Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave a long interview to the microphones of UEFA and discoveryplus.se. He spoke about many topics. Here are his words:
On coach Pioli:
"Perhaps I zlatanised Pioli. I already knew him because I played against him in Italy before. The teams he has had have gone up and down a lot, from top teams to small teams."
"He arrived in a Milan where the environment was difficult. When he took over the team. he was not where we are now. If we are where we are now, it is thanks to him and the work he has done. Thanks to the way he works, to his mentality. He puts a lot of pressure on the team, he demands a lot, even if it is a young team. Maybe he has more patience than me, but obviously he is more mature and more experienced than I am."
"Pioli is used to working under pressure. He has been in situations where until the last two or three months he has had to fight to stay in Serie A. This of course is different from when you have to fight to win, but at the same time there is it's a lot of pressure because you have a team that is not at the level of the top five where you fight for the title. Instead, you fight not to be relegated and play in Serie A."
"Mister Pioli came here and demonstrated, with his work, that he is a great coach. Now there is no longer any discussion as to whether he is the most suitable for this job or not."
On if Zlatan would have been more useful to them team if he were a young player:
"I don't know, when I was young, there were other fantastic players close to me. When I arrived to Italy. for the first time I had players next to me who saw me as the young kid who brought so much energy and adrenaline. At the time if you were considered a great player, you were really a great player and to become one you had to play well and show off for a long time. Today the new generation plays five minutes and they see them as great players. I am glad to come from the old school. Social media have changed everything, today thanks to social platforms, players are seen as champions despite having done little perhaps. It wasn't like that before. Today it is different. I like the old school more. To be recognized as great, you had to show it and work more."
On Lebron James:
"I like him a lot. What Lebron does is phenomenal, but I don't like it when people with some kind of 'status' talk about politics. Do what you are good at. Do what you do. I play football because I'm the best at it. I don't do politics. If I had been a politician, I would have been in politics. This is the first mistake famous people make when they feel like they have made it. For me, it is better to stay away from these topics, and do what you are good at. Otherwise, you risk not making a good impression."
On his relationship with his teammates:
"When you play at these levels, at such high levels, there is always the same pressure no matter who you are. If you are here, you are here because you deserve it, you are here because you are good enough. You are not here because someone has to wait for you. You are here to play football. I don't care if you are young or not, I can't think about the fact that you are young and your time will come, no. When you play for Milan there is no time, you have to do well now. If I don't play well , Milan will buy another striker at the next transfer market who will play better than me, that's why I have to play well and this applies to everyone. We all have to be up to it regardless of whether we are young or mature. Off the pitch obviously it's different, if you are Rafael Leao I talk to you and I treat you in a way. If you are Simon Kjaer, you are more mature, you have children, obviously it's different. But on the pitch they are all the same."
On the Brazilian Ronaldo:
"I always tell everyone who plays with me this: 'Ronaldo is the game of football. For me, Ronaldo is football. The way he moved, the way he took double steps, his dirrbles... For me he is the greatest player in history, without a doubt."
