Zlatan Ibrahimovic aimed a playful dig at Celtic during a live fan event in New York, despite previously hailing Parkhead as one of football’s greatest atmospheres.
The 44-year-old Swede was appearing at Fanatics Fest alongside Kaka, Lukas Podolski and Antoine Griezmann when he opened a pack of football trading cards during a live Q&A.
After pulling a Celtic player, Ibrahimovic quipped: “What is Celtic?”
@sidecards_cal Zlatan really said: ‘What is a Celtic?’ 😭💀 #football #zlatan #celtic #soccer ♬ original sound - sidecards_cal
Host Ethan Payne laughed but warned the remark would not go down well north of the border, replying: “Scottish people won’t be happy with that.”
The comment contrasts with Ibrahimovic’s long-standing admiration for the club and its supporters.
He famously experienced Celtic Park at its peak when Ajax were knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers in 2001, losing 3-2 on aggregate to Martin O’Neill’s side.
Reflecting on that tie in later years, he said: “I have played in the biggest games in world football. But I have never experienced an atmosphere like I did at Celtic Park.”
Ibrahimovic was also denied a return to a full stadium when AC Milan faced Celtic in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the time, he said: “Celtic is one of the great atmospheres and great stadiums of Europe. Zlatan deserves to play in front of the Celtic fans and the Celtic fans deserve to see Zlatan play live.
“I have played in a full Celtic stadium before and I wanted to experience it again.”
