Pep Guardiola Slammed by Mino Raiola for Zlatan Ibrahimovic Treatment
Superagent Mino Raiola has verbally attacked Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola for his previous treatment of one of his star clients, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Guardiola purchased the mercurial forward for Barcelona during his tenure at the Camp Nou, but the Swede did not see his career get off the ground whilst working for Guardiola, leading to Raiola's criticism of the Spaniard.
The controversial agent is often outspoken, and in an interview with Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, Raiola slammed the Bayern manager for his previous dealings with Ibra, per AS: “He [Pep Guardiola] is a nasty piece of work as a man, but a great coach. Guardiola was the man who took Ibra to Barcelona and later he treated him very badly.”
Ibrahimovic joined the Blaugrana from Inter Milan in 2009 but only lasted one season before Pep sent the striker out on loan.
The player has previously called Guardiola "a spineless coward" in his autobiography, serialised by the Daily Mail, in reaction to the manager's treatment of him during his spell with Barca.
He also said the coach was a "brick wall," concluding their relationship made him think, "Every hour with the club [Barcelona] I wished I could be out of there."
Despite the problems between the two egos, Ibra's record at Barca was statistically good. He scored 16 goals and created seven assists in his 23 La Liga appearances, per ESPN FC, but the world did not get to see the full potential of Zlatan coupled with the brilliance of Lionel Messi.
The 33-year-old has since gone on to prove he is one of the greats of his generation but has been a nomad in terms of his footballing geography.
However, it is difficult to truly criticise Guardiola's handling of Ibrahimovic considering the success that followed for Barca.
The Swede may not have liked his treatment under the Spaniard's care, but Pep's first concern needed to be for the team, and Zlatan did not fit into Barcelona's pressing style.
Guardiola's collective would defend from the front and make it difficult for their opposition to gain territory or possession. Although Ibrahimovic was skillful enough to play Barca's short passing style, he certainly did not have the work rate needed to fulfil Guardiola's vision.
His signing was a strange one when considered in the cold light of day, with the striker not suited to certain styles of football.
At Paris Saint-Germain, Zlatan is the planet which all other moons orbit around, and the superstar needs to be in this kind of environment to play his best game.
Raiola is a typical agent in terms of publicly defending his players, but his words will do him no favours if he wishes to do business with Guardiola or Bayern in the very near future.
However, Raiola did also call Guardiola a "great coach," so damage limitation was also clearly in his thoughts.
