Zlatan Ibrahimovic has warned Haaland to be wary of Guardiola as the Spaniard could spoil his career. Ibrahimovic played for Guardiola at Barcelona.
Pep Guardiola is a well-known manager. He has coached many great footballers and won many trophies in his career. The former Barcelona midfielder is regarded as one of the greatest managers and continues to win accolades. While many see him as their hero, Pep also has those who think little of him.
Amongst his naysayers, Pep is regarded as a bald fraud and has labelled him a chequebook manager. They claim he has won titles with teams where it is easier to win than lose. Despite these accusations, his fans claim it is all down to jealousy.
Few former Guardiola players will sing his praise. Many have openly accused him, and the list is interesting. Yaya Toure and Samuel Eto’o, two great players, have on different occasions given fodder to the accusation of Pep being a fraud. Another player with a longstanding feud with Guardiola is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish striker has taken another barb at Guardiola in the form of advice for Erling Haaland.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic warns Erling Haaland
Zlatan should know Pep Guardiola well, as they worked together at Barcelona, but the Swedish striker has nothing good to say about the Manchester City manager. In a recent indirect attack on Guardiola, Ibrahimovic warned the latest sensation in world football Erling Haaland to be careful at Manchester City.
Haaland has already taken the Premier League by storm and scored 22 goals in his first 15 appearances in all competitions for Man City. Playing under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, Ibrahimovic has warned the striker. Zlatan said Haaland should not allow Guardiola’s ego to derail his career at Manchester City.
Ibrahimovic has been at daggers drawn with Guardiola since his days at Barcelona. He believes the Spanish manager allowed his ego to limit his abilities and thinks the same could happen with Erling Haaland. The AC Milan striker insinuates that Guardiola is egoistic and can hardly operate with big players.
What Zlatan said
Haaland is undoubtedly the most in-form player in world football since arriving at the Etihad. He has scored 17 Premier League goals in 11 appearances and is on course to shatter the record for most goals scored in a season. In 15 games across all competitions, Haaland has scored 22 goals.
When talking on CanalPlus, Zlatan harped on Haaland and praised the Norwegian striker. The AC Milan forward said he likes Haaland a lot and claims he is an intelligent player. Zlatan said the Norwegian has some special qualities and does not do things out of his reach. He said Haaland knows how to score goals.
Zlatan said Haaland reminds him of Filippo Inzaghi, David Trezeguet and Christian Vieri. He claims that the Norwegian is a new version of all three players. Zlatan then aimed at Guardiola, saying the ability of Guardiola to improve Haaland largely depends on his ego. He claims that the former Barcelona player did not allow him or others to be as big as they could be.
Manchester City signed Haaland from Borussia Dortmund for £51 million during the summer transfer window, with the 21-year-old already well-settled at the Etihad.
