In a long interview with Zlatan Ibrahimovic given to the British site The Athletic, the former AC Milan striker spoke about the difficulties encountered by Cristiano Ronaldo during Euro 2024 in Germany.
Portugal international Cristiano Ronaldo left Germany with a personal goal tally of zero and performances below expectations, despite playing every minute of every game.
The Swede did not condemn this attitude, but recalled that in his own case, the path was different. A catastrophic personal record never achieved by the Portuguese with five Ballons d’Or.
“It depends on the person. I didn’t need to score one goal more or less. It wouldn’t have changed my career. It was more about preparing the future for others, because I believe this young generation needs a leader to follow.”, noted the current sporting director of AC Milan.
The former star of PSG, Inter Milan, Juventus and Manchester United said that at this stage of his career, he was mainly focused on the impact he could have on young players:
“If you don’t have role models, especially when you play for big clubs, who’s going to show you the way? I worked in the sense that it wasn’t about me, it was about the team.”, declared Sweden’s all-time top scorer with 62 goals.
And this role of guide, of elder is important in the eyes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic: “All these youngsters who had never played in the Champions League and had never won… When you get older, you have to find incentives. After 20, it’s not a question of a contract. My motivation was to show the way to the young team”he added.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic advisor to AC Milan
Now an advisor to AC Milan since last December, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (42 years old) has full powers at the Lombard club.
The former centre-forward, a figure of the Rossoneri, is looking for the next sporting director, under pressure from boss Gerry Cardinale. The Swede seems to have found a buyer.
In fact, according to information from the Gazzetta dello SportIbrahimovic targeted his future sporting director, in this case Jovan Kirovski. The 47-year-old, a former player of Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund, was the technical director of the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The two men knew each other well when the former Parisian spent time in the United States. The fact that they had a good relationship was one of the major arguments in this choice.
