Zlatan Ibrahimovic has never been one to mince his words – just ask Pep Guardiola or ex-AC Milan teammate Alexis Saelemaekers.
The 42-year-old famously called ex-Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola a ‘spineless coward’, leading to a recent awkward reunion with the now-Manchester City manager.
And according to his ex-Milan teammate Asmir Begovic, the football legend also called out his teammates – for the right reasons.
The Bosnian goalkeeper spent the second half of the 2019/20 season on loan at Milan, where he featured in two Serie A matches.
Begovic was joined at the club by Belgian midfielder Saelemaekers during the winter transfer window, who moved to the San Siro on an initial loan deal.
But the former Anderlecht star, who was just 20 at the time of his transfer, rubbed Ibrahimovic up the wrong way after arriving to training in a flashy sports car.
It has been claimed that the Swedish maverick subsequently took his car keys, and ordered him to take it back to the dealership to teach him a lesson.
Recalling the incident to talkSPORT.com, ex-Chelsea shot-stopper Begovic said: “It was the funniest thing, he liked to keep the young players in their place.
“One of the young lads [Saelemaekers] was signed on loan with a view to a permanent deal, he came from Belgium.
“First couple of days he was nice and quiet and then about a week or two later, he came to training with a new Porsche.
“And Zlatan, the first thing that he did was grab the keys and said, ‘Listen, you’re going to take this car straight back to the dealership. If you’re not going to do it, I’m going to do it for you.’
“So he made him return his car and get a little bit more of a normal car and make him earn his stripes, that was quite funny.”
Saelemaekers eventually had his temporary switch turned into a permanent stay, where he has since made 140 appearances for the Rossoneri.
And in the 2021/22 season, he was a key player in the club winning their first Scudetto in 11 years.
The success came as no surprise to Begovic, who stressed that ‘wild’ Ibrahimovic set a high standard in training.
The 2017 Premier League champion remarked: “He was a different kind of wild, just a guy of the highest standard.
“First as a player, the way he trained, he was 38/39 at the time, and the way he pushed, he set a standard really for everyone.
“He was an incredible inspiration and I think he pulled everyone along.
“And what it does on the pitch, the aura that he had, It’s something I have not seen many players have.
“He was a top player, a top person as well and actually a good friend of mine and someone that I definitely drew a lot of inspiration from.”
