Zlatan Ibrahimovic is close to hitting the grand old age of 40 but is still performing at the elite of world football.
He’s currently flying in his second stint at Milan, leading the club into Christmas top of Serie A.
Speaking with La Gazzetta dello Sport in comments carried by Diario AS, Ibrahimovic touched on a variety of topics including his ill-fated stint with Barcelona and his poor relationship with their then-coach, Pep Guardiola.
Ibrahimovic joined Barcelona in 2009 from Inter only to fail to settle in Catalonia and join Milan on a loan deal in 2010. He joined them permanently the following season.
The Swede named his ideal XI, compiled of all of his former and current team-mates, and spoke of his happiness at Milan after a career that’s also seen him represent Ajax, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and LA Galaxy.
“I have played in many clubs and I have respect for all of them, but Milan is the club where I feel at home,” he said.
“I go to Milanello every morning and I’m never in a hurry to go home. That’s how I’ve felt from the very first time I went there.
“Barcelona was a phenomenal team. The first six months were great and then, due to the fault of the coach, things turned sour.”
Ibrahimovic included Xavi in his ideal eleven as well as Diego Maradona, a player he rated as being the best of all time, even better than himself.
He also included Gianluigi Buffon, Alessandro Nesta, Fabio Cannavaro, Maxwell, Maicon, Pavel Nedved, Patrick Vieira, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazario.
