“He was doing a lot of crazy things in the dressing room” - Yaya Toure shares details of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s falling-out with Guardiola at Barcelona

Yaya Toure has revealed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic used to kick at things when Pep Guardiola did not start him in matches. The former midfielder added that the Swede was scary in the dressing room and would do anything to play.

Speaking to Rio Ferdinand, Toure stated that Zlatan had a falling-out with Guardiola because the manager opted to bench him in a few games. He added that the striker wanted to start regularly and would 'go crazy' in the dressing room if he was not getting minutes on the pitch. Toure said:

“You know Ibrahimovic is someone who has a lot of character. I think he had a fall out with the manager as well [at Barcelona]. It’s because the manager could not play him regularly. And this kind of player, if you don’t put him in the line-up, for sure he’s going to be at war. He was doing a lot of crazy things in the dressing room when he didn’t play. He would kick out at things and it would go close to the manager.

"Ibrahimovic is that scary. He scares people. Even me, sometimes he used to scare me. This guy can take the s*it out of you. He always wants to play. He’s a great teammate. He has a good mentality but a good heart as well.”

Barcelona signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan by offering them a stunning €66 million deal that included Samuel Eto'o moving the other way.

When Zlatan Ibrahimovic claimed Pep Guardiola had an issue with him, not vice versa

Zlatan Ibrahimovic spoke to ESPN in 2018 and claimed that Pep Guardiola had issues with him. The former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) striker added that he had no problem working with the current Manchester City manager:

"I did not have the problem [with Guardiola], so it cannot bother me. It has to bother the other one, because I did not have the problem. I'm not here to give problems, and I didn't have problems anywhere. And when I was in Barcelona, I resolved the problem by saying, 'No problem. If you have a problem, I will resolve it for you: I leave.' I will not stay here and give you problems, I'm not that guy."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic played 46 matches under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona. He scored 22 times and assisted 13 before heading out on loan.