Zlatan Ibrahimovic Reignites Row With Romelu Lukaku Months After Milan Derby Scuffle

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Reignites Row With Romelu Lukaku Months After Milan Derby Scuffle

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:29 PM
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  • Zlatan Ibrahimovic took a subtle swipe at Romelu Lukaku despite the Belgian scoring thrice against Sweden
  • The pair have had their differences since a feisty Coppa Italia match in 2021
  • Ibrahimovic was reduced to watching as Lukaku's goals powered Belgium to three points

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has seemingly revisited his differences with Romelu Lukaku months after the duo faced off during the Milan derby in Italy.

The pair reunited for the first time since the January 26, 2021, incident where both were booked for their roles in the scuffle before Ibrahimovic was sent off for a second yellow card.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku, Sweden, Belgium, Inter Milan, AC Milan
Romelu Lukaku walks past Zlatan Ibrahimovic during the Euro 2024 qualifier between Belgium and Sweden on March 24th. Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND.
Source: Getty Images

Ibrahimovic's home ground in Stockholm was the venue for their reunion as Sweden hosted Belgium in the Euro 2024 qualifiers on 24th March at the Friends Arena.

Lukaku was the star of the show as his hattrick took his side to a 3-0 win in Domenico Tedesco's first match as the Red Devils boss. Ibrahimovic made a late cameo from the bench but was unable to inspire his side to a comeback.

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What did Ibrahimovic say?

Speaking after the game, the 41-year-old aimed a subtle dig at his opposite number, appearing to insinuate that he had scored lucky goals.

"I didn’t see him. I didn’t get close to him here. He got situations where he should score. He gets his goals, so he is happy. He wasn’t in the game much."

It was the complete contrast on the other end, with Lukaku lavishing praise on the AC Milan star who has kept his longevity going.

"He is a warrior. That he does what he does at his age - hats off. No hard feelings, just respect," as quoted by Daily Express.

Both players could meet again this season if AC Milan beat Napoli in the Champions League quarterfinals and Inter Milan get past Benfica. The two Milan sides have been forced to play catch up to Napoli in the Scudetto race this season.

What happened between Lukaku and Ibrahimovic?

Sports Brief has previously reported that the Swedish striker gave his account of how things transpired in his new hard-hitting book, Adrenaline.

The 41-year-old admits that he made reference to an old rumour that Lukaku's mother used voodoo on him to convince him to leave Everton in 2017 and join Manchester United.

Ibrahimovic wondered whether Lukaku had cast some sort of black magic on him, given that he suffered a series of misfortunes after their argument. He was confined to long spells on the injury table.

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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)