Romelu Lukaku’s bust-up with Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Milan derby called ‘match of the CENTURY’

The latest episode of the Milan derby has been hailed as the ‘match of the century’ after Zlatan Ibrahimovic‘s bitter feud with Romelu Lukaku was seen across the globe.

The former Manchester United team-mates almost came to blows at the end of the first half after Inter striker Lukaku was seething at what he saw as deliberate provocation by Ibrahimovic.  

With the dust starting to settle on what was a frantic Tuesday evening, Thursday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport made the case that the Coppa Italia quarter-final, won in dramatic fashion by Inter with a stoppage time Christian Eriksen free-kick, is the greatest match ever in the 21st century.  

Thursday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport called the Milan derby the ‘match of the century’

The game will forever be synonymous with Romelu Lukaku's feud with Zlatan Ibrahimovic

 The game will forever be synonymous with Romelu Lukaku’s feud with Zlatan Ibrahimovic

In normal circumstances Eriksen’s 96th minute winner, given his immense struggles since swapping Tottenham for Inter in January 2020, would have been the talking point but not so here. 

Gazzetta ran the now iconic image of Lukaku and Ibrahimovic head-to-head after the Belgian took issue with ‘voodoo’ comments from his bitter rival. 

Ibrahimovic was reported to have said: ‘Go do your voodoo s***, you little donkey’ during the stare down. 

It is believed that Ibrahimovic’s ‘voodoo’ remark was in relation to Farhad Moshiri’s extraordinary claim in January 2018 that Lukaku decided to leave Everton after a witch doctor advised him to join Chelsea. 

Lukaku has since denied those accusations and threatened to sue Moshiri for it and on Wednesday, Ibrahimovic denied allegations that those comments were racist.

He wrote on Twitter: ‘In ZLATAN’s world there is no place for RACISM,’ he tweeted. ‘We are all the same race – we are all equal!!’ 

Paul Pogba, a former team-mate of both Ibrahimovic and Lukaku, also rubbished suggestions that the Swede was a racist. He wrote: ‘Zlatan… racist? He loves me too much so he’s the last person I’d think of as racist! Come on, don’t joke with that one!’

Thursday’s edition of Corriere dello Sport coined the match the ‘Derby of Insults’ and revealed eight million people tuned into RAI on Italian TV to watch the derby. 

Corriere dello Sport revealed the match was watched by eight million on Italian TV

Tuttosport covered it as a small on the right side of the cover focused on Ibrahimovic's denial of racism

Corriere dello Sport (left) and Tuttosport (right) still covered the Milan story two days on

Ibrahimovic could be heard yelling at Lukaku 'Go do your voodoo s***, you little donkey'

Ibrahimovic could be heard yelling at Lukaku ‘Go do your voodoo s***, you little donkey’

CdS went on to add that the Disciplinary Commission could yet request video of the verbal exchange between the players for further analysis of the comments.

Tuttosport, a prominent newspaper for covering Juventus, still carried the story on the cover of their latest edition, leading off Ibrahimovic’s denial he was racist to his ex-team-mate.  

Lukaku has looked to establish himself as the best striker in Italy and he was in no mood to hold his tongue as he took on Ibrahimovic at the San Siro. 

The 27-year-old could be heard telling the AC Milan striker ‘f*** you and your wife, you little b****’ and ‘you want to speak about my mother!?’ as his Inter team-mates had to hold him back.

Both players were booked and Ibrahimovic was later sent off for picking up a second yellow card in the second half. 

After winning the Milan derby 4-2 in February 2020, Lukaku called himself the 'King' of Milan

After winning the Milan derby 4-2 in February 2020, Lukaku called himself the ‘King’ of Milan

Ibrahimovic got revenge in October 2020 and said 'Milan never had a king, they have a GOD'

Ibrahimovic got revenge in October 2020 and said ‘Milan never had a king, they have a GOD’

The rivalry between the two strikers has been close to boiling point for some time and it spilled over in dramatic fashion for the world to see in the Coppa Italia.  

Back in February 2020, Inter fought back from 2-0 down to claim bragging rights in the derby with a 4-2 win. It was a statement victory for Inter but Lukaku had more to say.

Lukaku sealed the win in the 93rd minute and later declared: ‘There’s a new king in town’, a clear shot at Ibrahimovic who was widely seen as the ‘King’ of the city given his previous exploits at both Inter and AC.

Ibrahimovic waited patiently to exact his revenge, waited until the next Derby della Madonnina, in October 2020. It was calculated. When they went head-to-head again it would be different – and so it proved.   

Lukaku scored, again, but so did Ibrahimovic, twice, in a 2-1 win for AC Milan. While they did not clash on the pitch that night, the 39-year-old was to offer up a not-so-subtle slapdown on social media. 

‘Milan never had a king, they have a God,’ he wrote on Instagram.

The duo were team-mates at Manchester United before they left for Inter and LA Galaxy

The duo were team-mates at Manchester United before they left for Inter and LA Galaxy 

Ibrahimovic denied his 'voodoo' comments were racist but he could not resist a separate jibe

Ibrahimovic denied his ‘voodoo’ comments were racist but he could not resist a separate jibe

Paul Pogba, who played with Lukaku and Ibrahimovic at United, defended the Swedish striker

Paul Pogba, who played with Lukaku and Ibrahimovic at United, defended the Swedish striker

The pair have long had a difficult and testing relationship and relations have soured further since they split the divide in Milan.  

Whenever they played together at Manchester United they never managed to score, the fit was awkward and they knew it. 

Even then Lukaku was the punchline to Ibrahimovic’s joke, another sign of him establishing his superiority over a player 12 years his junior.  

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport in 2019, Ibrahimovic revealed a bet he offered Lukaku which centred around ‘paying him’ for every good first touch. It was insulting and Lukaku knew it.  

‘I will say this on Romelu: don’t expect good technique from Lukaku. His best strength is sheer power. If only he’d listened to me,’ Ibrahimovic said. 

‘At Manchester United, we made a bet: “I’ll give you £50 for every decent first touch you make”.

Lukaku was heard telling the AC Milan striker he would 'f*** you and your wife, you little b****'

Lukaku was heard telling the AC Milan striker he would ‘f*** you and your wife, you little b****’

‘He replied: “What do I win if I get them all right?” I told him nothing, he would simply become a better player. For the record, he never accepted the bet! Perhaps he was afraid of losing?!’    

In the end it was Lukaku who had the last laugh as Inter progressed to the semi-finals where they will face Juventus. 

The cup tie started with Ibrahimovic opening the scoring for Milan in the 31st minute but he was sent off 13 minutes after the break for a second bookable offence after tripping Inter defender Aleksandar Kolarov.

Lukaku then equalised from the penalty spot after Nico Barella was deemed to have been fouled before Eriksen struck the winner for Inter with a stunning free-kick in stoppage time.