Zlatan Ibrahimovic has never been shy in expressing his opinion on Pep Guardiola, and he’s at it again with another swipe at the former Barcelona boss.
The 38-year-old spent one full season with the Catalan giants, scoring 21 goals in 45 games in the 2009/10 campaign, before leaving for AC Milan.
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Meanwhile, he had productive spells at Inter and Man Utd with Jose Mourinho too, but it appears as though the two coaching legends had very different impacts and impressions on him.
As noted above, Ibrahimovic was highly critical of Guardiola in his autobiography and has made it very clear that they didn’t see eye to eye off the pitch, and he has once again slammed the Spanish tactician while talking up his relationship with Mourinho.
“We still stay in touch, he [Mourinho] had an incredible impact on my career,” Ibrahimovic told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “He is still the Special One — a winner.
“I hope he returns to a bench soon and I am certain he will win straight away.
“We never had a confrontation, only down to him,” Ibrahimovic said of Guardiola. “When we faced each other, he hid from me.
“I went back to the dressing room after the game and he was in a room waiting for me to leave. At the door, one of his assistants told him: ‘Ibra has gone, you can come out now.’
“He is phenomenal manager, but as a man…”
Ultimately it’s to be expected that certain managers and players don’t gel well, and that is seemingly the case when it comes to Ibrahimovic and Guardiola.
However, their achievements can’t be knocked as they’ve both enjoyed very successful careers both with and without each other, and while the Swede was asked the question in an extensive interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, it’s probably a topic that will soon run its course as there surely isn’t much more that can be said from either party on the matter.
