Don't Be Fooled, Players Have Always Been Divas

Modern Premier League footballers behave like divas all the time.

Remember when Marcus Rashford asked for a statue outside of Old Trafford? LOL. 

What about when Carlos Teves refused to come on as a substitute in a Champions League game against Bayern Munich, and then took an unauthorised holiday break in the middle of the season?

Or, our favourite, when Yaya Toure was famously upset that no one bought him a birthday cake while he was at Manchester City. 

We get it. 

Once you make it pro in the modern game, becoming a diva is part of the job.

As Graeme Souness, Liverpool and Scotland legend aptly said, “The modern-day player is precious and can be diva-like.”

So, the modern-day player is different to the legends that have been and gone.

They aren’t like the good ol’ professionals of the 80s and 90s, right? The footballers of the past had morals, class and decorum.

Well… not quite.

Graeme Souness himself might have paved the way for the modern-day diva.

Just in case you don’t know, Souness was known as one of the best footballers of the 80s.

A super successful captain who is synonymous with hard tackles, consistent performances and a tenacious style.

But given his nickname was “Champagne Charlie”, it comes as no surprise he might have been a diva himself…

Souness revealed to Talksport that he handed in an impromptu transfer request whilst he was Liverpool captain. A team which he led to five Champions League, three European Cups and Four League Cups.

So, what forced the Liverpool star to take such drastic action at the best time in the club's history? It must have been bad…

Well, according to him, he handed in his transfer request after finding out he was not in the starting 11 when he returned from an injury. 

That’s it… no seriously… that’s it. 

Souness was returning to a Liverpool team that had just won ten games on the bounce without him. 

And to add to his outburst, Souness washed down a few gin and tonics after being told that he was dropped, just for good measure. 

When the topic came up on Talksport, presenter Simon Jordan asked Souness about the transfer request fiasco: “How precious are you?”

But the former Liverpool captain says he was completely justified.

Why? “Because they told me I was going to play.”

Don’t get us wrong, Souness had a great career. He stood for values that are often missing in modern football - consistency, effort and leadership.

But this story begs the question… have footballers just always been divas?