Ibrahimovic: Moves to Milan, Blames Guardiola for “broken” Barcelona dream

By: Sarah | August 29th, 2010

Zlatan-Ibrahimovic-001

All dreams come to an end at some point…

Last night, AC Milan confirmed a loan with Barcelona that will see Zlatan Ibrahimovic return to Italy a year after transferring to Spain from AC Milan’s city rival, Inter. Ibrahimovic went to Barcelona as part of a trade+ cash that totaled 66M Euros (20M Eto’o, 46M cash for Ibra…plus a Hleb loan deal with an option to buy). The AC Milan deal is a season long loan with a purchase clause for 24M Euros. Ibrahimovic, a man not known for his tact or humility, has blamed his Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola for his less than stellar time at the club and for wasting his time and “breaking” his “Barcelona dream”..

When I walk into a room, [Pep] Guardiola will walk out…I don’t know if he is scared of me.

He is the philosopher who has broken my dream of being at Barcelona. The coach did not want me and I will not waste any more time. I want to retrieve my love of football with another team. I leave with more motivation and the strength to do better. In football, things can change within 24 hours.

You need to talk to him [Guardiola], it is he who has the problem, and I do not know what it is. I am very happy, because I am going to Milan.

The relationship between the two appeared to deteriorate last Spring, something which Zlatan admitted to the press after Barcelona’s friendly against Milan last week while also revealing his desire to play with his new teammate, Ronaldinho.

I haven’t spoken to (Barca coach Pep) Guardiola for six months.

I do not know the reason for this but there are certainly problems. As for Milan, for now, I do not know anything about a possible move, so I will remain a Barcelona player but I would like to play alongside a player such as Ronaldinho.

Regarding his new club and his return to the city of Milan, Zlatan had only positive things to say..

[Barcelona] won everything without me, with me they won something, but now I play for Milan and my dream is to win the Champions League with them. I will do everything within my power to win at Milan, one of the strongest clubs in the world, even bigger than Barcelona.

Would I come back if Guardiola leaves? I prefer not to comment on that.

The arrival of Ibrahimovic to Milan mostly likely ensures the exit of Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Milan, with Schalke in Germany his mostly likely destination.

To discuss the transfer, the insults, who was wrong (Guardiola or Zlatan) and if the striking trio of Ronaldinho, Pato and Ibra can guide AC Milan back to the top of Serie A – visit The Offside’s Barcelona and Milan blogs.

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Category: Europe, Interviews, Leagues, Serie A, Spain La Liga, Transfer Talk

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OffsideSarah

Check out Ibra's new Milan jersey courtesy of @barcastuff (which he posed with before Milan's first game of the season) - http://tweetphoto.com/42231434
coconut85

such a shame, Zlatan was doing marvelous the first half of the liga.... then out of nowhere he was in a rut...a Villa-Ibra-Messi trident would quite possibly be the best attacking line-up in the world...and we never really got to see it...an angel lost it wings on this sad sad day...
brenton

"I don’t know if he is scared of me."

Who would say that? An asshole is the answer to that question. Yah, Ibra, he's scared of you. Barca will do just fine without you.
Dumitru86

It's called sarcasm and it's pretty funny actually. Get a sense of humour.
brenton

It's called a dick. Eat it.

Hah! I assume you enjoyed that, what with your huge sense of humour. I also assume you watched the original interview, to know that he was being sarcastic and not just an asshole, which he seems to be. You seem to be a fan of his, so I also assume you get defensive when others criticize him. Maybe not, maybe you're just a really funny guy.
Sairax

Wasn't it Pep that wanted him last year? Obviously something happened...I find the whole thing kind of bizarre. They bought him for so much and gave him away for so little. I'll be fascinated to hear the whole story if/when it comes out.
OffsideSarah

Here are some articles I found on the Ibra/Pep relationship break down. One of the articles I link to in the article provides some insight- its from a Barca perspective, but its pretty fair (blames Pep for some of the breakdown in the relationship) - here is the link: http://transfers.afootballrepo...

Pep has referenced attitude problems, which are discussed in this article: http://www.totalbarca.com/2010...

I don't think Ibra's agent (Raila) helped much either - Raiola: “If you don’t play a footballer after spending €5m on him then you should be sent to a mental hospital.”
Sairax

Thanks for the links!
Well obviously I'm not surprised that there were issues with Ibra's attitude. I like him as a player but that's been a problem wherever he was. I'm wondering about Pep though. He seems to fall out with some players a bit easily. Maybe it's nothing but there were issues with him and Eto'o and Yaya if I remember correctly. Also, Milan must be laughing with the deal they got (plus they got Boeteng from Genoa on loan after they just signed him! Who's in charge of transfers over there wow)

Agents seem to always say the wrong things in the press under the impression that it is somehow helpful to their client. Maybe more players should try going the Paul Scholes route and not have an agent. Though most footballers aren't that bright...
Johonna

Well obviously I'm not surprised that there were issues with Ibra's attitude. I like him as a player but that's been a problem wherever he was.

Not so much at Inter. There were rumors that he and Mancini weren't getting along towards the end of 2007/8 season, but Roberto has always denied it (pointing out that Ibra came off the bench and played injured for him).

Ibra and Mourinho got on famously. In fact, the only difficulty they had was the fact that Ibra left. Mou was not happy about that.

The truth is, so long as Ibra is the big fish then he is happy. There was no way he could be the big fish at Barcelona (something Mou warned him about) so it didn't work. If Milan stroke his ego and make sure that everyone knows that Ibra is the top dog, he will perform for them. If not, well... a sulky Ibra is a useless Ibra.
Sairax

I see, thanks for that. I guess Mourinho and his personalities didn't clash as one would think! I enjoyed watching him in the season he won the Golden Boot (08/09 I think).
GerardoC

It blows. Villa and Ibra played very well with each other in their only match together. The plays those two could have created are priceless, and it's a shame that it had to end like this.
OffsideSarah

Am I the only one who feels no remorse when Zlatan talks about broken dreams? In my head, he is the ultimate mercenary player. Do mercenaries have dreams?
Dumitru86

As I'm sure he wanted/ still wants to win ballon d'or, his only chance to do so was to play at Barca, where he could play with Messi, a direct competitor, and show the world he's not inferior. Plus hes extremely gifted in technical abilities and where do such guys want to play if not at Barca. All these should be seen from the perspective of last year. He was payed the same money at inter too, so it's not the money. It's all about wanting to be aknowleged as the best.
Johonna

He wants the Champions League. Rumor is that he was overheard in the Barca changing room saying something to the effect of If Inter win the Champions League, someone shoot me.

He thought Barca was a shoe-in for the CL last year, which is why he moved. Turns out not so much (heh heh heh).
vNvN

Do Mercenaries Dream Of Electronic Bank Transfers? -- the highly anticipated sequel to Philip K. Dick's masterpiece.

I feel a little sorry for him. OK maybe not sorry, but...something. This whole thing felt like being in a Looney Tunes cartoon: sadistically enjoyable, but ridiculous.
Ryan DM

Yes. They dream about money.