In the second part of his interview with Il Corriere dello Sport, Zlatan Ibrahimovic predicts a bright future for a young Milan striker and reveals what Mino Raiola told him when he thought about retirement.
The 39-year-old left Manchester United in 2018 to join LA Galaxy.
In the second part of his interview with Il Corriere dello Sport, Zlatan Ibrahimovic predicts a bright future for a young Milan striker and reveals what Mino Raiola told him when he thought about retirement.
The 39-year-old left Manchester United in 2018 to join LA Galaxy.
“I understood I was still a footballer after my injury. I went to Los Angeles to understand how I was feeling. I asked myself: should I continue playing or retire? My agent Mino Raiola told me: ‘It’s too easy to retire in the USA, try to do it in Europe.’
“Milan were the most difficult challenge, I was attracted by the impossible.”
Ibra became the co-owner of Swedish club Hammarby in November 2019.
“I need to understand if it’s possible to build a different kind of footballer. In Sweden there are no Ibrahimovic right now. Actually, there is one who doesn’t look Swedish. It’s Emil Roback. He has physical and technical skills, he is fast. No coincidence Milan signed him. I believe he will permanently play in the senior team in the future.”
Click here for a player profile of the 17-year-old who joined Milan last summer.
Pierre Kalulu, 20, made his senior Milan debut back in December.
“He was wearing gloves, but I told him to take them off,” Ibra revealed.
“How can a young centre back make his debut with gloves? Surely, he's not going to scare the strikers.
“One can always improve, football has changed,” the Milan forward continued.
“Ten years ago clubs were winning because of their champions, today the collective is crucial, just look at what Atalanta are doing.
“I’ve heard about the possibility of a Super League too, it’s political trick of UEFA and FIFA.”