Zlatan Ibrahimovic admits he feels a ‘sense of panic’ when he thinks about retirement, but the Milan and Sweden star also notes we should ‘enjoy it now, because you’ll never see the likes of me again.’
The 40-year-old has no intention of hanging up his boots yet and is already negotiating a new deal for next season at San Siro.
He is also currently on international duty with Sweden for their World Cup play-offs.
“I do feel a slight sense of panic at the prospect of retirement,” confessed Ibra in his press conference.
“I will certainly keep playing for as long as possible, as long as I can get results and am not suffering. I want to end my career without regrets, so I have to maximise my time.”
Ibrahimovic has released a couple of books already, but has he yet decided what he will do once he retires?
“I don’t know, we’ll see when the day comes. I could start straight from when I retire, or take a break, or disappear completely.
“I know the adrenaline I feel at the moment will never be the same. We are programmed to wake up, go to training, return home and rest. This goes on for 20-25 years, but one day I will wake up and have nothing planned, and that will be a strange feeling.”
Of course, Ibrahimovic has not lost his trademark wit and braggadocio, so he had a glint in his eye when asked if he felt sad at reaching the end of his career.
“I think the greatest sadness will be yours, as you won’t get to watch me play anymore. You should enjoy it now, because you’ll never see the likes of me again.”
Ibrahimovic is suspended for the first World Cup play-off against the Czech Republic on Thursday, but if Sweden get through that, he will be available for the final against Poland next Tuesday.
Russia had originally been due to play Poland, but were excluded following sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
#Milan, #Ibrahimovic: ‘Ritiro? Continuo finché otterrò risultati. Ho un po’ di panico nel pensare di smettere’ Poi la battuta col giornalista: ‘Triste sarai tu…’ https://t.co/O5xUwtbzUT pic.twitter.com/PE7hOXPN6W
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) March 22, 2022