This summer, a rather surprising encounter took place at one of the beaches in Ibiza. Two stars of their own sports, Tom Boonen (44) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (43) ran into each other at one of the Spanish resort's dining spots. The Swedish popular was one of the best footballers in the world of the last two decades and anywhere he sets his foot, attention of crowds follows. But not this time when Boonen stole the spotlight.
"We were in Ibiza with friends and our children," Boonen started his story in the podcast Wielerclub Wattage. "On a sunny day, some footballers were sitting at the table next to us. 'That's Zlatan 'Ibramovic' said Matz Sels," the goalkeeper who was part of Boonen's group. The others turned out to be Marco Verratti and Marco Borriello.
Despite their fame, those there was no stir around the popular footballers. Much to Boonen's company's surprise. Meanwhile the Belgian has been recognized by several visitors who asked for a quick photo with the former world champion.
"Those men were left alone. We ordered food, and a few Belgians wanted to take a picture with me. I saw the footballers looking at me: 'Who's that?' A little while later, it happened again. We had our picture taken, and I chatted a bit. You could see Zlatan looking at me and thinking: 'Who's that? And why doesn't anyone come to me?'"
Like a Lion in a Cage
The tall, bald man from Belgium stuck on Ibra's mind. Later when an opportunity arised, the Swede gave to his curiosity to come over and ask Boonen about his identity. But the 44-year-old felt like playing a little trick on the football superstar.
"After lunch, we went back to the beach. On a little bridge over the pebble beach, the footballers came towards me. Zlatan said, 'Hey, hey, who are you?' I said, 'My name is Tom, I'm a singer-songwriter from Belgium. Do you know 'Like a Lion in a Cage'?' I asked him who he was. He said, 'Zlatan.' To which I replied, 'Good for you.' And then I continued."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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