Pep Guardiola has laughed off Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s claim that Erling Haaland could be held back from fulfilling his potential because of the coach.
Ibrahimovic expressed his admiration for the Manchester City striker, but took another dig at the coach when asked if Guardiola could help him develop, saying: “It depends on Guardiola’s ego, if he lets him become bigger than him or not.”
Guardiola was not fazed by the comments, though, as he ridiculed the Swedish striker when quizzed at a press conference on Friday.
“He is right, he is completely right. In this club, in this team, my ego is beyond every other person, every player,” said Guardiola. “I don’t like it when Erling scores three goals and all the highlights are for him. I’m so jealous! Honestly, I’m so jealous!”
“I said ‘Erling, please no more goals, otherwise the newspapers won’t talk about me, and just about me. He’s right, he [Ibrahimovic] knows me perfectly. Maybe he can write another book.”
Ibrahimovic has been a vocal critic of Guardiola over the years, ever since the pair worked together at Barcelona and split acrimoniously.