KEVIN DE BRUYNE admits it was special sharing the pitch with two of the game’s greatest goalscorers on Friday.
But one of them, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, clearly still cannot stand the other, former Manchester United team-mate Romelu Lukaku.
Sweden star Ibra got a hero’s ovation from the Stockholm crowd as he returned to international football, aged 41, after 12 months out.
But he was upstaged by Lukaku, who grabbed a hat-trick in Belgium’s 3-0 win in the Group F opener to make it 71 goals for his country.
Manchester City playmaker De Bruyne, 31, is a huge fan of both.
But a feud between the pair that broke out in an Italian Cup quarter-final between AC Milan and Inter Milan in 2021 — when they headbutted each other and exchanged vile insults — is still simmering.
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Asked about Lukaku’s treble, a sniffy Ibrahimovic could not bring himself to mention his rival’s name, let alone praise him.
He said: “I didn’t see him. I didn’t get close to him here. He got situations where he should score.
“He gets his goals, so he is happy. He wasn’t in the game much.”
Lukaku, still on loan at Inter from Chelsea, was far more generous and conciliatory.
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He said: “He is a warrior. That he does what he does at his age . . . hats off. No hard feelings — just respect.”
Red Devils captain De Bruyne is also impressed by Ibrahimovic’s 62 international goals and 11 club league titles.
He said: “There are only good things to say about Ibra. What he has done in his career is unbelievable.
“But then we have Rom and he does the same things. He has 71 goals and is only 29 — where that total ends up depends on how long he wants to keep playing.”
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KDB, leading the ‘Next Generation’ with Belgium’s Golden Generation now making way, added: “I may be the new captain but we have also a new system and new players.
“On Monday it was like everything had changed for us. There were a lot of new young guys but we played really well.”
Belgium travel to Germany for a friendly on Tuesday, while Sweden host Azerbaijan in a qualifier tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic just missed on becoming the oldest player to feature in a Euros qualifier on Friday.
At 41 years and 176 days — four days older than Ibra — Gibraltar’s Lee Casciaro passed the mark set by Italy legend Dino Zoff (41y 90d) in his side’s 3-0 loss to Greece.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
