PSV received almost 40 million euros, but a real breakthrough doesn’t seem to be in the cards, so Zlatan Ibrahimović goes on the offensive.

Suddenly and out of the blue a double blow for PSV, just a few days after it became known that the club would sell Cody Gakpo to Liverpool. PSV received no less than more than €40 million for Cody Gakpo, but Chelsea suddenly and out of the blue decided to add a 'home-grown player' to the squad.

And so the West London club suddenly dug into its wallet and offered more than 38 million euros for Madueke, who was more than welcome in the London squad for more than one reason thanks to his British passport. Barely two seasons later, Arsenal pounced for Madueke, who still has not really been able to make the difference for any club. At PSV, too, his performances could for more than one reason not always be called equally consistent, but still Madueke managed to make it into the England national team.

But that also doesn’t go quite as it should. At least, according to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede then also goes in hard at the former PSV player. Madueke experienced a very disappointing evening with England in the quarterfinal of the World Cup last Saturday evening, despite the win against Norway. The former PSV forward was given a starting spot by coach Thomas Tuchel against Norway, but failed to convince and was taken off right after halftime. 

The 24-year-old winger has to process a lot of criticism after the end of the won quarterfinal, including from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Madueke did not seem to be fully switched on and frequently lost possession. During the first drinks break, Tuchel spoke at length with Madueke, but it brought no improvement. At the start of the second half, Tuchel decided to intervene and brought in Bukayo Saka as a substitute.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was during the match particularly critical of Madueke’s performance, but after the game the Swedish analyst took a hard swipe at the former PSV player. "As long as Madueke is on the pitch, I have the feeling that England is actually playing with one man fewer. Every time he gets the ball, he makes the wrong decision. Besides, he just jogs along a bit."

"Even the drinking break hasn’t helped him. He did play, but he was never really in the match. England actually started with ten men. If I were Tuchel, I would take him off. In the first 45 minutes he showed absolutely nothing", said a critical Zlatan Ibrahimovic.