Zlatan Ibrahimovic threatened to break his teammate's leg

Zlatan Ibrahimovic disclosed that he once experienced a severe conflict with a former teammate, leading the Swedish icon to contemplate drastic measures to settle the dispute.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will always be remembered as one of the finest forwards of his generation, achieving success at nearly every club he played for. However, Ibrahimovic's career was not always smooth.

His strong personality inevitably led to conflicts, particularly with a former teammate at Ajax, Rafael van der Vaart.

After winning the Champions League in 1995, Ajax began rebuilding an ambitious squad with notable names like Wesley Sneijder, Ryan Babel, and Nigel de Jong under coach Ronald Koeman. Ibrahimovic, who joined from Malmo in 2001, quickly became the team's shining star. However, the 20-year-old star at that time did not have a good relationship with captain Van der Vaart.

Van der Vaart shared with Football.ua: “We were both young then, and I was Ajax's best player. But when he arrived, he also thought he was the best. At that time, he wasn't like he is now; I think he was somewhat jealous. We didn't have a huge conflict; it was simply two big egos in the same team. I believe I annoyed him more than he annoyed me.”

Despite the disagreements, they still played 68 matches together, winning two league titles and one Dutch Cup.

Four years after Ibrahimovic joined Ajax, he faced Van der Vaart in a friendly match between Sweden and the Netherlands. That match ended early for Van der Vaart when he suffered an injury after a challenge from Ibrahimovic.

Van der Vaart later recounted that Ibrahimovic once said: “I don't like you, and I don't like you being the captain. I didn't intend to injure you, and you know that. But if you accuse me again, I will break both your legs, and this time intentionally.”

In an interview with talkSPORT, Van der Vaart added: “Ibrahimovic was a very annoying guy. We frequently clashed. Not actual fights, but clearly we couldn't get along. He was very arrogant from my perspective, and I also had a big ego, and both of us were young.”

The former Dutch national team player continued: “We still managed to play together, but then during a national team match against Sweden, he kicked my ankle very hard. After the match, I told the press he did it intentionally. But back in the locker room, I felt uneasy and called to apologize to him, and things seemed to settle.

However, the next day, during a team meeting, he suddenly got angry, yelled at me, and I responded. Some sided with him, others supported me. Just two days later, he transferred to Juventus, because either I had to leave or he did. He said he didn't want to play with me anymore, and I felt the same. Fortunately, I stayed at my dream club.”

Van der Vaart remained with Ajax before moving to Hamburg a year later.

Reflecting on this relationship, the former Tottenham midfielder acknowledged that Ibrahimovic had made threats, but also believed if they met in real life now, there would be no issues.

He shared with FourFourTwo: “He did say that, but Zlatan says that to many people. It's true that things between us were not good at that time, but I still enjoy playing with straightforward people like him, even if disputes occur. There wasn't a specific moment that caused our conflict; we simply didn't click.”