Rio Ferdinand accused former England team-mate John Terry of having a "fragile ego" after he took exception to a seemingly innocuous list of all-time greatest Premier League centre-backs.
Manchester United great Ferdinand listed himself first and Chelsea legend Terry fifth during an interview with Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
Ferdinand had his former United centre-back partner Nemanja Vidic second, with both Van Dijk and Jaap Stam ahead of Terry.
The BT Sport pundit said of Terry: "In terms of his longevity at that club, what they won, body on the line, a much better footballer than people give him credit for, could play off his left and right foot."
Terry was seemingly unimpressed by Ferdinand's assessment, though, and took to Instagram to showcase his list of achievements and writing: "Opinions are great but stats don't lie…"
The spat was then taken to Twitter, with Ferdinand making reference to Terry being accused of using racist language towards his brother Anton in 2011.
Terry was found not guilty in court, though he did serve a four-match ban and was fined £200,000 by the Football Association, who deemed he had used "abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour" which "included a reference to the ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race of Anton Ferdinand".
In his post Ferdinand wrote: "@JohnTerry26 The moment one has to start pushing their own records and stats it's really time to start addressing the fragile ego.
"Your (sic) lucky I even put you in the top 5 after the racism case with my brother so be thankful you made it."
Terry took his own shot back, writing in reply: "A fragile Ego is putting yourself at Number 1 @rioferdy5. Thanks for putting me in your top 5."
When accused of ignoring Ferdinand's point on the racism allegations by another user, Terry replied: "Stats don’t lie: not guilty. Addressed it, now what?"
Ferdinand was a six-time Premier League winner with United, while he also lifted the Champions League, Club World Cup, and EFL Cup twice.
Terry's list of achievements with the Blues included five Premier League titles, five FA Cups and three EFL Cups. He also has winners' medals in the Champions League and Europa League, though he did not play in either of Chelsea's winning finals in 2012 and 2013.
'I know my worth and I will show it' – Antony vows to silence Man Utd critics
Manchester United winger Antony has pledged to silence his critics after ending his long wait for a Premier League goal on Saturday, saying: "I know my worth and I will show it."
Antony has struggled since swapping Ajax for Old Trafford in an £86million ($108m) deal last year, only managing five goals and three assists in 52 Premier League appearances.
The Brazilian failed to net in his first 26 league games this season before ending his goal drought against Burnley on Saturday, though Zeki Amdouni's late penalty earned the Clarets a 1-1 draw.
Antony was also roundly criticised for taunting Coventry City's players in the aftermath of United's FA Cup semi-final win over the Sky Blues earlier this month, with the Red Devils inching through on penalties after surrendering a 3-0 lead in a 3-3 draw.
Having struggled to live up to expectations since arriving in England, he was asked by The Athletic whether his price tag had put him under additional pressure, but he says that is not the case.
"It doesn't really impact me because I know my worth," Antony said. "The money is the money and obviously everyone speaks about it, but no one would if the performances were at the top.
"It's just a way of working harder, knowing I can get better, I know my worth and I will show it. The critics are going to exist, and they make me want to work harder and prove it to myself first.
"I'm going to keep working, giving everything for the group because it's most important to have a good mentality and to be focused."
Saturday's draw officially ended United's hopes of a top-four finish, heightening speculation regarding the future of manager Erik ten Hag.
While Antony accepts United have not been good enough this season, he is hopeful they can end the campaign on a high with another FA Cup final against Manchester City to come.
"It's been a very tough year for me and the team, the results are not ones we expected," Antony added.
"I am someone who takes criticism very well and I want to work on it, and I think we all have to focus on finishing the season the best we can.
"We still have five games and we have to think game by game, get better and go into the final in the best way possible to win it."
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
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