"I'm a singer-songwriter": Tom Boonen makes fun of a football superstar

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?'"

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."