After occupying the same stage for years on the pitch, Jamie Carragher and Rio Ferdinand now do just that in the punditry box - and there's verbal sparring aplenty.
Ferdinand has waded into the Jamie Carragher Africa Cup of Nations row this week by accusing his old England team-mate of having an 'ignorant thought process'.
Carragher, who had suggested AFCON is not a 'major tournament', slapped back by labelling the old Manchester United guardian a 'clown' who 'plays to the gallery'.
This latest episode in their relationship follows a good-natured tradition down the years of the two jabbing at each other over their various opinions on the beautiful game.
Carragher has gleefully mocked his former rival down the years while Ferdinand has accused him of 'disrespect,' particularly when it comes to Manchester United.
Mail Sport looks back at some of their wars of words over the years - though it should all be taken with tongue firmly jammed in cheek.
'Carrick's at the wheel'
One of the lasting impressions of Ferdinand as a pundit will be him declaring that 'Ole's at the wheel' in 2019.
The Red Devils legend was so impressed with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's interim spell at Old trafford that he called on the club to 'let him write whatever numbers he wants' for a lucrative permanent contract.
In the end, Solskjaer never lived up to that interim spell, which saw him win 14 of 19 games, and in November 2021 he was sacked.
And Carragher delighted in reminding Ferdinand of his misguided backing that same month when Michael Carrick won his first interim game in charge 2-0 against Villarreal.
'Man United might not thank me, but get the contract out, put it on the table, let him sign it, let him write whatever numbers he wants to put on there given what he's done since he's come in and let him sign the contract and go,' he wrote on X, imitating Ferdinand's words.
'Ole's at the wheel, man -- he's doing his thing. Man United are back!'
A stinger. And Man United have hardly been back since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013.
Casemiro 'disrespect'
Ferdinand hit back at Carragher in September last year after the Liverpudlian targeted Casemiro with a particularly harsh attack.
Carragher blasted the Brazlian midfielder after Liverpool thrashed United 3-0 and delivered a now-infamous phrase in May 2024: 'leave the football before the football leaves you - the football has left him.' In other words, pack your bags and retire to a minor footballing nation.
Ferdinand could hardly believe his ears and, in September, leapt to the defence of the beleagured Red Devil when he was under fire again.
Venting about his counterpart on his Rio Presents show, Ferdinand fumed: 'I heard Jamie Carragher say "leave the football before the football leaves you" and I just think that's highly disrespectful.
'I just think it's really disrespectful because especially given what my man's [Casemiro] won, there's more to it than he's just made a couple of mistakes.
'If you look at the two games before Liverpool he's been arguably Man United's best player. I think it's easier to say that he's gone, he's finished, he's too old,' he added.
Carra: Ferdinand the 'clown' has betrayed the defenders' union!
Perhaps Carragher has an axe to grind with the clown community, because he has no hesitation using them as an insult!
In May 2023, Ferdinand was on the receiving end of the jester joke when he voiced his view on a penalty call during Inter Milan's Champions League semi-final clash with rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez had gone down but the decision was overturned after a check - yet Ferdinand felt it was a 'stonewall' penalty.
Carragher was having none of it and felt Ferdinand had betrayed the defedners' union.
'I think anyone out there who is watching the replay and seeing what VAR do and still believe that is a penalty, they must be a clown,' he said.
'It's just when players in my position who are defenders, English defenders who are commentating on the game...
'As a defender we have to stick together don't we and I just felt people were getting a little bit carried away.'
Micah Richards then said 'name names' to which Carragher answered: 'Rio Ferdinand. I'm happy to call him a clown!'
Rio: 'Carragher used to carry my boots for England!'
Just days after Carragher torched Ferdinand for his penalty prattling, Rio snapped back with a hilarious revelation about their time playing for England.
He told his FIVE show: 'Every time I see him it's all love man. I’m a loving guy, we hug and we shake hands and have a little laugh.
'I don't understand why he came in with hostility, it's a hostile energy and I don’t understand it. He’s been on our show, we see each other and it's all cool. He used to carry my boots when we were with England, he always showed me love.
'The thing that might have been, it was [Premier League] Hall of Fame week, that's the only thing I can think of because me and him are cool. We chat, sometimes text, I just don't get it man. I've only got good energy for him.
'He’s always messaging me, that's what I'm saying, it’s madness to me. He always messages me, we’ve been in England teams together, like I said he carries my boots. He’s always shown me love.
'I don’t know where that energy has come from and that's all I want him to tell me is where that energy comes from. Is it real energy or not? I need to know so when I see him I'll ask him.'
After that subtle offensive, Carragher stung back, responding with a meme of Richard Keys in which the presenter says: 'Please, it was just banter'.
Ferdinand BLANKS Carragher at the Etihad
Maybe, on the evidence of this episode, there is room for peace in this pair's persistent squabbling.
Ferdinand had fans in stitches at the back end of the 2022-23 season when he blanked Carragher at the Etihad before City's 4-0 demolition of Real Madrid.
He was filmed approaching CBS Sports' panel of Micah Richards, Thierry Henry and Carragher just down the touchline from where he was doing punditry work with BT Sport.
After embracing Richards, Ferdinand can be seen intentionally snubbing Carragher - who was left with a big smile on his face - while Henry greeted the former defender.
It seemed that Rio was unwilling to forgive Carragher for branding him a 'clown' over his penalty opinions the week before.
But after a few tense seconds, Ferdinand and Carragher buried the hatchet by shaking hands and laughing with each other before embracing.
Maybe there's love between them after all.
Carragher: Rio's a Ronaldo FAN BOY!
Carragher mocked Ferdinand in 2022 with a withering comment, suggesting he was nothing more than a stan of Cristiano Ronaldo.
As Ronaldo's time at Old Trafford was coming to end end in 2022, Erik ten Hag left the legend out of the Manchester derby.
Carragher tweeted on the Monday morning about Ten Hag's decision not to play the forward, saying that claims the Dutchman got it wrong leaving him out for the 6-3 battering were 'laughable'.
Ferdinand responded, asking if Carragher was still annoyed Ronaldo didn't shake his hand at recently at Old Trafford during a Sky broadcast, before Carragher replied calling Ferdinand a 'fan boy' of Ronaldo.
Carragher originally claimed that 'Rashford's pace on the counter attack' was 'the way to go' in the game, referencing United's 4-0 defeat by Brentford earlier in the season, in which Ronaldo played.
Ferdinand responded: 'Carra you still upset he didn't shake ur [sic] hand at Old Trafford? The hardest thing to do in football is score goals…' accompanied by a video of the former United defender defending his former team-mate.
Carragher seemed to take offence at the comment, snapping at Ferdinand and accusing him of sucking up to the forward.
'No I'm delighted it went viral!' said Carragher in response to Ferdinand's comment about shaking Ronaldo's hand.
'Rio I know how it works, he's your mate & you/Evra & the rest are on the group WhatsApp & he asks you to come out & defend him.
'Don't be his fan boy you're Rio Ferdinand for FFS!!'
Ferdinand then replied: 'What WhatsApp group?! Leave off lad…I want this same energy with Roy Keane when ya [sic] next in the studio ffs. Stop getting bullied.'
AFCON feud
And so we arrive at the present day, with Carragher and Ferdinand again at loggerheads, this time over the Africa Cup of Nations.
Carragher was called out live on Sky Sports by Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge when he suggested Mohamed Salah is typically disadvantaged in the Ballon d'Or race by dint of his inability to challenge for a 'major' international tournament. That's to say, they stand no chance of winning the World Cup, and AFCON is not 'major', in Carragher's eyes.
Ferdinand weighed in, saying: 'I think [what he said] is representative of most of the people out there. But I don't think that's right. It's an ignorant thought process.
'I understand what Jamie's saying but I don't agree with it. That's the majority's fault and it's not right. I think the federations like FIFA need to make sure they implement language around AFCON so it equals the Euros and the Copa America.
'Jamie is right in what he is saying. If Salah won AFCON that would have no bearing on anyone when they vote for the Ballon d'Or, which is absolutely wrong.'
However, Carragher wasn't happy with the former United defender's take.
'I didn't say that you clown,' Carragher commented on the Instagram post of his former rival discussing the subject. 'Stop playing to the gallery like you always do.'