It takes a lot to impress Zlatan but Ronaldo did that and more.
You might be aware that Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a rather exalted opinion of himself. Consequently, when so much of your time is spent refuelling your endless ego, there’s just not that much love left for anybody else.
Not Louis Van Gaal, not Lionel Messi, certainly not Pep Guardiola.
But perhaps there’s one man Zlatan would be willing the share the title of the world’s greatest with. It turns out even the greatest individual in the modern game has an idol, someone he adores and respects almost as much as himself. Well, we say sharing, he can have it on the third Thursday of every month.
“I thought [former Brazil striker] Ronaldo was phenomenal,” Ibrahimovic told United Review, as reported by Marca. “As a young player I watched him and said to myself ‘I want to be exactly like that’.
“The player who makes the difference, the shining light, simple as that. He was the player that whatever he did it was like ‘Wow!’
He could do a difficult thing and it became magic. He would take the ball and it was like him saying ‘I’ll take care of it now’.
“You didn’t have that kind of football player before and you don’t have it today. He doesn’t exist.”
On reflection, perhaps that is an even greater achievement than Il Fenomeno’s collection of two La Liga titles, two World Cups and two Ballon D’Ors. More than his 352 goals for Cruzeiro, PSV, Barcelona, Inter, Real Madrid, Milan and Corinthians.
Because, yes, you did detect a hint of reverence, even admiration. Before the bravado and the brilliance, Zlatan was just another young hopeful, desperately attempting to emulate his hero.
It almost makes him seem human.
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