Zlatan Ibrahimovic isn't one to shy away from any confrontations – something that Pep Guardiola found out almost immediately when they worked together at Barcelona.
Ibrahimovic joined Barcelona in 2009, winning the LaLiga, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup during his spell in Spain. However, his work under coach Guardiola didn't always go smoothly, and they ended up in a fiery altercation in the dressing room.
Appearing on Piers Morgan's YouTube channel for his Uncensored series back in 2023, Ibrahimovic reflected on his Barcelona stint with little fondness.
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Ibrahimovic said: "I noticed it was not about me performing any more. In my opinion, he felt offended for me saying to him, I needed more space in the way I wanted to play."
During their conversation, Morgan questioned whether Guardiola was "punishing" the then-struggling talent, to which Ibrahimovic agreed, adding: "Which was okay, he is the coach. Bad results, he leaves, the player stays, and I respect that, but be open to me, be direct to me so we understand each other."
After finding himself benched for four consecutive matches, Ibrahimovic deliberately defied Guardiola by driving his Ferrari to training, disobeying the coach's earlier plea to keep the sports car away – all in an effort to elicit some sort of response.
"Fourth game, bench, then I started to make noise because it was not okay for me any more," admitted the ex-Barca forward. "Now I am on the bench because of a situation I created not by my own choice, because of the people above
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