It is well-documented that Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Pep Guardiola don't see eye-to-eye. However, the pair's feud took an interesting – and hilarious – turn recently.
The Swedish icon, who fell out with the Spanish manager during their tumultuous time together at Barcelona during the 2009-10 season, took another dig at the Man City boss, accusing the tactician of having a large ego.
The 41-year-old striker gave his thoughts on Erling Haaland, the newly-signed Cityzens striker breaking records in the Premier League. However, instead of simply discussing Haaland's brilliance, the former PSG and AC Milan star took this opportunity to slam Pep, arguing that his former manager could hinder the Norwegian talent.
"Is Guardiola able to improve him? That depends on the ego that Guardiola has," Ibrahimovic said, as per the Daily Mail. "If he allows himself to be bigger than Haaland or not. He didn't allow me or the others to be as big."
And with Manchester City taking to the field on Saturday, these comments were always going to be presented to the Etihad Stadium boss during his press conference. The Spaniard was asked for his thoughts ahead of their upcoming clash with Fulham, leading to a brilliant response from Pep.
The four-time Premier League winner went completely sarcastic, saying that Ibrahimovic is spot on while jokingly claiming that he hates to see Erling score a hat-trick as that will steal the spotlight in the media away from the manager.
"He is right, he is completely right - in this club, in this team, my ego is beyond every other person," Pep said.
"I don't like it when Erling scores three goals, and all the highlights are for him. I am so jealous! Honestly, so jealous!
"I said: 'Erling, please no more goals, otherwise the Sun and Daily Mail won't talk about me.'"
"He knows me perfectly. He can write another book. My ego is (whoosh)," the Spaniard later added.
Pep Guardiola's sarcasm is absolutely world class
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 5, 2022
"I don't like when Erling Haaland scores three goals and all the highlights are for him. I'm so jealous!" pic.twitter.com/ds9nSAj9YB
After hearing this back and forth, one can confidently conclude that Guardiola and Ibrahimovic won't settle their differences. Fortunately, the pair are unlikely to cross paths as Zlatan continues to offer experience at AC Milan while the highly-rated Catalan manager remains the man to beat in the Premier League.
The former Barcelona boss, however, will not be fazed by this criticism as his focus will be on leapfrogging Arsenal in the standings. The Gunners currently hold the no.1 spot but with Arteta's men traveling to Chelsea on Sunday, Manchester City could go top of the table with a win over Fulham should Saka and Co. stumble at Stamford Bridge.
