Legendary Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic wasted no time trying to recruit reinforcements after his big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2012. With PSG’s Qatari owners bankrolling a rapid rise up Ligue 1, Ibrahimovic set his sights on one iconic English footballer.

At the time, Zlatan was already playing alongside David Beckham in Paris, but he was keen on linking up with another Three Lions’ icon. Indeed, Ibrahimovic felt that Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, would be a perfect fit in the French capital.

He even went as far as to publicly call on the England striker to join him at Paris Saint-Germain if he ever decided to leave Old Trafford.

Zlatan’s Public Call For Rooney

The approach came amid genuine transfer turbulence around both players. Ibrahimovic himself was reported to be unsettled in Paris, with a potential exit fuelling PSG’s interest in making a move for Rooney, while speculation grew that PSG were prepared to spend big to take Rooney abroad after he was linked with a transfer request following a spell out of United’s team.

As per the Mirror, in April 2013, Ibrahimovic said:

For Ibrahimovic, the logic was simple: PSG already had the financial muscle, and he wanted the squad to match it, with Thiago Silva joining the side in the summer window. PSG’s interest in Rooney was very public, as Club President Nasser Al-Khelaifi even admitted he wanted to sign the striker, but hadn’t yet made official contact with Manchester United.

Unfortunately for Zlatan and PSG, Rooney stayed put at Old Trafford for several more years, becoming the Red Devils’ top goalscorer of all time, whilst Ibrahimovic enjoyed his own success in Paris, but wasn’t able to get his hands on the Champions League trophy.

Ibrahimovic’s Linkup with Beckham

While Rooney stayed away, Ibrahimovic did get to play alongside an England legend at the Parc des Princes — just not the one he’d lobbied for. David Beckham signed for PSG as a free agent in January 2013, and the pair ended up playing together for roughly five months before Beckham retired that summer.

It wasn’t the most memorable part of Beckham’s career, making just 14 appearances for the side, assisting twice and even picking up a red card. Beckham did provide an assist for Ibrahimovic on the final day, squaring the ball to the Swedish striker from a free kick, who slotted home to give the side a 3-1 win, securing their first Ligue 1 trophy in over 19 years.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Ibrahimovic was full of praise for Beckham during their time together.

“Everybody knows him as a footballer. You read a lot about him, you hear a lot about him. When you meet the real person, I have only positive things to say. The person who has negative things to say is either jealous or hates him. Because there are no negative things to say about him — that is my view.

As a footballer, it is important to be yourself and live your life — not to live in a bubble, not to enjoy your life. That is what I admire about Beckham. The attention that follows him is not easy to living out your life. But he did it.”

For all football fans across the world, the very first dream was to become a player, stepping out onto perfectly lit stadiums, pristine pitches, playing in front of thousands every week. The dream doesn’t stop there, some want to coach, lifting trophies as the mastermind behind the success whilst standing on the sidelines.

One person had it all. Standing on the touchline in some of Germany’s biggest stadiums, barking instructions, taking his Bundesliga side on an 11-game unbeaten run. He worked as an assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann, and earned his coaching badges in the same class as Julian Nagelsmann. But, now at 46 years old, the same man spends his days in between McDonald’s stores, not as a customer, but as a boss, swapping the touchline for the drive-through.

Bundesliga Manager Turned McDonald’s Boss

Action images

Alexander Nouri made his name at Werder Bremen after being promoted from the club’s Under 23 side to the interim, then permanent head coach in 2016. He steadied a struggling team and came close to Europa League qualification before being dismissed in October 2017 following a poor run of results. Spells at FC Ingolstadt followed, along with a high-profile stint as Klinsmann’s assistant, and later interim head coach, at Hertha BSC. His last job in professional football was a brief spell with Greek side AO Kavala, who he left in 2022.

Rather than returning to the sidelines, Nouri stepped away from the game entirely. Since leaving Kala, he has reportedly turned down approaches from lower-league German clubs and offers from abroad, deciding to instead build a career with more long-term stability. From the start of 2026, he took on two McDonald’s franchises, before adding a third in July. Across the three sites, he now oversees over 150 staff members.

Why Nouri Switched To The Fast Food Scene

Reuters

Nouri has been candid about what drove the switch to McDonald’s management. In an interview with The Athletic, Nouri said:

Coaching at the top level of the game demands total commitment, and after the three years away from the game, Nouri realised he was searching for stability rather than another short-term contract. Unfortunately, football management doesn’t offer the stability that a management job in a different sector can.

He also sees clear parallels between his two careers, he said: “The ‘growth mindset’, I learned from Jurgen Klinsmann and from Gregg Berhalter. They always brought external expertise into the organisations to challenge their own processes and everything, and to experience that alongside those personalities was learning for me. And that helps me now in my job right now as well.”

It could be argued that Gianni Infantino is the least popular man in all of world football right now. After all, he will forever be remembered as the FIFA president who tried to sell the World Cup.

The administrator planned to profit from a commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE), which would allow private investors to purchase stakes in major international competitions, such as the World Cup and the Club World Cup. His scheme was rejected by most within the sport and will not go ahead.

For many, this has all been a step too far, with UEFA among those to express no confidence in Infantino – while past Ballon d’Or winner Luis Figo has personally called for Infantino’s resignation. This is, however, not the first time the 56-year-old has sparked fury from within the footballing community.

Gianni Infantino Sparked Fury at Pele’s Funeral

REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake

In late 2022, the sporting world was grieving the loss of a true great. Brazil legend Pele had just passed away at the age of 82. A few days later, FIFA president Infantino was among those to rush to his funeral.

His behaviour near Pele’s open coffin, however, was widely criticised. The Swiss football administrator was seen taking a selfie near the legend’s body as he lay in state at the stadium of his former club Santos before he was laid to rest.

Infantino took the picture alongside some of Pele’s former team-mates, including Lima. When news broke of his actions, there was a great outcry. A report from Sky News at the time noted that some fans online had labelled the behaviour as “classless”, a “disgrace”, “horrible” and “disgusting.”

The image below was shared on Reuters, showing Pele in his coffin while Infantino takes a selfie. GIVEMESPORT has cropped the photo so Pele is not visible.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino takes a selfie at Pele’s funeral via REUTERS/Diego Vara

Infantino Defended His Actions in Statement

To this day, Infantino’s response – which includes selfies taken at the funeral – remains up on his Instagram account. He didn’t exactly apologise for his actions either, but rather explained how ‘dismayed’ he was for being criticised.

His full statement read: “Just landed from my trip to Brazil where I had the privilege to participate in the beautiful homage to Pelé that took place at Vila Belmiro, in Santos.

“In the case of the selfie, Pele’s teammates asked to do a selfie of all of us together but they didn’t know how to do it. So, to be helpful, I took the phone of one of them and took the photo of all of us for him. If being helpful to a teammate of Pele creates criticism I’m happy to take it and will continue to be helpful wherever I can to those having contributed to write legendary pages of football.”

In typical Infantino style, he then went on the attack, claiming those who called out his behaviour should ‘admit they were wrong’ and apologise:

“The most important in any case is to pay tribute to King Pele, and whilst I humbly suggested that throughout our 211 member associations at least one football stadium or venue is named after him, we will set the example by giving the pitch in our headquarters the name “Estádio Pele – FIFA Zurich”. Um abraço e viva o Rei!”