Barca never a good club ‘You have no balls!’ - the definitive list of Ibrahimovic’s insults at Barcelona

The PSG striker has had some choice words for Barca and their former coach since leaving the Blaugrana - We relives some of the scathing jibes between the two parties


Below, charts the war of words between Ibrahimovic's camp and Barcelona's circle.

"Jose Mourinho is a big star ... he's cool. Mourinho is Guardiola's opposite. If Mourinho brightens up the room, Guardiola pulls down the curtains and I guessed that Guardiola now tried to measure himself with Mourinho."

– Ibrahimovic takes a jab at Pep by praising his closest rival and suggesting that the Barca coach was a 'Special One' wanna-be.

 "It was a childhood dream [to join Barcelona] and I was walking on air. It started well but then Messi started to talk. He wanted to play in the middle, not on the wing, so the system changed from 4-3-3 to 4-5-1. I was sacrificed and no longer had the freedom on the pitch I need to succeed."

– The big Swede recounts how it all went pear shaped for him at Camp Nou.

“Lionel Messi is awesome. He’s unbelievable, but I don’t really know him. We are totally different. He came to Barça as a 13-year old. He’s raised in that culture and has no problems with that ‘school’ sh*t. In the team, the play is all around him, pretty naturally actually. He’s brilliant, but now I had arrived [at Barca] and scored more goals than him.”

- Ibra hails Leo, but spills the beans on how the Argentine had to be the team's main goalscorer.

"I told him [Guardiola] what a friend had said to me - 'you bought a Ferrari but drive it like a Fiat'. The chat seemed to go well but then Guardiola started to freeze me out."

- Zlatan must have realised then that Pep was neither a Ferrari nor a Fiat fan.

"Barca players were banned from driving their sports cars to training. I thought this was ridiculous - it was no one's business what car I drive - so in April, before a match with Almeria, I drove my Ferrari Enzo to work. It caused a scene."

– Ibra admitting that he was the bad boy in the classroom.

"I felt like crap when I was sitting in the locker room with Guardiola staring at me like I was an annoying distraction, an outsider. It was nuts. He was a wall, a stone wall. I didn’t get any sign of life from him and I was wishing myself away every moment with the team. Then Guardiola started his philosopher thing. I was barely listening. Why would I? It was advanced bullsh*t about blood, sweat and tears, that kind of stuff." 
 
Zlatan disclosing Guardiola's training and coaching methods that have won Barcelona 13 trophies in less than three years.


- Ibra takes a shot at the man who brought him to Camp Nou.

"There was only one person [at Barcelona] who wanted to get rid of me. I have never had problems with any coach before during my career. But suddenly I had a thousand problems and I had no communication with ‘the Philosopher’. No communication whatsoever. I don’t know what his problem was. I am 28-years-old and cannot afford to lose a year sitting on the bench and watching the weather."

- Ibra takes a shot at the man who forced him out of Camp Nou.

"The president said: 'Which club do you want to join?' I replied: 'Madrid.' Rosell replied: 'That is not possible. You can go anywhere but there.'"

- Did Ibrahimovic really think Barca would let him join Real, or was he just testing Rosell's patience?
"I want you to know that this is the worst piece of business I have conducted in my life."
- Barcelona president Sandro Rosell to AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani and Ibrahimovic's agent Mino Raiola upon finalising the striker's move to the Rossoneri, to which Ibra replied:
"It's the result of bad leadership."



I Am Zlatan | Ibra and Guardiola never could see eye to eye

“[I have] nothing to say. There was nothing personal. I just want to thank him for the year he gave us where we reached 99 points [in La Liga]. He played, he proved his quality and helped us reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. There is nothing more to say.”

– Guardiola deciding not to air his side of the story in the fractious relationship with Ibra, choosing instead to thank him.

"Before Ibrahimovic came here [to Barcelona] I thought he was a fantastic player. After getting to know him, I think he is even more fantastic."

- Guardiola praising his former striker despite being ripped apart in the player's book. Or is this just Pep appearing "perfect in public"?

"You have to get more out of the qualities you have. You have to be effective, especially if you come to a big club from another country. That is one of the details Ibrahimovic must learn because if you lose the ball as a forward in Italy it makes no difference. But if you lose the ball as a forward at Barcelona you're the first one to get running."

- Johan Cruyff, who first criticised Ibra as having "bad technique for a good player" when the striker was first at Ajax, maintains his stance on the Swede during his Barca stint.

“Why didn’t Cruyff tell Zlatan that he wasn’t suited to Spanish football before Barcelona signed him? I think Cruyff should be in a mental asylum with Guardiola, so they can sit there quietly and play cards together. They would be doing Barcelona a great favour.”

– Mino Raiola, Ibrahimovic's agent, hits back at Johan and throws Pep under the bus (or into the asylum) for good measure.

"If you don’t play a footballer after spending €65 million, then you should be sent to a mental hospital."

– Raiola really wants Guardiola in that asylum.