Zlatan Ibrahimovic reunites with 'cowardly spineless' Pep Guardiola 14 years after their bitter Barcelona feud
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has had an awkward reunion with Zlatan Ibrahimovic after their explosive row in Barcelona.
They exchanged brief pleasantries with each other before… Manchester CityManchester United's 3-2 pre-season defeat to AC Milan at Yankee Stadium in New York.
The duo worked together between 2009 and 2010 on the Camp Nouwhere they won LaLiga, the European Super Cup, the Club World Cup and two Spanish Super Cups.
But things were not easy off the football pitch, with Ibrahimovic tagged Guardiola as a “coward without spine” in his 2013 autobiography “I am Zlatan”.
Shedding light on their heated exchange following Barça's Champions League exit to Inter Milan, Ibrahimovic He wrote: “I yelled at him: 'You have no balls! You can go to hell!'
“I completely missed it, and you might have expected Guardiola to say a few words in response, but he is a spineless coward.”
Ibrahimovic added: “He just picked up the metal box, like a little caretaker, and then he left, without mentioning it again, not one word.”
And in an interview with TalkTV presenter Piers Morgan last year, the 42-year-old, now a senior adviser at Milan, revealed how he once parked his Ferrari outside Guardiola's office to 'fuck him'.
Now, 14 years after Ibrahimovic's initial loan to Milan, the pair are back in each other's company.
It was Guardiola who approached the former Manchester United striker, where the two exchanged a handshake.
An awkward hug then ensued, before a few seconds of chatter ended with Guardiola walking away to prepare for his team's friendly, which they lost in a five-goal thriller.
Ibrahimovic shared the video on social media and captioned the post: “Just a friendly match.”
3
3
Football fans have been quick to comment on the reunion between the two, with one X user saying: “This is the first time I've seen Ibra shaking/visibly uncomfortable.”
Another posted: “Pep is great after all the comments Zlatan has made about him. I like Zlatan but I feel like Pep didn't deserve all the things he said about him.”
A third added: “Yeah, it wasn't awkward at all.”
This person then commented: “Pretty awkward but I respect Pep for going to say hello. Zlatan doesn't seem happy haha.”
Meanwhile, another simply claimed: “Zlatan looked uncomfortable there.”
