According to Michael Ciani, a former teammate of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s, Edinson Cavani was one of four players the latter despised during his career in PSG.
Cavani has followed in the footsteps of Sweden icon Ibrahimovic by going from Paris Saint-Germain to Manchester United. And according to Michael Ciani, there was little love between the two during their time at Parc des Princes.
When the fiery forward began his successful term at LA Galaxy in 2018, defender Ciani shared a locker room with Ibrahimovic, and the retired former France international has claimed the AC Milan talisman’s hatred extended to Cavani’s friends.
‘If you are near to Cavani, Ibra does not like it,’ Ciani said. ‘Either you support Ibra or you oppose him.’ He assured me that everything was OK at PSG under [then-manager] Laurent Blanc. Cavani was the only person with whom he did not get along.’
‘He told me that in his entire career, he only hated three or four people… and one of them was Cavani.’
On the pitch, Ibrahimovic and Cavani were a formidable duo, winning Ligue 1 in each of their three seasons together as well as a slew of domestic championships with the French giants.
Both players scored over 100 goals for United, with Ibrahimovic spending over two seasons with the club after leaving PSG in 2016, and Cavani joining in 2020, scoring 19 goals in 56 games.
Ibrahimovic, at 40 and still at the top of the Serie A standings with AC Milan, has a reputation for making demands of his teammates over his illustrious career.