Marcos Rojo admitted Zlatan Ibrahimovic "could have killed me" after he called his former Man Utd teammate "big nose".
The pair had to be pulled apart in the dressing room by boss Jose Mourinho after an on-field row during a match at Old Trafford.
Both players are known to be fairly hot tempered, and it all boiled over when Rojo opted not to pass to the Swedish striker.
Rojo told Infobae (via Metro ): "The pass between the lines [to Zlatan] was there. But there was Pogba alone on the left so I gave it to him, and Paul began to showboat. Zlatan starts cursing me.
"I follow it: 'Shut up, big nose. You want all the balls.' Arguing loudly.
"We finish the first half and go to the locker room. I'm in my place taking off my boots and he enters angrily and kicks something.
"He stops, looks at me and yells: 'What did you say to me?'
"So I also stop and say 'what did you say to me?' Although inside I was hoping someone would separate us, because he could have killed me."
United were winning 1-0 at the time and Rojo says they were leading their opponents on a "dance".
While Ibrahimovic was clearly unhappy, but he and Rojo soon backed off when their manager came into the room.
"The English [players], all big, separate us," Rojo continued. "Mourinho enters screaming, scrambling bottles. A mess in the locker room. Then it's done, we win and go to the next round."
Adding of the veteran forward, Rojo said: "Players like Zlatan have a terrible personality. He is a winner. He b****** you because he wants to win.
"Know that you can give more. I learned a lot from him. One of the most winning guys I ever saw."
And there row was seemingly water under the bridge as early as the next morning when the pair met at breakfast.
Rojo explained: "I felt grabbed at the back of the neck and couldn't turn. And he [Zlatan] says: 'What did you say to me?' - and he started laughing."
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