MANCHESTER CITY boss Pep Guardiola has sarcastically hit back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s comments about him and Erling Haaland.
The AC Milan striker recently claimed that Guardiola’s ego could hold Haaland back and stop him improving.
Ibrahimovic said: “Is Guardiola able to improve him? That depends on the ego that Guardiola has.
“If he allows himself to be bigger than Haaland or not. He didn’t allow me or the others to be as big.”
The Spaniard was asked about these remarks in a press conference and gave a sarcastic reply ridiculing him.
Guardiola fired shots back in a satirical way saying: “He is right, he is completely right – in this club, in this team, my ego is beyond every other person.
“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.’”
Guardiola managed Ibrahimovic at Barcelona but the pair did not get on and have since had a bitter feud with the 41-year-old Swede criticising him in his book.
He claimed that his time at the Nou Camp was the “worst memory” of his glittering career and that he “lost his identity” in his only season with him in 2009/10.
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Guardiola could not resist another dig at these old statements in his answer regarding Haaland.
He said: “He [Ibrahimovic] knows me perfectly. He can write another book. My ego is [whoosh, looking upwards].”
Haaland has netted an incredible 17 goals in the Premier League this season and is on the bench for the game versus Fulham as he recovers from injury.
