It takes a brave man to start a fight with Roy Keane, yet Zlatan Ibrahimovic is built differently and showed that during a friendly against Manchester United in 2002.
The 40-year-old Milan striker, who spent two seasons at Old Trafford himself, is a certified legend of the game for the trophies he has won, the way he has played and the character he is.
Never one to back down and always ready to thrive under the spotlight, the Swede took his opportunity to do just that in a pre-season match 20 years ago against Manchester United, while he was still playing his trade with Ajax.
After being brought down on the edge of the box by Rio Ferdinand, a then 21-year-old Zlatan felt as though midfielder Phil Neville went in a bit unnecessarily to clear the ball – even after the referee blew his whistle.
The 6ft 4ins frontman squared up to Neville, who had little interest in a discussion with the taekwondo black belt.
Perhaps sensing their teammate needed help, Keane and David Beckham politely invited the striker to back down from the confrontation and words were exchanged.
Keane, who was in possession of the captain’s armband for the Red Devils tried to end the argument, but Beckham and Zlatan went back and forth for some time and the referee had to get involved.
The pair were later teammates at Paris Saint-Germain when Beckham finished his career in the French capital just over a decade later.
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The game, on 2 August 2002, finished in a 2-1 victory for Ajax, with Zlatan scoring the winner thanks to an assist from future Tottenham and West Ham striker Mido, although it mattered little to the Red Devils.
United regained the formerly-named Premiership title that season, taking it back from Arsenal, before Beckham departed for Real Madrid in the summer of 2003.
Zlatan, meanwhile, continued making his name around Europe, joining Juventus in 2004 then playing for Inter, Barcelona and Milan before also playing at PSG then United.
He is still playing now and was recently seen celebrating another title, this time at Serie A side Milan.
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