Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an “extraordinary” player, says Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola.
The Spaniard coached the Swede at the Camp Nou for one season before Ibra joined Milan following a breakdown in their relationship.
Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an “extraordinary” player, says Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola.
The Spaniard coached the Swede at the Camp Nou for one season before Ibra joined Milan following a breakdown in their relationship.
Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri believes that Ibra is among the top three players in the world, alongside Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid, a claim Guardiola agrees with.
“Ibra and Messi are two extraordinary players,” he noted after the Argentine scored five in the 7-1 Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen.
“I know Ibrahimovic well, but not very well because I only had him for one season. He always does something fantastic in Italy.”
However, the former Brescia and Roma player did concede that Messi was something very special indeed.
“He's the best ever, there is no other like him,” Guardiola continued of the man who has scored 186 goals in his last 201 Barca games.
“The numbers speak for themselves. One day he'll score six. We'll never see a player like him again.
“We witnessed one of Messi's special nights tonight, it's a gift and I will always be able to say that I coached him.
“The only credit I can take is that I always put him in the team and we just try to make sure he gets the ball. After that our task is done.
“The throne belongs to him and only he will decide when he wants to relinquish it.”