Wilfried Zaha has accused former Crystal Palace defender Brede Hangeland of trying to ‘stay relevant’ after making comments about the winger and other footballers in an interview.
Hangeland who left the Eagles at the end of last season, named Wilfried Zaha and former player Emmanuel Adebayor in his ‘Lazy XI’ whilst on a Norwegian podcast Heia Fotball.
Speaking about the Palace winger, who has just returned from international duty at the African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast, Hangeland said: “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.”
Zaha has since taken to Twitter to vent his anger at the comments, calling out Hangeland for attempting to keep himself relevant:
Twitter: I don’t appreciate old team mates telling lies just to stay relevant! It’s sad
(@wilfriedzaha)
Twitter: 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 .. (@wilfriedzaha)
The former Palace defender also made comments about Emmanuel Adebayor who was at the club during the same time as Hangeland, who has branded the forward as ‘very lazy’:
“When we had strength workouts he would sit in the gym with just a cup of coffee and a muffin.
“He was being paid by [Man] City, Tottenham and Palace at the same time, and he was sitting in the gym drinking coffee. Incredible natural talent, but very lazy.”
