Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hakan Calhanoglu were close friends at Milan, but their rapport has hit a new low following Calha’s latest interview with Tivibu Spor. Here’s the story of how their friendship ended.
Ibra and Calhanoglu used to hang out together while playing for the Rossoneri. They spent a year and a half in the black and red half of Milan before the Turkey international joined Inter as a free agent a year ago.
“Ibra is a leader and a champion on the pitch. He is a very nice and amusing person off the pitch and there is a great friendship between us,” Calhanoglu told Sportmediaset in June 2020.
“I am younger, but we often joke and he gives me advice.”
One month before that interview, the duo was spotted close to the lake of Como during a motorbike ride.
However, Calhanoglu’s move to the other side of the city upset Ibra, who hasn’t had nice words for his former teammate since.
“We must thank him for what he gave to Milan and wish him the best for the future,” Ibra wrote in his latest book, Adrenaline.
“It sounds terrible to say, but Calha has taken advantage of a tragic situation. [Former] Inter star [Christian] Eriksen collapsed on the floor during Denmark vs. Finland due to a heart attack, so Inter needed a player in that position and signed Hakan.
“Before that incident, he hadn’t received any offer from Inter or any other team.”
Calhanoglu: ‘Inter stronger than Milan, Ibrahimovic too old for this’
It was not the only time Ibra took a swipe at his ex-teammate and friend. During Milan’s open bus parade last month, the striker incited Milan fans to ‘send a message to Hakan.’
As a result, the Rossoneri fans targeted the Turkey international and his mother with insulting chants.
One month later, Calhanoglu reacted to the whole thing in an interview with Tivibu Spor in Turkey.
“He 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 centre of attention. He didn’t contribute to the Scudetto this season, he barely played but will do everything to be the focus anyway,” he said.
“Besides, he is the one who always calls me up, asks me to go out to dinner or for a motorbike ride. He wrote 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.”
It remains to be seen if there will be a new chapter of this story with another reaction from Ibra. Inter seem willing to do so. The Nerazzurri didn’t like Calhanoglu’s claims about their coach Simone Inzaghi and could fine him for his interview, which the club hadn’t organised.