Wilfried Zaha has gone viral after taking aim at Crystal Palace talisman Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The Ivory Coast international launched an attack on the France international – calling him “nasty” having received abusive messages in the aftermath of the striker saying he mocked his dream of ever playing for Les Bleus.
Before Wilfried Zaha hit out at Jean-Philippe Mateta, he was involved in more beef with a former Crystal Palace teammate in Brede Hangeland back in January 2017.
What Wilfried Zaha said after Brede Hangeland made “lazy” jibe
The Norwegian made 22 appearances alongside the Ivorian, but we doubt they’ll be meeting up for coffee anytime soon.
Hangeland included Zaha in a ‘lazy XI’ including old teammates when speaking on the Heia Fotball podcast, saying: “Amazing physique, athletic, huge potential. Some Mondays, he’d come over to me and say, I’m starting my programme now. He’d do five push-ups, sigh, then leave. He would have been incredible if he was serious.”
The Crystal Palace academy graduate was furious, responding: “We all have different bodies so because I’m not constantly in the gym or doing the same as someone else doesn’t mean I don’t work hard.”
Evidently, Zaha – who actually congratulated Mateta – does not enjoy being the subject of accusations, especially from his old Crystal Palace teammates.
Why Wilfried Zaha is right to be upset with Jean-Philippe Mateta
Some are accusing Zaha of being a hater towards Mateta following claims he “laughed” at the striker’s dream of playing for France.
However, when the Charlotte No.10 was still at Selhurst Park playing with the Frenchman, that was absolutely a fair assessment – not that it sounds like it was him questioning it.
Mateta only scored 11 goals in 80 Premier League games before Oliver Glasner arrived, and as Zaha mentioned in his viral video, the likes of Karim Benzema and then Kylian Mbappe meant competition for a place under Didier Deschamps was fierce.
The Crystal Palace No.14 certainly deserves a huge amount of credit for turning himself from a laughing stock into a prolific France international, but he didn’t need to name-drop Zaha.
The 32-year-old has been forced to deal with unjust tags in the media throughout his career, unfairly being branded a diver, not to mention that nonsensical story involving David Moyes’ daughter, so you can understand his frustration.
