Super-agent Mino Raiola has branded Pep Guardiola ‘a coward, a dog’ in a blistering attack on the Manchester City boss.
The motormouth middleman has hit out in a no-holds-barred onslaught - laying bare a long-running feud between the pair.
And now, insisting that he will place his players with other clubs rather than see Guardiola profit, he said: “Pep Guardiola, the coach, is fantastic. As a person he’s an absolute zero. He’s a coward, a dog.
“He’s a classic priest. ‘Do as I tell you – don’t do what I do....’ If Manchester City win the Champions League this season it will emphasise what a good coach he is – but I’ll hate it.”
Matters came to a head when Raiola’s client, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, was forced out of Barcelona in 2011. He spent the 2010-11 season on loan at AC Milan and the Italian giants signed the Swede superstar at the end of that campaign.
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Guardiola’s snub meant Ibra missed out on a Champions League winners’ medal when Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3-1 in the final at Wembley.
And that bad blood still remains.
“I went for him that night in the corridors at Wembley - only Adriano Galliani, AC Milan’s chairman, stopped me. Lucky for Guardiola.
He continued: “Guardiola told Zlatan to go to him if he ever had any problems or complaints.
“But then he just ignored him and wasn’t playing him. He didn’t even say: ‘Hello’ to Zlatan.
“Guardiola did the same to Maxwell who is a lovely lad.
“So I told Zlatan to go and park his Ferrari in the manager’s spot!”