Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s MLS team-mates at the LA Galaxy played in fear of upsetting the Swede, and he would happily brand them a “disgrace” mid-game.
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Enigmatic frontman moved to the States in 2018Starred on the field in Los AngelesRivals left unimpressed with striker's attitudeWHAT HAPPENED?
The enigmatic former Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain frontman moved to America in March 2018 after severing ties with Premier League giants Manchester United. He was named in the MLS Best XI, as well as winning Newcomer of the Year and Goal of the Year honours, but was typically outspoken when describing the standard in the United States and those he was playing against – billing himself as a “Ferrari among Fiats”.
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Ex-Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha came up against Ibrahimovic when representing Real Salt Lake and has told the of that experience: “With Ibrahimovic, we all know his career. The stuff he's done, the goals he's scored. You picture him playing for Inter and AC (Milan), whatever, being great. I went to MLS the season after he did. When I first went he was talking so much as he does. He said ‘I'm a Ferrari among Fiats’ and I'm thinking he's talking about this league, have some respect. The guy I'm standing next to, an MLS player, is laughing his head off saying ‘he's so funny, isn't he?’. I said ‘yo, he's talking about you. Why are you okay with this?’ What he did when he was there. Basically he scored loads of goals but he was always demeaning the league, talking it down. Anyone who was doing well he'd push them down. When we played against him, it was my first time playing him, it was 0-0 and a bit of a dead game. The ball goes over the top and I stand behind him and he grabbed me by the neck and threw me to the floor. I'm laying on the floor looking at him like ‘what are you doing?’ and he was like ‘get up’. I'm like ‘who are you talking to?’ So I stand up and now I'm getting in his face saying ‘who are you talking to?’, calling him this and that. For the rest of that game, we're head to head, and every time he makes a mistake I'm laughing. We were laughing at each other basically.”
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Onuoha added on Ibrahimovic being allowed to get away with bizarre behaviour by those around him: “His team were getting pumped, and this describes who he was in that moment, his team were stinking it up at the back and all he's doing from the halfway line is shouting at how bad everyone is. He was saying ‘you're no good, you guys are a disgrace, a disaster’. He's not running channels, he's just standing there. People who played with him in MLS played with fear because they were worried about upsetting him. Then late on the ball comes in and he scores and I'm like ‘for God's sake’. He comes straight to the side of my head and he's laughing. The game finishes and this is the thing about MLS, some guys are about it and some aren't. They dance around their stars. So after the game, we've lost, everyone knows I've had some beef with this player and there's a guy on my team trying to take pictures with him on the field. I make it into the dressing room and I'm like hot because the game's gone the way it's gone, it's my first interaction with this guy, we're away from home and should've won. Two minutes later he came into the dressing room and was like ‘have you calmed down yet?’ I don't know this guy, I'm like again ‘who are you talking to?’ So now I'm pressing him. I get backed by one or two people telling him to ‘f*cking make his way out or whatever’ but looking around there's only three of us who stepped up. The rest of them were just in shock. I was the first person who went up against him and more people did it after that. The next time we played them, I was ready for war and when I saw him he asked me how I was. I think he respected me for stepping up to him because a lot of people wouldn't have pushed back. I'm disappointed because he's got one of the best careers but also says stuff that I know people I know would never say about anyone.”
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Ibrahimovic hit 53 goals through 58 appearances for the LA Galaxy, but left the States after two seasons to return to Europe at AC Milan. He is one of the brightest stars to have illuminated MLS, with eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi following in the Swede’s footsteps after linking up with Inter Miami.