'Zlatan was too static, Messi needed more space' - former Barca chief reveals friction between stars
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Updated 14/02/2017 at 10:03 GMT
Friction between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi was one of the reasons the Swedish striker left Barcelona, according to the former marketing director of the Catalan club.
FOOTBALL - 2009/2010 - Barcelone-Saragosse - Messi - Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AFP)
Image credit: AFP
Ibrahimovic, now at Manchester United following stints at AC Milan and PSG, had just 12 months under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona after joining in the summer of 2009, with Samuel Eto’o going the other way.
And Marc Ingla has revealed one of the reasons – alongside the much-publicised fall-out with manager Pep Guardiola – that Ibrahimovic did not see out his five-year contract was because he did not connect with Lionel Messi on the pitch.
Ingla, who is now working for French side Lille, told Telefoot: “Why it did not work for Ibra at Barca? Zlatan is a beast, a machine – but he was next to another, smaller machine.
“Ibrahimovic was too static, Messi needed more space. Zlatan took up too much of it.
“There was a bit of friction, I think.”
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