Zlatan Ibrahimovic recalls interesting anecdote with Guardiola at Barcelona: “When I met him…”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will go down as one of the most memorable footballers of the 21st century. The Swedish star played for several elite clubs before retiring recently and is known for his longevity in the sport.

His long career brought him to Barcelona as well. However, Ibrahimovic did not last long in the Catalan capital given his strained relationship with the then-manager Pep Guardiola.

Zlatan speaks on Barcelona stint

Speaking in a recent interview with Piers Morgan, the former AC Milan star recounted an incident from his early days at Barcelona and possibly the beginning of his strained relationship with the manager.

“When I met Pep Guardiola, he told me: ‘Remember, the players here do not come with Ferraris. What did I do? Of course. I brought my f***ing Ferrari,” he said as revealed by SPORT.

Things only went downhill between Zlatan and Guardiola from that point on, and it eventually led to his departure to AC Milan a year later.

Struggles amidst stars

While the Swedish international is one of the best ever in his own right, his arrival at Barcelona did not bode well. After all, he came at a time when the club had its golden generation in full flow and was competing with the likes of Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry.

He had a heated and unpleasant exchange of words with Guardiola after Barcelona’s defeat to Inter Milan in the UCL that year which completely sunk the already sinking ship.

Moreover, Zlatan had no place in the team after Messi’s changed role, as he has recounted in the past.

“It started well but then Messi started to talk. He wanted to play in the middle, not on the wing, so the system changed from 4-3-3 to 4-5-1. I was sacrificed and no longer had the freedom on the pitch I need to succeed.”