Former Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic surprisingly snubbed Jose Mourinho as the manager who played a deeply influential role in “building” him up.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic started his senior playing career with Swedish side Malmo FF before he was snapped up by Dutch outfit Ajax in 2001.
The 42-year-old former Manchester United star went on to play for Juventus before he linked up for the first time with Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.
Ibrahimovic, who signed for Inter Milan in 2006, briefly played under Mourinho after the ‘Special One’ arrived at the San Siro in 2008.
The Swede completed a move to Barcelona as part of a player-plus-cash deal in 2009, with the La Liga club paying £40m and sending Samuel Eto’o to the San Siro.
Fast-forward to 2016 and Ibrahimovic would leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of his contract and completed a sensational free transfer to Old Trafford.
Ibrahimovic would be reunited with Mourinho for the second time and lifted a Europa League trophy and a League Cup in his debut season at United.
Ibrahimovic snubs former Man Utd boss Mourinho
Zlatan Ibrahimovic impressed in his first season with Manchester United, with the retired striker scoring 17 times in 28 Premier League appearances.
However, the end of the former PSG and Inter Milan striker’s 2016-17 season was curtailed by a cruciate ligament injury, which impacted the follow-up campaign.
Ibrahimovic was limited to seven appearances for United in the 2017-18 season before he left Old Trafford and moved to LA Galaxy in 2018.
The former Sweden international has spoken highly about the influence that Jose Mourinho has had on him in the past in his legendary career.
However, Ibrahimovic admitted that his time at Juventus and his spell under Italian former manager Fabio Capello was a pivotal moment in shaping him as a player.
“At Juventus, I had Fabio Capello. He was destroying me. But at the same time building me,” he told The Athletic.
“How? “Easy. Today you were s**t. Tomorrow you’re the best. And it would go like that.
“So when you think you’re the best, he would destroy you. Then it becomes confusion and you don’t know: ‘F**k, am I really the best or am I s**t?’ So when you were down, he was building you up.”
Ibrahimovic on Capello’s impact
Former United striker Ibrahimovic played for LA Galaxy briefly before he returned to the San Siro for a second spell at Serie A side AC Milan.
Ibrahimovic, who called it time on his playing career in 2023, claimed that former Juventus and Real Madrid head coach Fabio Capello “shaped” him.
When asked if Capello’s tactics ‘worked’ on him, he responded: “I became the best. So, yes.
Ibrahimovic added: “I didn’t understand it. He made my head… like there was no balance. But it made me always give 200 per cent. He shaped me.
“But you also need an identity, culture and a tradition from the club, as well as a coach. A winner creates winners. Losers don’t create winners. That’s a culture.
“So when you come in the club, as a young talent or a player with potential, the club will shape you because you grow to understand the way a club works and the surroundings.
“At Milan, we want to create this in a positive way.”
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/jFDVbU7