“It would be a difficult choice” – When Zlatan Ibrahimovic clearly picked his side in Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate
When asked for his opinion on the Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate, AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic picked his former Barcelona teammate, Messi.
While the 41-year-old Swede believes Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazario is the great footballer of all time, he backed Messi in the debate against Cristiano. Ibrahimovic stated that the Argentine's style is completely natural, which was something he observed up close during his time at Barcelona.
Speaking to Corriere dello Sport (via AS), Ibrahimovic said:
"The two are very strong. It would be a difficult choice. If I have to tell you I choose Messi because I've played with him, I've seen him up close and I know that everything he does is for nature, he's not built. It's all movement, all-natural."
Ibrahimovic shared the dressing room with Messi for the 2009-10 season, before moving to AC Milan on loan and then joining them permanently a season later.
Did Lionel Messi's comments to Pep Guardiola force Zlatan Ibrahimovic out of Barcelona?
Lionel Messi reportedly got Pep Guardiola to change his style at Barcelona to play up front instead of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In his autobiography, Ibrahimovic claimed that Messi was unhappy playing from the right-wing and asked Guardiola to change the formation. He wrote:
"Messi started saying things. Lionel Messi is amazing. He's totally amazing. He joined Barca when he was 13. He was brought up in that culture and doesn't have a problem with that school crap. But now I was there, and I was scoring more goals than him."
Ibrahimovic continued:
"He went to Guardiola and said: 'I don't want to be on the right-wing any more, I want to play in the centre.' I was the striker. Guardiola didn't give a damn about that, though. He changed the tactical formation. Guardiola had to listen to him. But I mean, come on, I had scored loads of goals at Barca and I'd been pretty awesome as well."
Ibrahimovic was unhappy with the tactical change and left the La Liga giants after spending only one season in Catalonia. In 46 appearances for the Blaugrana, he scored 22 goals and provided 13 assists across competitions.