The Manchester United attacker was asked what separates the Real Madrid star from Brazilian duo Ronaldo and Ronaldinho and he feels the difference is quite simple
It’s tough for most football fans to pick a favourite Ronaldo, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes O Fenomeno shades his namesake rivals.
Cristiano Ronaldo has earned his place among the greats, following in the footsteps of the Brazilian icon of the same name at Real Madrid, while the dazzling Barcelona legend Ronaldinho is impossible to ignore.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, however, has pinpointed the differences between the three legends.
“I think Ronaldo, Il Fenomeno, was the best,” he told ESPN Brasil. “For me, it was an example of what football is. Everything he did something that made you think ‘wow’. The way he dribbled and the way he ran.
“Ronaldo was natural, he was born to be what he was. It was not something he trained to become. This type of player is not made, he is born. He is unique.
“We [Ronaldinho and Ibrahimovic] played together at AC Milan, but he did not live the best days as before, but I loved it when we played and he was running with his hair messed up, dribbling fast and when he wanted to, he made others look like kids around him.
“As for Cristiano Ronaldo, we did not play together. It is different because it is the result of hard training. It is not natural.”
Still in incredible form at 35, Ibrahimovic is far from finished with football and could have a few more years left in him, and even suggested he would consider a move to Brazil.
“Maybe I should go to Brazil, you never know… (Maybe) I’d enjoy my football there.”
