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Zlatan Ibrahimovic crossed out under-fire Man Utd player from his all-time teammates XI

Home> Football

Updated 17:18 8 Jun 2023 GMT+1Published 17:14 8 Jun 2023 GMT+1

Zlatan Ibrahimovic crossed out under-fire Man Utd player from his all-time teammates XI

Eagle-eyed fans noticed he'd been crossed out.

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan

Since announcing his retirement on Sunday, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had time to reflect on a glittering career which spanned more than 20 years.

Ibrahimovic has decided to hang up his boots at the age of 41, announcing his decision following AC Milan's final match of the season.

After making his debut for Swedish club Malmo in 1999, Ibrahimovic went on to score 511 goals in club football for some of the biggest teams in Europe.

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He spent time at Ajax, Juventus and Inter Milan before moving to Barcelona in 2009. Spells at AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United would follow before a brief spell in the MLS with LA Galaxy.

He returned to European football in 2020 to rejoin AC Milan but has now decided to call time on his career after being plagued with injury problems in recent times.

Back in 2018, Ibrahimovic was asked to put together an all-time best XI of teammates he had played with.

He was unsurprisingly able to pick a formidable team, having played for such a long time at the summit of European football and for so many clubs.

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The former Sweden international picked Gianluigi Buffon in goal and a back four of Lilian Thuram, Thiago Silva, Alessandro Nesta and Maxwell.

He selected Patrick Vieira, Xavi and Pavel Nedved in midfield behind a front free of Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and, of course, Zlatan himself.

Eagle-eyed fans noticed an interesting detail in an image of Ibrahimovic's hand-written team.

He also named five substitutes on the bench, Julio Cesar, Andres Iniesta, Fabio Cannavaro, Gennaro Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf. Not bad at all.

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But there was also a sixth name crossed out - Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.

The Spaniard played with Ibrahimovic during his two-year spell at Old Trafford between 2016 and 2018.

De Gea's stock was considerably higher back then when Ibrahimovic was selecting his team.

He has struggled this season, with United boss Erik ten Hag reportedly exploring potential replacements for the former Spain international as negotiations continue over new contract for the goalkeeper on reduced terms.

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De Gea has come under-fire from fans after making several major errors this season including in last weekend's FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City, when the Spaniard was criticised for failing to keep out Ilkay Gundogan's winner in a 2-1 victory for the Blues.

The image of Ibrahimovic's team has since resurfaced on social media following his retirement announcement and United fans were quick to notice that he had crossed out De Gea.

"It's the De gea part for me," posted one fan on Twitter, followed by the crying-laughing emoji.

"Not the first time De Gea's had problems with a cross," joked another.

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While another fan keen to see De Gea leave United this summer, added: "Give Zlatan a statue outside Old Trafford."

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/IAmZlatanIbrahimovic & Alamy

Topics: David De Gea, Football, Manchester United, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fan Reactions

Rory O'Callaghan
Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

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@rory_ocallaghan

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