Skip to main content

They said I was too old so I made Premier League look old- Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has revealed he was told by “everyone” not to risk his reputation by playing in England but how a successful spell at Manchester United made him feel young again — “like Benjamin Button”.
Ibrahimovic
The 37-year-old Swedish forward made a high-profile switch to Old Trafford in July 2016 after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, initially on a one-season contract.
Ibrahimovic made a major impact at Old Trafford, scoring twice to help Jose Mourinho’s side win the 2017 League Cup final against Southampton before suffering a serious knee injury during the Europa League quarter-final with Anderlecht.
The veteran frontman recovered and signed a contract extension but eventually left United to join Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy in March 2018.
In an interview with BBC 5 Live, the much-travelled Ibrahimovic recalled the advice he had received when he was contemplating life in the Premier League.
“When I went to England I was talking to different players that I knew well and trusted that would give me an honest opinion. From all of them everyone said ‘do not do it’ — they said it would not be good for my career because you put your whole career on one season,” he said.
“If you do not do a good season, people will say the rest of the things you did before were useless because you didn’t make it in England but that triggered me and that’s the challenge I wanted.”
Ibrahimovic, who also played for Ajax, Juventus, Barcelona and both Milan giants, added: “I went against everyone and said that’s what I wanted to do. They thought I was too old… and I made the Premier League look old.
“It took me three months to convince everyone who I was. That was the challenge and I never turn down a challenge.”
Ibrahimovic, who said he had an “amazing” connection with United midfielder Paul Pogba at Old Trafford, said he had felt “unbreakable… like Superman” before suffering his serious knee injury.
“The first year at United we had a fantastic year,” he added. “They made me feel like Benjamin Button. I was getting younger and younger, then unfortunately I got my injury.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Libya vs Nigeria: Samuel Kalu reveals Super Eagles’ 2nd leg game plan

Super Eagles forward, Samuel Kalu has revealed his team game plan when they take on Libya on Tuesday in the 2nd Leg of the 2019 African Cup of Nations, AFCON, qualifying fixture. The Eagles head to the game after a 4-0 win against the North Africans in the 1st leg played on Saturday in Uyo. Kalu who scored the last goal for Nigeria against Libya in the first leg following Odion Ighalo’s hat-trick said Gernot Rohr’s men will approach the Mediterranean Knights with aggressiveness. ”We are definitely going into that match with a mindset of get all three points. We will approach the match with the same aggressive way like we did in Uyo,” the Bordeaux star told Allnigeriasoccer. ”It’s not going to be easy because the Libyans want to respond to their heavy loss but I am confident we will get the right result.” “I am well pleased to have scored my first goal for the national team,” Kalu added. ”As a young boy playing football on the streets, I always dreamt of scoring for Nigeria, and...

A history of training ground bust-ups between teammates

The row between Sergio Ramos and Sergio Reguilon during Real Madrid's training on Monday was just one of the many that have occurred over the years between teammates. Some of these cooled down relatively quickly, but others led to the intervention of other colleagues to relieve the tension. Here you can find some of the most notorious arguments that have taken place at training during the last couple of decades. Nelson Semedo's challenge against Neymar frustrated the Brazilian, who exploded against his teammate. After the intervention of Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano, the current Paris Saint-Germain forward stormed out the session after ripping off his training kit. A teammate threw the ball towards Dani Carvajal's face and the Spaniard, enraged by his colleagues' action, kicked it back towards Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio. During Los Blancos' 2006 pre-season, Thomas Gravesen's challenge on Robinho resulted in the latter throwing a punch at th...

Regina Daniels Steps Out In Transparent Outfit

Nollywood Teen Actress, Regina Daniels steps out in a transparent outfit. The newly elected Youth Campaign Coordinator For Nollywood With Humility and youthful zeal for Atiku took to her instagram to share some photos of herself rocking a transparent outfit.