Zlatan Ibrahimovic: 'Pep Guardiola was immature with me'

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has described Pep Guardiola as the "most immature" coach of his career after their falling-out during the forward's time at Barcelona during the 2009-10 season.

Ibrahimovic ended his one campaign at Camp Nou with 21 goals to his name, but the majority of those strikes came during the first half of the season before the Swedish forward questioned his boss's use of Lionel Messi.

Guardiola promptly dropped Ibrahimovic before loaning him to AC Milan, and the veteran striker has suggested that his former boss would not entertain any communication with him.

The 36-year-old told Sky Sports Italia: "I'd scored a lot of goals in my first six months and we won two Super Cups. The first six months were perfect. After that, we changed system and tactics, and it wasn't good for me, so the club told me to talk to Guardiola.

"I told Guardiola that he'd sacrificed the other players for Messi. He told me he understood me. After that, he put me on the bench for the next game, the one after that and the one after that, And I thought, 'he's solved the problem very well I see!' After that, he didn't talk to me or even look at me.

"I'd walk into a room and he'd walk out. I'd go to meet him and he'd go somewhere else. I understood that there was something beyond football. He'd already judged me then, but if you don't know a person then you can't judge them. I had my experience with him, I don't know about others."

"But I read the same thing had happened to Mandzukic and Eto'o. He wasn't the worst coach I'd worked under, but he was certainly the most immature because a man solves his problems."

Ibrahimovic was speaking days after Manchester United succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City, with a fracas taking place in the tunnel after the game.