In his book which is due for release next week Ibrahimovic explains his relationship with Guardiola: "He preferred to keep Messi happy. He ignored me. I was a Ferrari being driven like a Fiat. At one stage I had though of giving up."

Total hell. The 2009/10 season which he spent in Barcelona went so badly for Zlatan Ibrahimovic that he had even thought of hanging up his boots. At that time the Swede couldn't take any more and exploded, telling Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola exactly what he thought of him. You haven't got the balls. You crap yourself in front of Mourinho! F**k off!”


zlatan lets flow — So without mincing his words (”I tell it like it is and let it all hang out”), the AC Milan striker presented his book, which comes out in a fortnight in Sweden and in Italy. And it is true that he shoots from the hip, because he really does tell it all. Aftonbladet, Sweden's most important daily, published the first chapter of the book exclusively when Zlatan talks about the year he spent at Barcelona. He gives his impression of what many consider the best team in the world and of Pep Guardiola, and it isn't very complimentary. The Swede described the sensation when he first signed for them in the summer of 2009 like "walking on clouds" But right from their very first meeting, the relationship with Guardiola didn't gel. The coach told him that at Barcellona everyone had to "keep their feet firmly on the ground," and that the club didn't want players to arrive at training in porsches or ferraris, they had to keep a lower profile. Zlatan was able to accept this, but it annoyed him: why does a club have to decide which car you one drive?

"I drive like a madman. Once I got up to 325kmph and I had the police behind me. I've done so many silly things I daren't think about now"

speeding — ”I always drive like a madman. I got to 325 kmph, leaving the police behind. I've done so many silly things I daren't think about now,” writes Ibrahimovic in the book. Once in Spain after a snowfall he skidded into a wall. As the months passed in Spain his relationship with Guardiola began to deteriorate. He described the Barcelona changing rooms as a place where everyone sat there in silence, well-behaved, almost subdued: Messi, Xavi and Iniesta were like schoolboys who obeyed every command without question. "I am a guy who likes those who drive through red lights. Ibrahimovic breaks off. He says that instead of fighting back he tried to accept things as they were until he reached the stage when he didn't recognize himself anymore - a complete personality change: ”They became too good,” explained Ibra, who saw the energy he used to have when he played for other teams vanish.

fiat and ferrari — For Christmas 2009 Zlatan went skiing with his family in Åre, in Sweden. He was very depressed then on account of the Barcelona situation: he was even toying with the idea of hanging up his boots. Initially the Barcelona adventure had started well, but when ”Messi began to talk and asked for another role on the pitch, things changed, Guardiola preferred to do what he wanted." After a while Ibra asked to have a meeting with Guardiola, and told him: ”I'm a Ferrari, but you are driving me as if I were a Fiat.” After that meeting things really fell apart. Guardiola did even look at him. Thierry Henry, who had understood the situation, asked about the coach, joking: ”Hi Zlatan, has he looked at you today?” ”No but I saw him from behind.” ”Well done, things are looking up!”

The relationship with Guardiola at Barcellona broke down when Ibra shouted at his coach: "You have no balls. You sh*t yourself when facing Mourinho"

total breakdown — Ibrahimovic, who had always been used to success wherever he played, was feeling worse day-by-day: ”I was fuming inside,” it says in the biography. He called his old friends from the Rosengård district of Malmö to ask their advice. Someone even offered to come to Spain "break some things." "They were very supportive," he joked,"but it wouldn't have been the best solution.” While he was going through that black period, the striker found comfort in his companion and their family. Ibra speaks of his respect for Mourinho, unlike Guardiola. Diplomatic relations broke down completely when he shouted: ”You have no balls. You sh*t yourself when facing Mourinho! F**k off!”. At that stage a separation was inevitable and AC Milan made an approach. Ibrahimovic arrived there in August 2010 and now ”feels very much at home.”