Romelu Lukaku has opened up his angry feud with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, accusing the Swede of "wanting to him for himself".
The two strikers, teammates at Manchester United, had a heated on-pitch confrontation when Inter Milan took on AC Milan in January, trading insults and butting heads. They both received fines and one-match bans in the aftermath.
Lukaku's Inter side came from behind to win that match 2-1 and have since romped to the Serie A title - after which Lukaku took another dig at Zlatan, as he crowned himself the "King of Milan".
In a new interview, Lukaku has finally opened up on their original bust-up, admitting he was angry with Zlatan's taunts and claimed the AC Milan forward "plays for himself" - unlike Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus.
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'We were 1-0 down, I had missed a goal and I was a little angry," Lukaku told Il Corriere della Sera per Football Italia. "His words hit me. I am not happy about my reaction, but I don't let myself get pushed around.
"Ibrahimovic is a great footballer, he's won everywhere he's been, scoring more than 500 goals. I had a good relationship with him until I was at Manchester United, but we need these kind of footballers in Serie A.
"He wants to win for himself, I want to win for Inter and Ronaldo for Juventus. Now, there is [Jose] Mourinho at Roma. These are nice things for Italian football."
Clearly Lukaku respects Ibrahimovic as a player and the star power he brings to Italian football. But the dynamic between the duo forwards somehow deteriorated during the year they shared at Old Trafford.
However the 27-year-old Belgian - whose 21 goals and 10 assists this season have been crucial to Inter's charge to the title - clearly doesn't regret leaving United after only two years. The main reason being his relationship with Antonio Conte, who he calls the best coach he's worked with.
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"To me, Conte is the best coach and he immediately convinced me," said Lukaku on his decision to go to Inter. "When I signed with Inter, I texted him, saying: 'I am arriving'," the striker revealed.
"It's always been a dream to play in Serie A. When I was at Manchester United, I used to tell [Matteo] Darmian: 'I'll go to Inter, talk to me in Italian, and reply in English.'
"When I arrived, I already knew the language and Italy has given me so much. We finished as runner-up in Serie A and the Europa League last season, and Conte and I lived that as a defeat. We have been able to transform that into motivation."
So Lukaku clearly feels a debt of thanks to Conte for his sparkling form at Inter, as well as to full-back Darmian for his language skills.
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But when it comes to Zlatan, it's a case of thanks for nothing.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Serie A, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku, Inter Milan
