Zlatan Ibrahimovic did not take kindly to Tyrone Mings stamping on him and let him know about it during his Premier League stint.
Ibrahimovic spent two years at Manchester United between 2016 and 2018 and certainly made his mark – particularly on Mings’ forehead after a bad-tempered clash against Bournemouth in 2017.
4
While the Cherries managed to leave Old Trafford with a 1-1 draw, a fantastic point by all means, one flash point is memorable.
After Ibrahimovic tripped over Wayne Rooney early in the contest, Mings tried to race back towards his own goal and jumped over the downed Red Devils star.
However, he misjudged the jump as the defender landed straight on Ibrahimovic’s head before running off.
The striker did not look best pleased, throwing Mings a look as if to say, ‘I’ve got you in my sights now’.
Sure enough, it did not take long before the two were entangled in yet another controversial moment as United were given a corner on the cusp of half-time.
As Ibrahimovic and Mings both jumped for the ball, the forward delivered a savage elbow right into the Bournemouth star’s face, drawing outrage.
The Swede, who was already on a booking, somehow escaped further punishment as referee Kevin Friend gave him a ticking off instead.
However, he did brandish a red card – only in Andrew Surman’s way for shoving Ibrahimovic in the resulting fracas.
4
4
4
But even Friend needed help with that after showing him a yellow card initially before Rooney told the officials the Bournemouth midfielder had already been booked.
Cherries assistant boss Jason Tindall, who has shot to fame in recent times, was also sent off for protesting pitchside.
Despite somehow staying on the pitch, Ibrahimovic had the chance to win the match for the Red Devils when they were given a late penalty.
However, the hulking figure of Ibra missed his effort and United went on to just manage a point against 10-men Bournemouth.
And while Jose Mourinho’s side might consider themselves lucky for even keeping 11 players on the pitch, Rooney was furious with the officiating after the match.
In a rare step for the England legend, he told the FA to ban Mings for violent conduct, saying: “In fairness, I don’t think the referee saw Tyrone Mings trying to stamp on Zlatan’s head.
“I think it’s wrong in football [trying to stamp on another player]. Everyone likes to see tackles in the game but to try to stamp on someone’s head is wrong and there’s no place for it. I’m sure there will be punishment.”
Rooney got his wish – a five-match ban for Mings – but at a cost as Ibrahimovic was also banned for three games.
Mings pleaded his innocence and insisted the stamp was an accident.
Ibrahimovic went all-out Zlatan.
He told the BBC: “You have the TV, you can see the images. I jump up and jump high and he jumps into my elbow.”
Ibrahimovic has recently called time on an illustrious career at the age of 41. At United he won the 2017 Europa League before injury wrecked his second campaign.
But in a career that took n Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Milan and PSG he won a total of 14 league titles.
He left United for LA Galaxy in 2018 before hanging up his boots in 2023 at Milan.
In 866 club appearances, he scored 511 times as well as recording the most goals scored for Sweden with 62 in 122 caps.
