Written by Andaç Baran
20 Apr 2017
If you are very into football, there is no way you would miss the name of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He is a true football legend who have already played in many A+ level teams scored 100s of goals, he is a generous ambassador of Sweden which everybody can associate with themselves, and he is the face of Swedish football domestically and internationally.
When you are such an important person, there is no doubt that you are going to be a very famous TV personality besides being a footballer and you are obliged to live with the intense interest of the cameras and journalists. Apart from the fact that Ibrahimovic has a good football skills making him as one of the three best footballers in the world, it is also a fact that the media and football lovers are attracted by the unique character that he has.
Let me honest, I am very into football therefore I have an extra respect to the level of art he performs in almost every match he plays in. However, I reserve the right to make fun of this Swedish legend who leaves himself wide open for some fun critics.
You may check an old blog post I have shared here about Swedish modesty and Law of Jante which is basically ethical social rules of Scandinavia that everybody practices in daily basis. However, As the most globally known Swedish personality ever, Ibrahimovic invalidates those unwritten rules all of Sweden supposedly loves!
This blog post is purely for fun and written to put a smile on readers’ face. Here, I list some ridiculously funny quotes and anecdotes I have stumbled upon about this football legend. And.. Dear Zlatan, if you read this blog post by any chance, thank you for being such an inspiration for young footballers and humourist. I really respect you as much as you respect yourself:)
- “Arsène Wenger asked me to have a trial with Arsenal when I was 17. I turned it down. Zlatan doesn’t do auditions.” ( Ibrahimovic on turning down Arsenal’s Wenger offer)
- “When you buy me, you are buying a Ferrari. If you drive a Ferrari you put premium fuel in the tank, you drive on to the motorway and you floor the accelerator. Guardiola filled up with diesel and went for a spin in the countryside. If that’s what he wanted, he should have bought himself a Fiat from the start.”( Ibrahimovic on the choices of not letting him play by Guardiola, Barcelona)
- Zlatan:Only God knows who will go through.”
The reporter : “It’s hard to ask him”,
Zlatan: “You’re talking to him.”
- “One thing is for sure, a World Cup without me is nothing to watch so it is not worthwhile to wait for the World Cup.”
- “I am the greatest too! Wait, is that even possible? All right, then: I’m the greatest after Ali.” (Zlatan’s take on boxing legend Muhammad Ali)
- I can’t help but laugh at how perfect I am.”
- “An injured Zlatan is a pretty serious thing for any team.”
- “It’s true I don’t know much about the players here, but they definitely know who I am.”
- “Everybody tries to score a great goal, and I am lucky I have netted a few.”
Even though he is a little bit un-Swedish in a sense he somehow adores himself, he also has a very very big heart:
- “I wish anyone in this world could go to his fridge and pick whatever he wants. Because the day you open your fridge and there is nothing in it, it is difficult”
- “I had time with my mother, but I really lived with my father. One time he gave all his salary so I could travel to a training camp. He couldn’t pay the rent, but he did that.”
- “The way that I opened the door for the young people that come from where I come from and that have a different background, that is what I want to be remembered for.”
And sarcastic:
- “I don’t like to talk about myself.”
Love you Zlatan!
