Former Manchester United and PSG forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic sends a clear message to Carlo Ancelotti.
The manager of Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, made an appearance as a guest on the Rai3 program, “C he tempo che fa,” where he discussed a variety of topics related to football, including the effect of VAR and his relationship with the league’s champions.
The manager did, however, receive a unique message from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a current AC Milan and former Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and PSG forward. The Swedish forward referred to the Italian as “number 1” after praising his professionalism.
Ibrahimovic addressed Carlo, saying, “Hi Carlo, congratulations for what you have done and for what you have won.” (via Corriere dello Sport)
“You are the best; I was fortunate to have you as a coach, but you were fortunate to have me, too.
“The main luck, however, was getting to know who you are, and because of this, I can say that you are a better person than a coach. I love you, but don’t ever tell me that you’re poor and that I have to give you a loan because you’re now doing well too,” he jokingly said.
Ancelotti, who worked with Ibrahimovic when they were both coaches at Paris Saint-Germain, responded by saying that the player prefers to assist goals over to score them.
“It was like that in Paris, and Zlatan was one of the few players I’ve coached who enjoyed making an assist more than scoring a goal. The Real Madrid manager praised him as both a great player and a great person.
When asked about the VAR technology, Ancelotti responded, “Before you rejoiced, now with the check you have to wait, but even when you concede a goal you have this lifeline, this possibility.”
While discussing how he has worked with some of the best athletes the sport has ever produced, Ancelotti added,
“[Karim] Benzema, [Marco] Van Basten, [Franco] Baresi, [Paolo] Maldini, then Cristiano Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, and Vinicius. There are countless.
“It’s better to play well and lose than to play well and lose. Is having weak players and a weak coach preferable to having weak players and a strong coach? With bad players, you can’t win, he said.
