madrid\u2019s laws mean only he can realistically run for. He called out journalists by name. He called them all ugly. He said players fighting was normal and happened every season. He called Barcelona cheats.<\/p>\n
He did everything but take any proportion of blame for the mess his club had become.<\/p>\n
After the hour, a shocked media room wondered what exactly was the point of any of that<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Real Madrid writers run out of ideas and resort to violence in latest soap opera<\/strong><\/p>\nNigel Pearson\u2019s ostrich challenge<\/strong><\/h2>\nUpsetting Nigel Pearson at the best of times was the work of a person with a death wish, but doing so in the middle of a relegation scrap was particularly unwise.<\/p>\n
After a loss to Chelsea, Pearson said Leicester were battling against \u201ccriticism and negativity\u201d something that journalist Ian Baker sought to clarify.<\/p>\n
Baker: \u201cWhat criticism are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearson: \u201cHave you been on holiday for six months? Have you been away for six months?\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker: \u201cNo, I am just not quite sure what specific criticism you are referring to?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearson: \u201cI think you must have either your head in the clouds, or been away on holiday, or reporting on a different team, because if you don\u2019t know the answer to that question . . your question is absolutely unbelievable, the fact you do not understand where I am coming from. If you don\u2019t know the answer to that question then I think you are an ostrich. Your head must be in the sand. Is your head in the sand? Are you flexible enough to get your head in the sand? My suspicion would be no.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker: \u201cProbably not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearson: \u201cI can, you can\u2019t. You can\u2019t. Listen you have been here often enough and for you to ask that question, you are either being very, very silly or you are being absolutely stupid, one of the two because for you to ask that question, I am sorry son, you are daft.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearson has yet to prove whether he can in fact put his head in the sand like an ostrich.<\/p>\n
Joe Kinnear\u2019s sweary outburst<\/strong><\/h2>\nKinnear: \u201cWhich one is Simon Bird?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bird: \u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kinnear: \u201cYou\u2019re a c***.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bird: \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe Kinnear\u2019s Newcastle United press conference is the stuff of legend.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s September 2008. Joe Kinnear has just been appointed Newcastle manager and rather than spend his first press conference building hope for the fans, he attacked the media with an incredible sweary rant.<\/p>\n
He took issue with the reporting of Simon Bird who was the Daily Mirror\u2019s north-east football writer. He then went after Niall Hickman, football writer for the Express, telling him \u201cYou are out of order. Absolutely f**king out of order.\u201d<\/p>\n
But to be fair to the journalists, they did not just sit there and say \u201cyes Mr. Kinnear, sorry Mr Kinnear.\u201d they came back with retorts of their own, accusing Kinnear of never actually reading their copy which only served to set him off further.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is none of your f***ing business. What the f**k are you going to do? You ain\u2019t got the balls to be a f**king manager.\u201d<\/p>\n
And you know it\u2019s bad when someone who works for The Sun is suggesting it\u2019s all gone a bit too far.<\/p>\n
Newcastle\u2019s press officer tried to wrestle it back to football and even attempted to make it off the record; unsurprisingly, that did not go down well.<\/p>\n
Kinnear swore over 50 times in five minutes, making it one of the most memorable press conferences of all time.<\/p>\n
READ NEXT: Six of the closest races for Champions League qualification this season<\/strong><\/p>\nTRY A QUIZ: Can you name every stadium to have hosted Premier League football?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After serving a four-month ban for kung-fu kicking a Crystal Palace fan, Eric Cantona held a press conference but instead of apologising or explaining his actions, the Frenchman said: \u201cWhen the seagulls follow the trawler, it\u2019s because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n
He then got up and left.<\/p>\n
Cantona then produced the same trick at a 2019 FIFA Awards do when he said: \u201cAs flies to wanton boys, we are for the gods. They kill us for their sport. Soon the science will not only be able to slow down the aging of the cells \u2013 soon the science will fix the cells to the state. And so we will become eternal.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly accidents, crimes, wars will still kill us, but unfortunately crimes and wars will multiply.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love football. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
No, Eric. Thank you<\/em>.<\/p>\n Avram Grant was not exactly in a chatty mood in April 2008.<\/p>\n Despite Chelsea beating Everton and keeping themselves in the title race, Grant produced a five-minute and 39-second press conference that included just 137 words, of which eight were no, one was yes and 21 were \u2018I don\u2019t know.\u2019<\/p>\n He also said \u201cI have nothing to say\u201d five times which was apparent even before he said it.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a new entry on the list as Florentino Perez produced an hour-long rant after a tense fortnight at Real Madrid.<\/p>\n Having lost La Liga and seen his players literally knocking each other out, Perez announced a press conference in which many predicted he was going to retire.<\/p>\n He did anything but.<\/p>\n He called elections, something that Real Madrid\u2019s laws mean only he can realistically run for. He called out journalists by name. He called them all ugly. He said players fighting was normal and happened every season. He called Barcelona cheats.<\/p>\n He did everything but take any proportion of blame for the mess his club had become.<\/p>\n After the hour, a shocked media room wondered what exactly was the point of any of that<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Real Madrid writers run out of ideas and resort to violence in latest soap opera<\/strong><\/p>\n Upsetting Nigel Pearson at the best of times was the work of a person with a death wish, but doing so in the middle of a relegation scrap was particularly unwise.<\/p>\n After a loss to Chelsea, Pearson said Leicester were battling against \u201ccriticism and negativity\u201d something that journalist Ian Baker sought to clarify.<\/p>\n Baker: \u201cWhat criticism are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n Pearson: \u201cHave you been on holiday for six months? Have you been away for six months?\u201d<\/p>\n Baker: \u201cNo, I am just not quite sure what specific criticism you are referring to?\u201d<\/p>\n Pearson: \u201cI think you must have either your head in the clouds, or been away on holiday, or reporting on a different team, because if you don\u2019t know the answer to that question . . your question is absolutely unbelievable, the fact you do not understand where I am coming from. If you don\u2019t know the answer to that question then I think you are an ostrich. Your head must be in the sand. Is your head in the sand? Are you flexible enough to get your head in the sand? My suspicion would be no.\u201d<\/p>\n Baker: \u201cProbably not.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearson: \u201cI can, you can\u2019t. You can\u2019t. Listen you have been here often enough and for you to ask that question, you are either being very, very silly or you are being absolutely stupid, one of the two because for you to ask that question, I am sorry son, you are daft.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearson has yet to prove whether he can in fact put his head in the sand like an ostrich.<\/p>\n Kinnear: \u201cWhich one is Simon Bird?\u201d<\/p>\n Bird: \u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n Kinnear: \u201cYou\u2019re a c***.\u201d<\/p>\n Bird: \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe Kinnear\u2019s Newcastle United press conference is the stuff of legend.<\/p>\n It\u2019s September 2008. Joe Kinnear has just been appointed Newcastle manager and rather than spend his first press conference building hope for the fans, he attacked the media with an incredible sweary rant.<\/p>\n He took issue with the reporting of Simon Bird who was the Daily Mirror\u2019s north-east football writer. He then went after Niall Hickman, football writer for the Express, telling him \u201cYou are out of order. Absolutely f**king out of order.\u201d<\/p>\n But to be fair to the journalists, they did not just sit there and say \u201cyes Mr. Kinnear, sorry Mr Kinnear.\u201d they came back with retorts of their own, accusing Kinnear of never actually reading their copy which only served to set him off further.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is none of your f***ing business. What the f**k are you going to do? You ain\u2019t got the balls to be a f**king manager.\u201d<\/p>\n And you know it\u2019s bad when someone who works for The Sun is suggesting it\u2019s all gone a bit too far.<\/p>\n Newcastle\u2019s press officer tried to wrestle it back to football and even attempted to make it off the record; unsurprisingly, that did not go down well.<\/p>\n Kinnear swore over 50 times in five minutes, making it one of the most memorable press conferences of all time.<\/p>\n READ NEXT: Six of the closest races for Champions League qualification this season<\/strong><\/p>\n TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every stadium to have hosted Premier League football?<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\nAvram Grant and his monosyllabic answers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Florentino Perez\u2019s outburst<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\nNigel Pearson\u2019s ostrich challenge<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Joe Kinnear\u2019s sweary outburst<\/strong><\/h2>\n