This Tuesday, August 6, Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave a long interview to the British site The Athleticin which he discussed various topics. The former striker notably mentioned the difficulties encountered by Cristiano Ronaldo during the European Championship in Germany.
Portuguese 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 PSG, Inter Milan, Juventus and Manchester United star 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 young people 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.
