Guardiola and Ibrahimovic have had a frosty relationship since working together at Barcelona and splitting acrimoniously
By Kehinde Okeowo
Manchester City Boss, Pep Guardiola has given a sarcastic reply to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s claim that Erling Haaland may never reach his full potential because of the Spanish tactician.
Ibrahimovic recently expressed his admiration for the Norwegian forward but aimed a dig at his coach when asked if Guardiola could bring out the best in the striker.
He said, “It depends on Guardiola’s ego, if he lets him become bigger than him or not.”
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Reacting to the Swedish striker’s dig
During his press conference on Friday, November 4, Guardiola cheekily said Ibrahimovic was right in his assessment, saying he is jealous of Haaland.
Guardiola said, “He is right, he is completely right. In this club, in this team, my ego is beyond every other person, every player,”.
“I don’t like it when Erling scores three goals and all the highlights are for him. I’m so jealous! Honestly, I’m so jealous!
“I said ‘Erling, please no more goals, otherwise the newspapers won’t talk about me, and just about me. He’s right, he [Ibrahimovic] knows me perfectly. Maybe he can write another book.” he added.
Prior to this development, Ibrahimovic has been a vocal critic of Guardiola over the years, ever since the pair worked together at Barcelona and split acrimoniously.
The AC Milan star has made many digs at the manager and claimed he even labelled Guardiola his “enemy” in the dressing room.
