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If there is one footballer in the world who is not afraid of making controversial remarks, it is Serbia's Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The 40-year-old is someone who is always in the news for either his heroics on the field or his cheekiness off the field. Unsurprisingly, Zlatan is back in limelight for his shocking comments on his former club - Manchester United.
The striker spent two seasons (2016-17 and 2017-18) at Old Trafford where he netted 29 goals in 53 appearances, helping his side win Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League. It was a successful tenure for Zlatan in England but it seems like he wasn't really happy with the style of functioning of one of the biggest clubs in world football.
Zlatan shares an incident which left him in shock
In his new autobiography 'Adrenaline', Zlatan Ibrahimovic opened up on his time at Red Devils. Reflecting on the common opinion that Manchester United is considered as one of the richest and most powerful clubs in the world, he had a very contrary view. "But once I was there (in Man Utd), I found a small, closed mentality,” Zlatan stated in his autobiography.
He revealed an incident from his time at the club, which left him absolutely perplexed. He stated, “One day I was in the hotel with the team before a game. I got thirsty so I opened the mini-bar and had a fruit juice. We played and then went home. Some time went by. My pay slip arrives. Normally I don't look at it. I only do so at the end of the year to see what's come in and what's gone out. But that time, I don't know why, I was curious and realised they'd taken a pound off my monthly wage."
“I called the team manager: ‘Excuse me, why have they taken a pound off my salary.’ The team manager had a look and told me: ‘It was the fruit juice from the mini-bar.’ ‘Are you kidding, seriously?’ ‘No, I'm not. Here, if you order something you have to pay for it.’ ‘Sure, but I didn't go to the hotel on my own accord. I wasn't on holiday. It was my work place. I was there for Manchester. If I have to play and I'm thirsty, I have to drink. I can't go on the pitch dehydrated," he added.
“Can you believe it? A quid? Something like that would never happen in Italy. These are the details that make a difference and earn the respect of the players. Every day I was asked to show my papers just to get into the training ground. I’d lower my window and say to the person at the gate: ‘Listen my friend I've been coming here every day for a month. I'm the best player in the world. If you still don't recognise me, you're in the wrong job'," Zlatan concluded.