'I was the first player to stand up to Ibrahimovic and he showed true colours'
Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha has opened up on his infamous clash with Zlatan Ibrahimovic during his Major League Soccer spell with Real Salt Lake.
Onuoha made the MLS switch in 2018 to join the Utah-based franchise, but the Englishman was not the only former Premier League star to make the move that year. Ex-Manchester United, Barcelona and AC Milan star Ibrahimovic also moved Stateside, joining LA Galaxy a few months earlier.
The Swedish international proved to be quite the coup of the American league and showed exactly why, earning a spot in the MLS Best XI, as well as winning the Newcomer of The Year and Goal of The Year awards.
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Ibrahimovic's legacy and bullish approach was renowned across the world of football, but the ex-City defender was not convinced. Speaking on the FilthyFellas YouTube channel, the Englishman opened up on his first encounter with Ibrahimovic, with proved to be a heated affair.
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"When we played against him, it was my first time playing him, it was 0-0 and a bit of a dead game. The ball goes over the top and I stand behind him and he grabbed me by the neck and threw me to the floor. I'm laying on the floor looking at him like 'what are you doing?' and he was like get up'. I'm like 'who are you talking to?'
Unimpressed with the Swede's persona on the pitch whilst his team were struggling, Onuoha added: "His team were getting pumped, and this describes who he was in that moment, his team were stinking it up at the back and all he's doing from the halfway line is shouting at how bad everyone is.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Nedum Onuoha clashed in 2019"He was saying 'you're no good, you guys are a disgrace, a disaster' He's not running channels, he's just standing there." After their heated battle on the pitch the former City star was less than pleased to see some of teammates in awe of the five-time Serie A winner, especially when he made his way into the Salt Lake dressing room.
Onuoha went on: "The game finishes and this is the thing about MLS, some guys are about it and some aren't. They dance around their stars. So after the game, we've lost, everyone knows I've had some beef with this player and there's a guy on my team trying to take pictures with him on the field...
"Two minutes later he came into the dressing room and was like "have you calmed down yet?" I don't know this guy, I'm like again 'who are you talking to? 'So now I'm pressing him. I get backed by one or two people telling him to 'f***ing make his way out or whatever' but looking around there's only three of us who stepped up. The rest of them were just in shock.
On the back of the encounter, Onuoha believes standing up to the Swedish international actually helped him gain the forward's respect the next time they faced off. "I was the first person who went up against him and more people did it after that," he added.
"The next time we played them, I was ready for war and when I saw him he asked me how I was. I think he respected me for stepping up to him because a lot of people wouldn't have pushed back. I'm disappointed because he's got one of the best careers but also says stuff that I know people I know would never say about anyone."
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