Ibrahimovic against Lukaku in the derby. Two teams that have returned to bet for the maximum: both score, only one wins. Head against each other, one world against another.
At the base of that brawl there is an old story that re-emerges and tells disagreements in which, needless to say, the transfer market is also involved. We must go back to three seasons ago: 2017/2018. Zlatan and Romelu play together at Manchester United , even if "together" is a big word. In total they collect only seven appearances for 127 minutes overall. Goals scored: zero.
An understanding that struggles to take off on the pitch, let alone outside. Unshared career choices, very different decisions like wanting to change agents, which Ibra just didn't accept it. Zlatan is linked not only by a working relationship , but also by a personal one to Raiola , whose figure he has always recognized as a fundamental boost for his career.
With Lukaku, however, it did not go quite like this. " Consensual separation " had said agent Mino Raiola, not used to seeing the players managed by him change agency. It all begins when, in 2017, Romelu decides not to renew with Everton . “ It's not your way ”, says his mother, a reference figure in his life. The attacker takes it as a sign of destiny, negotiations with the Toffees are interrupted and Raiola does not take it very well.
It was a farewell that Ibra didn't like much. This is why from the lip of the player during the incident you can clearly understand the word "Voodoo": an ironic and provocative expression that Lukaku, a very observant Catholic, was unable to accept. As if that weren't enough, another sentence made Romelu inflame: “ Call your mom, call her ”, the opponent would have told him.
At the end of the match, coach Antonio Conte threw water on the fire. Pioli did the same as well. We are already thinking about the next match, leaving behind old stories, and the transfer market.
(source: grandhotelcalciomercato.com)
