Zlatan Ibrahimovic once revealed that he wanted to rip a former teammate ‘limb from limb’ after a major bust-up during a training session.
Ibrahimovic, 43, was a clinical goal scorer during his trophy-laden career and played for some of football’s most iconic clubs such as AC Milan, Manchester United and Barcelona.
But alongside his obvious talent, he was not one to shy away from giving his opinion, which often rubbed his teammates up the wrong way.
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He previously became embroiled in a war of words with then-Barca manager Pep Guardiola during his time in Catalonia, as well as engaging in an on-pitch feud with Romelu Lukaku during the Milan derby back in 2020.
But on one occasion, his actions towards a teammate he disliked went a step too far.
During a Rossoneri training session in November 2010, Zlatan slide-tackled centre-back Oguchi Onyewu, and this was the catalyst for a huge fight.
According to witnesses, Onyewu, 42, was not pleased with the Swede’s tackle and stood up before he grabbed Zlatan’s neck, which resulted in a fight.
The Swede give his take on the clash in his book ‘I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ released in 2011.
"Onyewu resembled a heavyweight boxer," Zlatan wrote. "He was nearly 6ft 5in and weighed over 15 stone, but he couldn’t handle me. He accused me of trash talking, but that wasn’t true.
"People trash talk me. I’ve heard so much sh*t over the years: 'F*****g gypsy', stuff about my mum — all that stuff. I retaliate with my body, not with words.
"I told Onyewu I did not trash talk, but he just kept on. He shushed me with his finger. Then he did it again. I saw red.
"I didn’t say anything, not a word. That b*****d was going to find out how I trash-talk! The next time he got the ball in training; I rushed towards him and jumped up with my feet and studs out in front — the worst type of tackle.
"But he saw me and leapt out of the way. As we both crashed to the ground, my first thought was: 'S**t! I’ve missed!' As I got up and walked away I felt a blow to my shoulder. Not a good idea, Oguchi Onyewu.
"I headbutted him, and we flew at each other. We wanted to tear each other limb from limb. It was brutal. We were rolling around, punching and kneeing each other. We were crazy and furious — it was like life and death.
"I was stopped by my team-mates, and I suppose that was a good thing. It could have turned out nasty. All the time, I was thinking: ‘S***, my chest hurts,’ so we had it checked out. I’d broken a rib in the fight. It was not the first time I’d had a dispute with a team-mate."
Topics: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, AC Milan, Football, Barcelona, Manchester United, Champions League
Luke Davies