AC Milan superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic has revealed what motivates him to keep impressing at 39 years week in, week out.
Ibrahimovic will smash a 40-year barrier in a year from now, but despite his age, he is still one of the most lethal strikers in Europe.
The Swedish goal-machine, who returned to Milan last winter, has virtually single-handedly turned a disoriented squad into a force to be reckoned with.
Ibrahimovic tops the scoring chart in Italy, having racked up ten goals in six league outings! What’s more, his scoring ratio of 1.6 goals netted per top-flight game is the best in Europe’s top-five leagues.
Led by the towering forward, the Rossoneri top the Serie A table as one of three sides yet to taste defeat after the opening eight rounds of fixtures (W6, D2).
Ibrahimovic has now reflected on the moment his agent Mino Raiola informed him of Milan’s interest to bring him back to the San Siro.
“My adrenaline boosted when Milan called me after they disgustingly lost in Bergamo [5-0 to Atalanta],” he said, as relayed by Football Italia.
“It’s not about contracts – it’s about adrenaline. I wake up every morning at 7 or 8 am, I feel pain in my body, but I train in the gym and do what I need to be fit. You must be motivated and set up your targets.
“I told Raiola: ‘Who needs me the most?’ he replied: ‘Milan, you are the only one who can make Milan what they were many years ago.’
“People don’t understand they motivate me when they say I am 39. I wake up every morning to prove I can make it.”
Ibrahimovic has also admitted he feels nostalgic about playing for his national team.
“If you ask me if I miss it [playing for Sweden], I can only say yes. I want to play at the Friends Arena, see the yellow wall.
“I want to leave the pitch wearing the yellow shirt. If you don’t miss [this feeling], it means your career is over, but mine has not come to an end yet.
“I don’t know [Janne] Andersson. I never judged him. What I said about him was a comment on the decisions he had made.”
Ibrahimovic was decisive for Milan on more than few occasions this season.
Only last weekend, his brace against Napoli helped Milan land their first Serie A win at the San Paolo since October 2010. However, the Swedish talisman picked up a hamstring injury that will keep him out of action for two weeks.
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