Zlatan Ibrahimovic has once again found himself at the centre of a storm after clashing with Nedum Onuoha during an MLS game on Sunday.
Ibrahimovic scored the winner for LA Galaxy in their 2-1 over Real Salt Lake but had clashed with former Manchester City defender Onuoha in the 60th minute, throwing his opponent to the ground.
Jeremiah Jensen
(@JJSportsBeat)Nedum Onuoha explains to @syarock what happened when Zlatan came into the @realsaltlake locker room and why he didn’t accept Zlatan’s apology. #RSL #mls #rsltid pic.twitter.com/RNH36Olpv7
The Swede went to the Real Salt Lake dressing room after the game to offer his apologies, but Onuoha said he was unwilling to accept Ibrahimovic’s gesture.
“He came in to apologise after the game, because from 60 minutes in, he’s saying to me he’s going to do me, he’s going to hurt me for that game,” Onuoha told reporters. “And this is the guy who’s the face of MLS, as he calls himself, but this is the way he plays on the field. So I don’t care. Someone comes in and tries to do that to me – you don’t say that on the field. I don’t care. I’m not going to accept his apology. It’s unacceptable.”
Ibrahimovic said he had no regrets over the confrontation. “I like to feel alive,” Ibrahimovic said after the game. “I like when it becomes duels and that, because sometimes – not that I fall asleep, but I don’t feel alive if they don’t actually activate me. When I get angry, I feel good.”
The motivation appears to be working: Galaxy are second in the MLS Western Conference, and Ibrahimovic is the league’s second-highest scorer with eight goals in seven games this season.
