PADavid Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic also got a piece of the World Cup action in their own friendly rivalry over the weekend.
The pair decided to make on a small wager over the outcome of England and Sweden’s World Cup quarter final on Saturday, a game the Three Lions won comfortably, 2-0.
Not quite content with just putting a tenner on the win or anything like that, Becks and Zlatan decided to up the stakes, with the prizes a little different from your average bet.
Taking to Instagram, Zlatan said:
Yo @davidbeckham, if @England wins I buy you dinner where ever you want in the world, but if Sweden wins you buy me what ever I want from @IKEASverige ok?
David, being confident – and rightly so – was quick to respond, writing:
If @swemnt win I will personally take you to @ikeasverige and buy you what ever you need for the new mansion in LA @lagalaxy , but when @england win I want you to come watch an @england game at Wembley wearing an England shirt and enjoy fish & chips at half time…
InstagramWhile I would have loved to see Zlatan and Becks go shopping in Ikea, we know that England came out on top after the game against Sweden. So it looks like fish and chips will be on the menu for Zlatan.
And, being a man of his word, Zlatan has now confirmed he will stick to the bet and grace Becks with his presence.
Taking to Instagram again, Zlatan wrote:
@davidbeckham
Im coming
Congrats
ZlatanIbrahimovic/InstagramI’m sure David and Victoria will be more than accommodating when Zlatan visits for the match and some decent scran, after all the players are pretty good mates already.
It also looks like Wembley Stadium is excited to welcome back the Swedish legend as well…
Look forward to seeing you, @Ibra_official ?????????
? ? ? pic.twitter.com/GIyHg8bgrM
— Wembley Stadium (@wembleystadium) July 7, 2018
The two players were teammates together at Paris Saint-Germain, and when Beckham left the French capital the pair remained good friends, with Becks even helping Zlatan make his decision to then move to LA Galaxy, Beckham’s former side.
And it’s not just LA living the pair have in common. I’m sure their respective experiences at Manchester United will also serve to fuel conversation over a 5-star chippy tea.
Of course, Becks wasn’t the only former United player to have a friendly little dig at former team mate Zlatan. Wayne Rooney also felt the need to chip in, offering his ex-team mate a bit of comfort after his side’s defeat.
Rooney wrote:
How you feeling today mate @Ibra_official? If you need a chat I’m always here
How you feeling today mate @Ibra_official? If you need a chat I’m always here ?
— Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) July 7, 2018
At the end of the day, football is the real winner. Unless you’re Zlatan or Beckham, in which case it’s all about this bet.
Now I wonder if any ex-Croatian player might like to challenge Becks…
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.