10 Footballers Who Refused To Play

8. William Gallas

William Gallas Arsenal
Tony Marshall/EMPICS Sport

French defender William Gallas was so determined to secure a move away from Chelsea during the 2006 transfer window that he allegedly threatened to throw the team under Jose Mourinho's carefully parked bus - either through scoring own goals or getting sent off - if he was not allowed to leave before their season opener against Manchester City.

Gallas - whose strop eventually saw him offloaded to Arsenal as makeweight in the big money Ashley Cole deal - denied the extraordinary claims, referring to his ex-paymasters as "very, very petty". However, he could not deny his previous displeasure playing under the Portuguese tactician, nor that his discontent had morphed into a professional protest.

Alas, Gallas might not have been prepared to strike OGs in front of the Stamford Bridge faithful, but he went on strike ahead of Chelsea's pre-season tour of Los Angeles, refusing to travel with the team. Shortly after, he got his wish.

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Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.