Roy Keane and David Beckham confronted a young Zlatan Ibrahimovic for trying to headbutt Manchester United teammate Phil Neville

It takes a brave man to pick a fight with Roy Keane, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a different physique.

That courage was demonstrated during a friendly against Manchester United in 2002, when he was still a rising star making a name for himself.

The 42-year-old retired striker, who spent two seasons at Old Trafford, is a certified legend of the game for the trophies he has won, his style of play and his character.

But in the summer of 2002, people only knew him as someone to watch out for, having joined Ajax a year earlier from Malmo.

But United's stars got a taste of what was to come when he was brought down on the edge of the area by Rio Ferdinand and the 21-year-old. Zlatan Midfielder Phil Neville appeared to have stepped in unnecessarily to clear the ball, even after the referee had blown his whistle.

The 1.93m leader faced off against Neville, who had little interest in arguing with the taekwondo black belt.

Perhaps sensing that his teammate needed help, the captain… Keane and David Beckham He 'politely' asked the striker to withdraw from the confrontation and words were exchanged.

Keane tried to end the argument, but Beckham and Zlatan exchanged views for a while and the referee eventually intervened.

Although they were enemies on the pitch, they later became teammates at Paris Saint-Germain when Beckham ended his career in the French capital in 2013.

The match ended 2-1 in favour of Ajax, with Zlatan scoring the winning goal thanks to an assist from future Tottenham and West Ham striker Mido, although the Red Devils cared little.

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United ended up winning the Premier League again. Arsenalbefore Beckham left for real Madrid in the summer of 2003.

Meanwhile, Zlatan continued to make a name for himself in Europe, joining Juventus in 2004 and then playing for Inter, Barcelona and Milan before also playing for PSG and then United.

At international level, he played 122 times for Sweden and scored 62 goals, including a 35-yard overhead kick that earned him the Puskas Award for best goal of the season in 2013. He also represented his country in six international tournaments between 2002 and 2016.

He was still playing at the age of 40 before ending his career in 2023, where he finished the season with a Serie A title as a Milan player.

Meanwhile, United in 2024 have begun their warm-up for the new season with a defeat against Rosenborg. They still have the game against Rangers before Arsenal, Real Betis and Liverpool.