Lukaku opens up on what caused his clash with Zlatan

Romelu Lukaku has explained what happened during his altercation with Zlatan Ibrahimovic back in January.

With AC Milan leading Inter Milan 1-0 in a lively Coppa Italia derby, Zlatan and Lukaku were caught up in a scuffle just before half time.

The former Manchester United teammates were visibly angry with one another, although at the time, it was unclear exactly what had gone on between the two.

Clash of the titans

While Ibrahimovic managed to put his side 1-0 up, Inter eventually came back to win 2-1 with Lukaku scoring the equaliser – whereas the Swede was sent off just before the hour mark.

Now, after Inter were recently declared Serie A champions, Lukaku has spoken in more detail about the incident.

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“We were 1-0 down, I had missed a goal and I was a little angry. His words hit me. I am not happy about my reaction, but I don’t let myself get pushed around,” Lukaku told Il Corriere della Sera

“I am humble, I am a winner, and I fight until death for my teammates’ victory. 

“Ibrahimovic is a great footballer, he’s won everywhere he’s been, scoring more than 500 goals. I had had a good relationship with him until I was at Manchester United, but we need this kind of footballers in Serie A. 

“He wants to win for himself, I want to win for Inter and Ronaldo for Juventus. Now, there is Mourinho at Roma. These are nice things for Italian football,” he said.

Given how stacked the league appears to be getting as we prepare for the summer transfer window, it’s not unreasonable to think Italian football could be experiencing a real resurgence.

Lukaku and Zlatan can’t take all the credit for that, but they’ve definitely brought an extra entertainment factor to the more casual fans of Serie A.

Featured image credit: Getty