Carlos Alberto Tévez (born Carlos Alberto Martínez on 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City. He has previously played for Boca Juniors, Corinthians, West Ham United and Manchester United. He transferred to Manchester City from United in the 2009 summer transfer window, becoming the first player to move between the two rival clubs since Terry Cooke in 1999. His energy and goal scoring rate has since made him an indispensable player for the club in the eyes of fellow players and media alike.

His was promoted to captain at the beginning of the 2010–11 season by manager Roberto Mancini. In 2011, Tévez sought a transfer away from Manchester, citing family reasons and Sergio Agüero was drafted in as a replacement. However he remains a City player after his family moved back to Manchester with manager Roberto Mancini believing Tévez will stay for the foreseeable future. His career has been dogged by a long-standing relationship with Media Sports Investments, the company which owned the rights of Tévez, and several other players and coaches. This eventually resulted in West Ham United being fined over issues regarding third-party ownership. He has made 59 appearances for the Argentina national team, scoring 13 goals.

Mario Barwuah Balotelli (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmaːrjo baloˈtɛlli]; born 12 August 1990) is an Italian footballer of Ghanaian descent who plays as a striker for Manchester City and the Italian national team. He started his professional football career at Lumezzane and played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at FC Barcelona, and subsequently joining Internazionale in 2007. Inter manager Roberto Mancini brought Balotelli into the first team, but when Mancini left, Balotelli's disciplinary record fell away. He had a strained relationship with new head coach José Mourinho and was suspended from Inter's first team in January 2009 after a number of disciplinary problems.

His problems deepened in March 2010 when he came under heavy criticism by Inter fans after he appeared on the Italian TV show Striscia la notizia, wearing an A.C. Milan jersey. This damaged the prospect of him having a long career at Inter, but he did make several appearances after that. With doubts over his career at Inter, former coach Roberto Mancini at Manchester City gave Balotelli a fresh chance at a new club. He joined Manchester City in August 2010, where his performances and off-field activities have continued to be controversial and enigmatic. Balotelli earned his first cap for the Italian national team on 10 August 2010, in a friendly match against the Côte d'Ivoire thus making him the first black player to play for the Italian national football team.

Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.

Rooney made his senior international debut in 2003 becoming the youngest player to represent England (a record later broken by Theo Walcott). He is England's youngest ever goalscorer. He played at UEFA Euro 2004 and scored four goals, briefly becoming the competition's youngest goalscorer. Rooney featured at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and is widely regarded as his country's best player. He has won the England Player of the Year award twice, in 2008 and 2009. As of September 2011, he has won 73 international caps and scored 28 goals. Along with David Beckham, Rooney is the most red carded player for England, having been sent off twice.

Aged nine, Rooney joined the youth team of Everton, for whom he made his professional debut in 2002. He spent two seasons at the Merseyside club, before moving to Manchester United for £25.6 million in the 2004 summer transfer window. The same year, Rooney acquired the nickname "Wazza". Since then, with Rooney in the team, United have won the Premier League four times, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and two League Cups. He also holds two runner-up medals from both the Premier League and the Champions League. In April of the 2011–12 season Rooney scored his 180th goal, making him United's fourth highest goal-scorer of all time.

Paul Scholes ( /ˈpɔːl ˈskoʊlz/; born 16 November 1974) is an English footballer, a one-club man who has played his entire professional career for Manchester United.

Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football whilst at school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being spotted by a scout visiting his school, signing for them as an apprentice on leaving school in 1991, and turning professional in 1993. He made his full debut for United in the 1994–95 season. He went on to play a key part in the club's Treble-winning success in the 1998-99 season, and has won ten Premier League, three FA Cup and two UEFA Champions League winners medals.

Scholes represented the England national team from 1997 to 2004, gaining 66 caps and participating in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, as well as the UEFA Euro 2000 and Euro 2004 tournaments.

Cited by some of his footballing peers as one of the best midfielders of his generation, Scholes has also been criticised for his discliplinary record, amassing over 120 bookings in all competitions during his career and being sent off ten times.

Joseph Anthony "Joey" Barton ( /ˈdʒoʊiː ˈbɑːtən/; born 2 September 1982) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League.

Barton was born in and raised in Huyton, Merseyside. He began his football career with Manchester City in 2002 after working his way through their youth system. His appearances in the senior side gradually increased over the following five years and he made more than 150 for the club. He earned his first cap for the England national team in February 2007, despite his criticism of some of the team's players. He then joined Newcastle United for a fee of £5.8 million in July 2007. After 4 years with the Magpies, he joined his current club Queens Park Rangers in August 2011.

His career and life have been marked by numerous controversial incidents and disciplinary problems and he has been convicted twice on charges of violence. On 20 May 2008 he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for common assault and affray during an incident in Liverpool City Centre. Barton served 77 days of this prison term, being released on 28 July 2008. On 1 July 2008 he was also given a four months suspended sentence after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm on former teammate Ousmane Dabo during a training ground dispute on 1 May 2007. This incident effectively ended his Manchester City career. Barton has been charged with violent conduct three times by The FA: for the assault on Dabo, for punching Morten Gamst Pedersen in the stomach and for attacking three players on the final day of the 2011–12 season.