As well as his significant contribution on the field for Manchester United, Zlatan Ibrahimovic made a huge impression on his team-mates, as this selection of quotes shows…
“Zlatan is a leader and it’s a pleasure to be a team-mate with a great guy like this. He’s a great attacking player, he gives me good advice and he really is genuinely a good friend as well.” – Eric Bailly, August 2016
“Zlatan is the big brother. He makes jokes and makes everyone relaxed. He’s a winner. He will really help the team. He’s been making fun of my training when I was on holiday, the boxing training.” – Paul Pogba, August 2016
“He is a great personality. When you see how fit he is then you see what kind of a professional he is and I think he is an example for me and a lot of players.” – Daley Blind, October 2016
“He is a top player and we can’t help but learn from just being alongside him, playing and training with him, seeing what he is doing now and what he has done in the past.” – Anthony Martial, December 2016
“He’s a handful. He’s one of the best strikers in the world and he’s been prolific wherever he’s been, so to come up against him in training and learn off him only improves me as a player.” – Phil Jones, December 2016
“His mentality is as big as his physical attributes – the young players can learn that from him. He’s easy to speak to and has been a really good team-mate.” – Marcus Rashford, February 2017
“He put himself out there to be shot at but I think that’s what he thrives on. I can’t see him being the type to go and fizzle out and have an easy ride. He almost needs that, it drives him on.” – Michael Carrick, March 2017
“The day he arrived, we were away on pre-season, so he was on his own with the kit men at the training ground. Zlatan apparently looked the kit men up and down and said: ‘I hope you know God has arrived’. The kit men were shaking and didn’t know what to think, then he fell about laughing with them. He always does that.” – Juan Mata, December 2017
“With Zlatan, I have trained a month and a half and he is very impressive. We talk and we have coffee together every day, it’s a shame that he no longer plays for his country.” – Alexis Sanchez, March 2018
To finish, here are a few words from the boss, Jose Mourinho…
“He’s a very intelligent guy, a very proud man. He decided to come to the Premier League, to a club with the level of expectation that Manchester United has, to the most difficult league in the world for a striker. But it’s because he knew he could do it. He’s a great example in every aspect. He’s very professional, even in something that is really difficult in footballers’ lives today – he’s great in his family life and keeping it as private as possible. I think the kids couldn’t have a better player to look at.” (December 2016)
(Source: manchesterunited)
