Ibrahimovic: I don’t need Ballon d’Or to prove I’m the best

Ibrahimovic
has
won
league
titles
with
Ajax,
Inter,
Barcelona,
Milan,
Paris
Saint-Germain
and
Manchester
United,
though
the
Swedish
forward
has
never
claimed
the
Ballon
d’Or.

The
evergreen
40-year-old
continues
to
produce
for
Milan
in
his
second
spell
at
San
Siro,
where
the
Rossoneri
are
dreaming
of
their
first
Scudetto
since
Ibrahimovic
helped
deliver
silverware
in
2010-11.

Ibrahimovic’s
outspoken
agent
Mino
Raiola
said
he
cannot
take
the
Ballon
d’Or
seriously
due
to
the
fact
the
Sweden
international
has
never
received
the
prized
individual
honour.

But
during
a
presentation
for
his
new
book
“Adrenaline”
in
Milan
on
Sunday,
Ibrahimovic
was
quoted
as
saying:
“The
Ballon
d’Or
is
a
nice
thing.
But
I
don’t
need
it
to
prove
that
I
am
the
best.”

The
event
took
place
after
Ibrahimovic
scored
his
300th
league
goal
across
Europe’s
top
five
leagues
in
Saturday’s
last-gasp
1-1
Serie
A
draw
at
Udinese.

Ibrahimovic
came
to
Milan’s
rescue
in
spectacular
fashion,
his
stoppage-time
equaliser
salvaging
a
point
for
the
Rossoneri
in
what
was
his
450th
appearance
in
the
top
five
leagues
–
the
Premier
League,
Bundesliga,
Serie
A,
La
Liga
and
Ligue
1.

Only
Cristiano
Ronaldo
and
Lionel
Messi
have
reached
that
mark
previously
in
the
21st
century.

“It’s
the
mentality.
I
train
in
the
same
way
that
I
play,”
Ibrahimovic
said
of
his
longevity.

“Every
day
is
a
final.
It
was
difficult
when
I
arrived
at
Milan
[for
his
second
spell],
but
we’ve
created
a
group.
We’ve
created
an
atmosphere
that
is
over
the
top.

“Then
there
was
the
pandemic,
but
the
staff
here
is
great.
I’ve
worked
with
other
teams
in
my
career,
but
this
is
really
excellent.
The
group
goes
towards
the
same
target.
Unfortunately,
we
didn’t
win
yesterday.
I
should
have
scored
two
goals.

“Now,
I
wake
up
with
pain
every
day,
but
I
have
adrenaline
and
I
go
on.
This
year,
the
adrenaline
is
for
the
Scudetto.
Yesterday
I
scored
a
goal,
but
we
didn’t
win
and
it
hurts.”