‘He is a 40-year-old man, not 18, so I wouldn’t do that sort of thing at his age’
Hakan Calhanoglu has fired back at former teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the striker trolled him during AC Milan’s recent title parade.
Turkish international Calhanoglu left Milan last summer and made the controversial decision to sign for city rivals Inter on a free transfer.
Given that he made 172 appearances in the famous red and black shirt – registering 32 goals and 48 assists – his move to Simone Inzaghi’s side did not go down well with the Milan supporters, or the club’s players.
After pipping Inter to the Serie A crown in May, Ibrahimovic was keen to make sure that his former teammate Calhanoglu knew about it.
Zlatan chiede ai tifosi un messaggio per Hakan 🤷🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/qfFAv6FR5v
— Simone Cristao (@SimoneCristao) May 23, 2022
Zlatan sends message to former teammate
The 40-year-old grabbed the microphone during the title parade and said to the fans: “Hey, send a message to Hakan [Calhanoglu].”
Following the veteran forward’s request, the crowd booed and shouted insults about Calhanoglu, who played 46 times for Inter last season.
However, the 28-year-old has since fired back and responded to Ibrahimovic’s antics during the title celebrations.
He said to Tivibu Spor, per football-italia: “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.”
“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.”
🗣️" He likes to get attention. He had no contribution this year, he did not play at all. But he does everything to attract the attention of the fans. That's how he lives. He is 40. If I was 40 I wouldn't do those things."
-Hakan Calhanoglu on Zlatan pic.twitter.com/pQR78QZAkH
— Football Talk (@FootballTalkHQ) June 23, 2022
Calhanoglu slams Milan supporters
Calhanoglu also hit out at the Milan fans, claiming that they did not chant his name once during his four year stint at the club.
“I am very happy at Inter, though, and the support of the fans is very helpful. I played at Milan for four years, but nobody ever chanted my name in the stands, whereas it happens every time I just warm up for Inter,” he added.
The Turkish international then insisted that Inter are a much better side than their city rivals, despite losing out on the title to Stefano Pioli’s men.
He said: “Inter are a much stronger squad than Milan. We lost a derby that changed suddenly at the 75th minute after Ivan Perisic and I were substituted. We were leading 1–0 and then lost 2–1, so the coach contributed to the defeat and I told him as much.”
Inter won the the Italian Super Cup with a 2-1 victory over Juventus after extra-time last season, thanks to Alexis Sanchez’s late winner.
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