Zlatan Ibrahimovic insisted Monday that there was no rift between AC Milan coach Sergio Conceicao and deposed club captain Davide Calabria after the pair almost came to blows on the San Siro pitch at the weekend.
Raging Conceicao and Calabria had to be kept apart by coaching staff and teammates while fans celebrated Milan's improbable stoppage-time comeback to beat Parma 3-2 on Sunday. Italy international full-back Calabria, who was replaced as captain by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan earlier this month, brushed off the incident as being a "dressing room matter" while Conceicao cryptically said, "If your kids are behaving badly, you have to act".
And former Milan striker Ibrahimovic, who now works as an advisor for the club's owners, US Investment fund RedBird, said: "It happened to me a thousand times on and off the pitch. There was a lot of adrenaline going around (after the win) and those two are winners," added Ibrahimovic to reporters at Monday's press conference for new signing Kyle Walker.
"The same thing happened to me at Barcelona, Milan, Paris and United... the important thing is that it was sorted out before I got to the dressing room. It's good for the team that things like this happen, otherwise it would be like it (the club) didn't matter. It might look ugly, but it happens."
Conceicao has had a fiery start as Milan's coach since replacing compatriot Paulo Fonseca, already accusing his players of lacking heart and not wanting to win matches. Italian media reported that Sunday's row stemmed from Calabria and other players going to a concert held by Italian pop star Lazza - who is also a Milan fan and friend to several members of Conceicao's squad - on Friday night.