Zlatan Ibrahimovic has slammed Cesar Azpilicueta for trying to ‘act big’ and revealed that his shoulder barge on the Chelsea player during Sweden’s game against Spain was intentional.
The incident took place during a World Cup qualifier between the two teams on November 14, when Ibrahimovic landed a nasty shoulder tackle on the defender, who stayed on the ground for a some minutes.
The former Manchester United player acted as if he had been pushed into Azpilicueta by another Spain player, with replays showing that wasn’t the case.
- Lionel Messi rates Cristiano Ronaldo’s start at Man Utd
- Ibrahimovic fires warning to Man Utd: ‘You should go to a hospital & clean your head’
- Cristiano Ronaldo picks his top choice to replace Solskjaer at Man Utd
He only received a yellow card for the incident and it wasn’t checked by VAR. But Ibrahimovic has confirmed that he meant to foul the player because he was ‘acting big’ towards some of his Sweden teammates.
‘The other day in the national team, I gave a tackle to [Azpilicueta]. I did it on purpose. I’m not ashamed to say it because he did something stupid to my player,’ he told the Guardian.
‘Acting big to my player. It was a stupid thing but I would still do it to make him understand.
‘You don’t f*****g do that. You don’t have balls to do it against me. But I will show you what happens if you do it to me. ‘That’s why I did it. What can he say?’
‘He will not say it to me but he will say it to my player – who will do nothing because he’s too nice. It was not a good thing by me, but I would still do it. That’s me. I’m not ashamed to say it.’
Ibrahimovic will now miss Sweden’s play-off semi-final in March after receiving a yellow card for the shoulder barge, but the 40-year-old seemed less than phased by that.
‘It’s not about missing the play-offs. It’s about making the guy understand you don’t take the p**s out of somebody laying [on the ground],’ he added.
‘You don’t attack a dog that doesn’t talk. Attack the one able to do something. ‘It’s too easy to pick on my teammates who are 20-years-old and very nice guys. I hope he understands now.’
