If ever there was a transfer that proved toxic for both parties, it was the ludicrously pricy Zlatan transfer from Inter Milan to Barcelona. Jose Mourinho was keen to keep the talisman with whom he had formed such a close bond, while Samuel Etoo had to be dragged kicking and screaming from his Barcelona mansion indignantly used as a makeweight in a £60 million deal. Guardiola and Ibrahimovic, on the other hand, only had eyes for each other. The fiery Swede had outgrown the shackles of the San Siro as magnificent as the arena and the city were, the perennial Champions League failures had held back his talents for far too long. Contrary to popular belief, the superstar dubbed simply Zlatan is not so complex. He simply has an ego that must be massaged, to extract every fibre of world-class talent from his being. While Mourinho was the master of man-management, Guardiola already had a myriad of superstars at his disposal for whose needs required catering, not least the greatest player on the planet in Lionel Messi. Finding himself in the unaccustomed role of playing second fiddle, Zlatans monstrous ego was none too pleased.
''I told him that if I dont fit here, you have to please tell me that. But all I got was sweet talk: Ibra you are a super player, you do everything right. But I still ended up on the bench. He sacrificed me for Messi and didnt have the guts to tell me. Hes a fantastic coach, but hes a coward. Hes not a man. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 2013.
His rapidly deteriorating relationship with the man who he would later brandish spineless, Ibrahimovic still managed to score 17 goals in his only season with the Catalans, before being shipped out on loan to AC Milan a move that would be made permanent. In an ironic twist of fate, in his absence, Inter Milan had immediately won the only trophy that has eluded him throughout his career. It looks like it was Samuel Etoo who came out of the deal smelling like roses after all.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
