The Carling Cup bust-up at Spurs was the result of a long-running feud between the strikers.

A source said: “The first thing Adebayor said to Bendtner was ‘I’m only on because you are so s**t!’

"He has been on Bendtner’s case for a long time.

“The pair do not get on and it finally boiled over on Tuesday night when Adebayor came on as a sub with the team 4-0 down.

“Bendtner ignored him — but when Adebayor said the same thing again later on, Nicklas gave Manny the finger and it all kicked off.”

The warring team-mates had to be pulled apart as Adebayor nutted Bendtner in the face.