What’s the story?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi’s fractured relationship at Barcelona has been confirmed by their former marketing director, Marc Ingla. Speaking on French television channel Telefoot, Ingla revealed it was a sporting issue, saying “Why it did not work for Ibra at Barca? Zlatan is a beast, a machine – but he was next to another machine, smaller. Ibrahimovic was too static, Messi needed more space. Zlatan took up too much of it. There was a bit of friction, I think.”
Previously
Barcelona had signed Zlatan from Inter Milan in 2009, for a mammoth fee of €46 million, in addition to Samuel Eto’o going the other way. The Cameroonian was valued at 20 million, and coupled with other fees to Ibrahimovic’s youth clubs, the Swede ended up costing Barcelona approximately €70 million.
The heart of the matter
Pep Guardiola has been widely considered the reason behind Zlatan’s eventual departure from Barcelona, with the Swedish superstar hinting at the same in his autobiography. However, it seems Lionel Messi may have played a role in Zlatan essentially being forced out of the club after just one season.
Many consider his spell at Barcelona a failure, but Ibrahimovic did score 21 goals during the 2009/10 season, although he did have to bear the ignominy of his former side, Inter Milan knocking Barcelona out of the UEFA Champions League.
In addition, Lionel Messi wanted the central striker role, with Pep Guardiola benching the Swede often to start with Pedro and Theirry Henry alongside Messi. Ibrahimovic’s relationship with his Spanish coach deteriorated to the point where the pair stopped speaking.
Ingla's revelation puts the whole fiasco in a new light, with Guardiola somewhat absolved of some blame, hoping to accommodate Messi's wishes.
What's next?
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic safely at Manchester United, it is unlikely that Ingla’s words will have any bearing on Barcelona and Leo Messi.
Sportskeeda’s Take
A sporting issue between two superstars with egos is rather commonplace, but it is rare that it forces a player out of the club. Zlatan was meant to be Pep Guardiola’s blockbuster signing, but that failed spectacularly. The Spaniard was perhaps not the best man-manager then, and perhaps with more experience might have handled the issue differently now.
Given that Barcelona went on to achieve unprecedented success, Zlatan’s departure is barely though about by Blaugrana fans – which is perhaps for the best.
