Zlatan Ibrahimovic Talks 'Special One' Jose Mourinho, Says Pep Guardiola 'Hid'

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has backed Jose Mourinho to make a successful return to management and hit out at Pep Guardiola.   

Ibrahimovic worked with Mourinho at Inter Milan and Manchester United, while Guardiola managed him at Barcelona.

On the former, he told Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Goal's Matt Dorman): "He had an incredible impact on my career. He is still 'the Special One,' a winner. I hope he will back on a bench soon and I am sure he will start winning immediately."

The Los Angeles Galaxy striker won Serie A with Mourinho in the 2008-09 season, scoring 29 goals and assisting 11 in all competitions.

They reunited at Old Trafford in the 2016-17 season, in which they won the League Cup and the UEFA Europa League, albeit Ibrahimovic missed the latter final with a knee injury.

The Sweden international scored 28 goals and assisted 10 in 46 matches for Mourinho that season.

He had previously discussed their similar attitude toward the game when talking about his exit from United last year:

Ibrahimovic did not see eye to eye with Manchester City boss Guardiola, though.

The 38-year-old joined Guardiola's Barca in 2009 on the back of his league title with Mourinho at Inter.

"We never had a direct confrontation because of him," Ibrahimovic said of Guardiola. "When we faced each other, he hid. He waited for me to leave and then left the dressing room. As a coach he is a phenomenon, but as a man..."

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Despite not getting on with his coach, Ibrahimovic returned 21 goals and 13 assists in 45 appearances in the 2009-10 season. He was, however, sent on loan to AC Milan after that season and joined the Rossoneri permanently a year later.

Football journalist Andy Brassell believes he should have been given more of a chance at the Camp Nou:

Ibrahimovic's replacement at Barca, David Villa, proved a more natural fit in Guardiola's system, though, and Barca won La Liga and the UEFA Champions League in the 2010-11 campaign.

Guardiola is now at City, where he is bidding to win his third consecutive Premier League title.

As for Mourinho, he has been out of management since he was sacked by United in December last year after a poor start to the 2018-19 campaign.

Despite the silverware he won with Ibrahimovic at United, Mourinho's career has taken a decline since his Premier League title win with Chelsea in 2015.

It's unlikely he'll be out of coaching for too long. He's won eight league titles in four countries and the Champions League twice, so there aren't many active managers with better CVs. But despite his success, he still has something to prove after his recent struggles.