Zlatan Ibrahimovic has never been one to hold back when doing interviews. Leading the line for a resurgent AC Milan side, Zlatan has five goals in seven appearances as well as two assists in four appearances for Sweden. The international stage is where his latest controversial action took place. Ibrahimovic received a yellow card for lowering his shoulder on Ceasar Azpilicueta in stoppage time, a move which he described as teaching Azpilicueta a lesson.
Zlatan got a yellow card for this shoulder charge on Azpilicueta 😳 pic.twitter.com/64ipgvvm4X
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 15, 2021
In an interview with The Guardian Zlatan elaborates on this saying, "The other day in the national team, I gave a tackle to [Spain's Cesar Azpilicueta]. I did it on purpose. I'm not ashamed to say it because he did something stupid to my player. Acting big to my player. It was a stupid thing but I would still do it to make him understand: 'You don't f---ing 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."
This is nothing new for Ibrahimovic as he has a history of both questionable actions on the field, and questionable statements off of it. He has, in the past, grabbed Sean Johnson's neck during his time in MLS as well as doing the same to his current teammate Simon Kjaer during international play. Then there was his famous confrontation with Romelu Lukaku.
Zlatan and Lukaku are going at it 😳 pic.twitter.com/yMLFI72tiz
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 26, 2021
The loss sent Sweden into a two-legged playoff match to qualify for the World Cup 2022 in Qatar. It is unknown who they are playing yet, but, due to the tackle, Zlatan will be suspended for the first leg.
