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United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has revealed that he is still
motivated by the negative experience he had under Pep Guardiola while at
Barcelona.
The Swede spent one season with the Catalan side, in 2009/10, when Guardiola was in charge, and struggled to click with the Spanish tactician.
Ibrahimovic didn't feel like he was appreciated by Guardiola during that time, and has admitted that he still enjoys proving the current Manchester City manager wrong.
"I learned a lot from Barcelona, on and off the pitch. I learned that in football any situation can change in 24 hours," Ibrahimovic told Sky Italia.
"The problem wasn’t with me, it was with him (Guardiola) and he never came to terms with it. I don’t know what his problem was with me.
"Before (I joined Barcelona) he was calling me every day to get me and then all of a sudden the situation changed.
"It is something that drives me, gives me adrenaline, and extra motivation. It is normal, after what has happened.
"I’m using it as a positive, not a negative. It is something in the back of my mind. It is the past and I am someone who looks to the future and the future is in front of me."
Ibrahimovic will again come face-to-face with his former coach when United face Manchester City in a rescheduled English Premiership fixture on Thursday, April 27 after the original fixture was postponed due to United's participation in the EFL Cup final against Southampton.
