Playing with Zlatan Ibrahimovic would have inspired me – Andre Silva
Andre Silva would have loved to play alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Milan, describing the Swede as "one of the best of this era".
Silva is on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt, meaning he was not able to feature in the same Rossoneri team as Ibrahimovic before Serie A went into a coronavirus-enforced shutdown.
The Portugal international has designs on reaching the top of the game and believes working with the 38-year-old – who returned to Milan on a deal until the end of the season in December – could only have enhanced his chances of doing so.
"Those who are ambitious always want to win. I want to fight to reach the top, I want to grow and I want to learn," Silva told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Because of this, it would have been nice to play with Ibrahimovic. He is one of the best of this era, playing with him would have helped me."
38 - Zlatan #Ibrahimovic (38 years, 129 days) is the oldest ever goalscorer in a Milan derby in the Serie A history. Eternal.#InterMilan pic.twitter.com/1RGnhFwQKy
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 9, 2020
Whether a return to San Siro might be on the cards is unclear but Silva is content at Frankfurt, who resumed their Bundesliga campaign with a 3-1 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.
"I can't foresee the future, I can only comment on the present and that's at Frankfurt," he said.
"Things are going well now. In a couple of years, especially at my age, you can grow a lot, even as a man. You become more experienced and mature.
"In two years, you can work a lot on yourself. A couple of seasons have passed since my last campaign with Milan.
"In Frankfurt I had the opportunity to show off. I was confident, I'm happy to be here.
"For now, I'm a Milan player, on loan at Eintracht. I don't know what's going to happen. Regardless of club, competition or country, however, I want to be a protagonist."
Ibrahimovic's own future is uncertain, with suggestions he will not extend his Milan stay beyond this term.