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Published 20:19 IST, January 26th 2023

Zlatan Ibrahimovic slams Argentine players for celebrations after World Cup 2022 win

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has slammed Argentine players, excluding Lionel Messi, for the way they celebrated after winning the FIFA World Cup 2022 trophy.

Reported by: Vidit Dhawan
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Image: AP | Image: self
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AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has slammed Argentine players, excluding Lionel Messi, for the way they celebrated after winning the FIFA World Cup 2022 trophy. Argentina got their hands on the trophy after beating France 4-3 on penalties in the final after scores were tied 3-3 after extra time.

Zlatan slams Argentine players for World Cup celebrations

After successfully winning the FIFA World Cup 2022 title, Argentine players were seen mocking French forward Kylian Mbappe in the dressing room. The mocking of Mbappe just did not end there as Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez also provoked the PSG star during their World Cup parade in Buenos Aires.

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On seeing such celebrations, veteran Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic explained to France Inter how most of these Argentine players would be forgotten after behaving in such a manner. He excluded seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi from this group as he believes that the Argentine captain is one of the most decorated footballers of all time.

"Messi is considered the best player in history, I was sure he would win," said Zlatan. "What will happen is that Mbappé will still win a World Cup. I'm not worried about him. I'm worried about the others in Argentina because they won't win anything anymore. Messi won everything and will be remembered, but the rest who behaved badly, we can't respect that. That comes from me, speaking as a top professional player, it's a sign that you'll win once, but you won't win again. You don't win like that."

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'Not wasting my energy': Mbappe reacts to Martinez's celebrations

Kylian Mbappe gave his reaction to Emiliano Martinez's FIFA World Cup celebrations after he guided his club, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), to a last-minute victory against Strasbourg last month. After the match, he said (as quoted by El Grafico), "You always have to be a fair player, and (his) celebrations are not my problem. I don’t waste energy on such absurd things.

However, he did admit that the defeat in the final against Argentina did bother him. "Losing that final made me live difficult hours. That’s why I felt better when we won today and I was able to score the last goal," said the Frenchman.

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20:21 IST, January 26th 2023