Zlatan Ibrahimovic called Diego Maradona the best player of all time while also selecting his XI of all time, also hinting that he could become a manager in the future.
Ibrahimovic’s dream squad was full of former teammates while several players – including Maradona – got the nod despite never sharing the pitch with the Swede.
“I choose eleven for their strength or for their affection. Those who gave me something, ”he told Sportkeek (via Football Italia).
“[Gianluigi] Buffon is the keeper, I played with him at Juventus. It was a special team. I have good memories. I was young and everyone treated me like I was treating young Milan players now. They had so much to teach me.
“Maxwell is the left-back, he’s a friend of mine. So [Alessandro] Nesta and [Fabio] Cannavaro in central defense. Fabio was crazy, he was taking me to Naples with his scooter. I was young, I had no experience. Him and [Lilian] Thuram had too many. I would like to play with them now.
“Maicon is the right-back, when he came to Inter he was not considered as strong as he proved to be.
“Then [Pavel] Nedved, number one. He’s the one who improved me more than anyone. When I saw him, I realized that what I was doing was not enough. He was still training, he was a machine.
“I pick up [Patrick] Vieira and Xavi in the middle of the park. Two champions. “
Halfway through his squad selection, Ibrahimovic took on former manager Pep Guardiola, with whom he endured a tumultuous relationship in Catalonia.
“This Barcelona team was such a strong team. The first six months have been amazing, but then I didn’t feel good because of the coach, ”he said.
Ibrahimovic finished his eleven by congratulating Maradona and Zinedine Zidane, before hinting at what could be in the pipeline when he finally retires.
“The attack is easy: [Zinedine] Zidane’s attacking midfielder, Ronaldo the phenomenon and Diego Maradona up front, ”he said.
“He’s the greatest of all time, better than me. I could be the coach of this team, who knows, maybe I could really be a coach one day. ”
