Roy Keane doesn’t have to do much to be in the firing line of Manchester United fans, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic might be giving him some serious competition now.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been working as a studio pundit and an analyst for Fox Sports in the United States for this summer’s World Cup tournament.
The 44-year-old former Manchester United striker remains a beloved figure for Red Devils supporters after his time at Old Trafford in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
However, Ibrahimovic is not one to mince his words and the former Sweden international’s criticism of Senne Lammens lacks serious substance behind it.
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How much is Senne Lammens worth now?
Man Utd got a real bargain… how much of a bargain?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic slammed Man Utd star Senne Lammens in a head-to-head with Belgium player Mike Penders
Senne Lammens received his World Cup debut in rare circumstances after the Manchester United No 1 replaced an injured Thibaut Courtois in the 71st minute.
The 24-year-old Belgian shot-stopper, who was capped at senior level for his country in 2025, was criticised for his costly error in the dying stages of the Spain match.
Lammens spilt the ball from an initial save before Mikel Merino converted from close range to fire Euro 2024 champions Spain into a 2-1 lead last Friday.
Belgium crashed out of the World Cup quarter-finals and an irate Zlatan Ibrahimovic claimed that Lammens should not have played ahead of Chelsea’s Mike Penders.
“Why replace Courtois with Senne Lammens from Manchester United, while Mike Penders remains on the bench?” Ibrahimovic asked on Fox Sports, as per Goal.
“Is it because Lammens plays for Manchester United and Penders for Strasbourg?
“That’s not how you select a goalkeeper for a national team. Especially when you see what happens next.”
Ibrahimovic added: “Lammens isn’t a good goalkeeper at this level. He’s overrated. Penders is much better, and everyone can see it.”
Senne Lammens has been voted SIGNING OF THE SEASON by fans on TalkingPoints – Send your message to the goalkeeper here…
Senne Lammens and Mike Penders’ stats paint a different picture from the narrative that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is peddling
Senne Lammens might have done better for Belgium on another day, but the critique from former striker Ibrahimovic is getting carried away in the moment.
When Lammens’ stats are compared head-to-head with Mike Penders in their main domestic leagues last season, there is not a major difference separating them.
Penders made 33 appearances in Ligue 1 in the 2025-26 campaign during his loan at Strasbourg, while Lammens played in 32 Premier League matches for Man Utd.
Lammens had 2,880 minutes to his name in his debut season at Old Trafford and kept eight Premier League clean sheets for the Red Devils after his 2025 move.
Penders, on the other hand, collected 2,970 minutes for Strasbourg and managed to keep the same number of clean sheets as Lammens in the previous campaign.
Lammens conceded only 39 times and had a 66.9 per cent save percentage, while Penders was beaten 47 times and held a 69.7 per cent chance save percentage.
Penders has not even been capped at the senior level for Belgium, with Lammens being the more experienced of the two after picking up two caps ahead of the World Cup.
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