Maidstone new boy Michael Petrasso has spoken about the moment he clashed with legendary striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Canadian forward, who joined the Stones on loan from York United until the end of the year, was slapped by the Swedish great during an MLS match between LA Galaxy and Montreal in 2018.

Ibrahimovic, who joined the Galaxy from Manchester United, took exception after Petrasso caught him on the foot.

He was sent off for his reaction, with the footage viewed millions of times on YouTube.

“I get asked about that quite a lot,” said Petrasso, 28.

“I could see them looking to play the ball long to him and I just wanted to feel where he was.

“I accidentally stood on his toe and within three seconds I was hit hard on the back of the head, which was a shock to me.

“It just kind of happened and obviously, now it’s a bit of a joke.

“My friends and family were at the game and they couldn’t believe it. It’s stayed with me.

“He was one of the greatest players in the world.

“It was an amazing experience to be on the same pitch as him.

“There are things that live with you as you get older.

“Just the opportunity to play against him, I treasure that moment and I have a memory of it that will stay with me forever.”

Petrasso and Ibrahimovic never discussed the incident.

“He didn’t speak to me afterwards,” said Petrasso. “It would have been nice if he’d given me his shirt.”

Maidstone beat the Canadian transfer deadline to sign Petrasso, who is well accustomed to English football.

He spent five years at QPR between 2013 and 2018, including loan spells at Oldham, Coventry, Leyton Orient and Notts County.

He had a further spell in England on loan at Barnet from York United in 2020/21, scoring 10 goals and winning the supporters’ player-of-the-year award.

Petrasso is delighted to be back in the UK and enjoyed a winning start with Maidstone, setting up the second goal in a 2-0 victory at Chippenham last Saturday.

He had two training sessions after flying in from Canada before going straight into the starting XI.

“I’d known about Maidstone before, when I was at Barnet, and I jumped at the opportunity to come over,” said Petrasso, who was substituted midway through the second half at Chippenham.

“I’m happy they wanted me and I’m happy to be here, so it’s an exciting move.

“It happened so quickly. There were things to arrange. With my season coming to an end in Canada at the end of October, it was an opportunity for me to keep playing and get fit.

“That’s how I looked at it. After it went through, I arranged my flight and got over here, so it was a quick turnaround - two sessions and straight in the team.

“I’m used to flying because in Canada our away games are all flights, so we fly every other weekend.

“I was a bit jet-lagged for the first couple of days when I got here, with the time difference, but I’m happy to be here.

“To get an assist on my debut, three points and a clean sheet, I’m pleased with that.

“The team played well and made it easy for me. Hopefully I did a good job.

“There’s a lot of good players in Canada who, due to passports and visas, can’t get the chance over here, but the Canadian league is growing.

“In a couple of years, it’s going to get better and better and you can just see the potential in Canada.”

Stones boss George Elokobi was delighted to be able to bring Petrasso over from Canada.

He said: “Part of my philosophy at the club is about being diverse.

“It’s about looking at every single league in the world and if players do become available and we think we can add those players to our squad, then it’s up to us to pursue it.

“We’ve been looking and it’s all credit to Zach Foster-Crouch, our head of recruitment.

“He’s been chasing this one for a while and when the green light came for us to do the deal, our secretary Ian Tucker stayed back on deadline day and didn’t leave our training ground until it was done.”