Inter and Turkey midfield ace Hakan Calhanoglu, who defied allegiances and jumped over to the black and blue side of the Milan divide from the Rossoneri last summer, has blasted former teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic for his outspoken persona.
Ibra mocked the Turk during Milan’s Scudetto title parade last month as he poked fun at this former teammate over the microphone, saying: “Hey, send a message to Hakan,” responding to which Rossoneri fans in attendance unleashed boos and insults.
Zlatan chiede ai tifosi un messaggio per Hakan ??♂️ pic.twitter.com/qfFAv6FR5v
— Simone Cristao (@SimoneCristao) May 23, 2022
Calhanoglu has now responded with blows of his own, citing the Milan veteran to always be hungry for attention ‘like an 18-year-old’ even despite having a limited role. Speaking to Turkish outlet Tivibu Spor (via Goal.com), the Nerazzurri midfielder responded with a rant that will have the Swede looking sideways.
“Ibrahimovic is a 40-year-old man, not 18, so I wouldn’t do that sort of thing at his age. He just likes being the center of attention. He didn’t contribute to the Scudetto this season, he barely played, but will do everything to be the focus anyway.
Besides, he is the one who always calls me up, asks me to go out to dinner or for a motorbike ride. He talke about me in his book too. He had to write something, or it would’ve been blank pages. It’s best not to bother, honestly.”
The duo shared the same dressing for one season – in 2020/21 – before the ex-Hamburg star jumped ship without a word of warning to the Milan management. Calhanoglu revealed that his intention to move to Inter was solely for a new challenge and to win the Scudetto title, only to see his former club win it instead in 2021/22.