Zlatan is certainly not a happy man. And who could blame him. Possibly his last chance to play at the World Cup has gone up in smoke and a player of his talents who also happens to be at his peak should be gracing the world's biggest stage.
At least he has had the chance to play at the World Cup (in 2002 and 2006) because some footballing greats and well known players have never even had the opportunity to play in the tournament.
Here are 20 big name players - some genuinely world class and others on the rungs below that level - who were deprived of that opportunity for one reason or another...
Abedi Pele Ayew (Ghana)
A Champions League winner with Marseille in 1993 and an African Nations Cup champion with Ghana in 1982, he was unable to lead his country to the World Cup during his illustrious career.
His son and current Marseille winger Andre Ayew has played at the World Cup however, helping Ghana to the quarter-finals in 2010.
Arsenio Erico (Paraguay)
The Argentine Primera Division's highest all-time goalscorer never got to play at the World Cup.
Too young to play for Paraguay at the 1930 World Cup, it was unfortunate that some of his peak years coincided with World War II when El Mundial was put on ice.
Erico had the opportunity to play at the 1938 World Cup but turned down Argentina's offer to represent them due to his loyalty to his country of birth.
He never played an official game for Paraguay but appeared in a number of friendlies.
Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria)
Unfortunately for Dimitar Berbatov, the former Manchester United striker was part of the crop of players which followed the Bulgarian Golden Generation.
Bulgaria last qualified for the World Cup in 1998. The Fulham forward made his senior international debut the following year. He has only appeared in one major tournament - Euro 2004 in Portugal.
George Best (Northern Ireland)
©INPHO/Allsport
The Manchester United legend never got the opportunity to play at the World Cup due to Northern Ireland's failure to qualify.
In 1982 they did make it to the tournament and manager Billy Bingham considered taking Best to Spain. But due to his age (he was 36), form and drink problems, Bingham did not take it any further.
Liam Brady (Ireland)
©INPHO/Billy Stickland
A Serie A winner with Juventus and a PFA Players' Player of the Year with Arsenal, Chippy was less fortunate during his international career.
Retiring from international football during qualifying for World Cup 1990 aged 33, he declared himself available again when Ireland's place in the tournament was secured.
But Jack Charlton decided to leave Brady at home and stick with the players who had taken part in qualifying, meaning one of Ireland's most naturally gifted players would never play in an international tournament.
Eric Cantona (France)
The King was banned for all international matches from 1988 after calling then-France manager Henri Michel a "bag of s***". In any case France failed to qualify for the 1990 World Cup.
But the Manchester United star was part of the France team that tried and failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.
By the time the 1998 World Cup came around on home soil, Les Bleus had already moved on from the Cantona generation and he had already retired.
Antonio Cassano (Italy)
Ireland's Richard Dunne and Antonio Cassano of Italy ©INPHO/Donall Farmer
Hugely talented, but a "bit" of a loose cannon on and off the field, Cassano was left out of the squads for the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.
While he managed to appear at three European Championships for Italy, missing every World Cup between those Euros takes some sheen of a career that could have delivered more.
Christian Chivu (Romania)
Scotland's Neil McCann (R) tussles for the ball with Romania's Cristian Chivu in 2004 ©INPHO/Getty Images
A talented defender, Chivu had the same misfortune as Dimitar Berbatov. He was part of a generation that followed the successful era of Gheorge Hagi, Dan Petrescu and Ilie Dumitrescu.
Romania have failed to qualify for the World Cup since 1998, but Chivu was able to play at Euro 2000 and Euro 2008 at least
Andy Cole (England)
Andy Cole of England challenged by Albania's goalkeeper in 2001 ©INPHO/Allsport
Prolific in the Premier League for Manchester United during the 1990s, his international career left a lot to be desired.
In 1998, Glenn Hoddle left him out of the squad for the World Cup, claiming that Cole needed six or seven chances to score one goal. It was an assertion that angered both Cole and Alex Ferugson.
He was also left out of the 2002 World Cup, which means he never played at a major tournament.
Alfredo Di Stefano (Argentina, Colombia and Spain)
Despite representing three international teams during a stellar career, the Real Madrid icon failed to make an appearance at the World Cup.
In 1950 and 1954, Argentina did not enter the tournament which meant that Di Stefano could not play.
After switching to Spain, his adopted country failed to qualify in 1958 and the following tournament saw him miss out due to injury.
Ryan Giggs (Wales)
Ryan Giggs celebrates scoring ©INPHO/Getty Images
A serial winner with Manchester United, the 40-year-old was unfulfilled for his country as Wales failed to qualify for a major tournament during his career.
Johnny Giles (Ireland)
Johnny Giles in action for Leeds ©INPHO/Allsport
Like Liam Brady, one of Ireland's greatest players was unable to showcase their skills on the world stage.
Ireland failed to qualify for the World Cup during Giles 20-year international career between 1959 and 1979.
David Ginola (France)
The former Tottenham and Newcastle star's France career ended prematurely in 1995 after he was blamed for Les Bleus failure to reach World Cup 1994. Read about how he became the assassin of French football here.
Laszlo Kubala (Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Spain)
A contemporary of Di Stefano, only on the Barcelona side of the El Clasico divide, Kubala did not play at a major tournament despite representing three countries.
His first two national teams were Czechoslovakia and Hungary but he was capped in the immediate post-war period when there were no World Cups.
After he moved to Spain, he adopted Spanish nationality in 1953. But similarly to Di Stefano, Kubala missed the 1962 World Cup through injury.
Jari Litmanen (Finland)
©INPHO/Allsport
A Champions League winner with Ajax in 1995, he and another ex-Liverpool player Sami Hyppia never played at a World Cup because their country Finland has never reached a major tournament.
Valentino Mazzola (Italy)
A key part of Il Grande Torino side that dominated Italian football during the 1940s, Mazzola was killed in the 1949 Superga air disaster which wiped out that iconic Torino side which had provided the backbone for the Italian national side.
Had he lived, he may well have played at the World Cup in 1950 and '54.
His son Inter Milan legend Sandro played in the 1970 World Cup final.
Adrian Mutu (Romania)
Adrian Mutu ©INPHO/AFP/Getty Images
The former Chelsea, Juventus and Fiorentina striker was part of the same Romania generation as Chivu which failed to reach the World Cup.
Ian Rush (Wales)
Pic:Tom Honan/Inpho
Despite a 16-year international career, the Liverpool legend was unable to inspire Wales to get to a major tournament. A similar fate befell Welsh colleagues like Neville Southall and Mark Hughes.
Bernd Schuster (Germany)
A man who had the talent to play for both Barcelona and Real Madrid during his club career, the Malaga manager retired from international football at the tender age of 24 after a dispute with the German Football Federation.
George Weah (Liberia)
The 1995 Ballon D'Or winner never got the opportunity to play at the World Cup as his country Liberia never came close to qualifying during his lengthy international career.
