Zlatan Ibrahimovic's unexpected dig at Class of 92 didn't go down well, Ryan Giggs issued response

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's surprise dig at Manchester United's legends led to Ryan Giggs clapping back.

The well-travelled Swede is never one to mince his words and in 2019, Ibrahimovic made some remarks about United's Class of 92 crop.

The former AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain striker was addressing criticism for Paul Pogba, who he was a teammate of for two years at United.

The pair signed for the Red Devils in the same summer back in 2016 and developed a strong friendship.

A year after he departed Old Trafford, Ibrahimovic defended Pogba and claims there was something of a vendetta against him from "the circle of Sir Alex Ferguson" - referring to the likes of Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville and Nicky Butt.

He claimed it was down to the fact that Pogba left United and then came back, whereas the rest spent an extended period in the same United environment.

Image: Getty

"With Pogba, he was with United when he was young, then he went out and he came back," Ibrahimovic said, as per The Mirror.

"And in the circle of Ferguson, they don’t like that. Because they stayed all their life under Ferguson and they never moved from Ferguson.

"And they didn’t even talk if Ferguson didn’t tell them to open their mouth. So now if they are talking, I don’t know whether Ferguson gave them permission or not."

Ibrahimovic was also quoted as saying that the former players-turned-pundits were "complaining all the time because they are not active in the club".

Not long after that, Ryan Giggs fired back when asked about the comments ahead of Wales' friendly against Trinidad and Tobago.

Image: Getty

"When you've played over 2,000 games between us, we’re going to have an opinion," Giggs responded in a press conference.

"Sometimes positive and sometimes negative but I don’t think that has any bearing on results or anything.

"We’re supporters of the club together with other ex-players who are on TV or radio, that’s what football is about, having different opinions. “I think there’s only Nicky [Butt, United's former head of academy] who’s connected with the club. But obviously, he [Ibrahimovic] knows more about the club than us."

Topics: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manchester United, Premier League

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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