Thread by @MilanEye, Ibrahimovic interviewed by Ambrosini for Sky Sport. Quotes in this thread [...]

Ibrahimovic interviewed by Ambrosini for Sky Sport. Quotes in this thread

Ibrahimovic: “Galliani came to my house in Barcelona. He took off his jacket and said ‘I am not moving from here until you leave with me’.“

Ibrahimovic: “When I arrived at Milan I was very happy because at Barcelona it was a so-so period. I didn’t understand well the situation. So I said: okay, if there are problems and I don't know what they are, I'll go.”

Ibrahimovic: “There was Milan, there were other teams, but I said I know Milan, I like the city a lot.”

Ibrahimovic: “There are many stimuli. It’s a challenge and I like this challenge because when people talk against me it charges me, it gives me energy, motivation and adrenaline. Now it’s another situation, not like 10 years ago.”

Ibrahimovic: “This is another challenge. They said ‘it’s difficult, it’s impossible’. I like this thing because if I can do something like this in my opinion it's bigger than playing in a team that is already at the top and you join this team and the story continues.”

Ibrahimovic: “However here the story is on the contrary. Here you have to bring the team back to the top and make the players understand what it means to be at the top.”

Ibrahimovic: “If I was afraid? No. Otherwise I wouldn't have signed. It was the same situation as when I signed for United. They said: 'you are too old, the pace of the Premier is too high. So I did the opposite of what everyone says.”

Ibrahimovic: “Do I feel different? So different. 10 years ago I was a different player, 10 years ago I track back to get the ball. Today I don’t do it, if I do this I will lose energy and won’t be useful in the attack.”

Ibrahimovic: “Now we play differently. I wasn’t too positive about this year but I already said that ‘I’ll handle it’. felt alive with the competition. Ten years ago there were players who had a different status, more personality and character. It was another ego.”

Ibrahimovic: “If I put pressure on the team? Yes, I still do. Now more than before. I don't accept a wrong pass. Do I ask for much? Yes, if you don't train well I tell you something. I'm training a lot.”

Ibrahimovic: “I'm training a lot. With age it is important to understand how I am physically. But now they are much better than before.”

Ibrahimovic on Pioli: “Every year that passes the player changes. We have a coach who asks to play in a precise way. I like how we play, he has found a way to get the most out of my qualities.”

Ibrahimovic: “He makes me play in the best way to help the team. He talks a lot with me and asks me a lot as he asks the team a lot.”

Ibrahimovic: “It is normal that I always want to play, but it is also he who always tells me to play even when I want to rest.”

Ibrahimovic: “I am available, even when he asks me to play 45 'in EL. I'm available, my teammates respect me a lot and I help them. I feel this sense of responsibility a lot and I like it a lot.”

Ibrahimovic: “The team is very hungry and eager, we are doing well. There are no goals or dreams, we play one game at a time. I have my goal, but for the team it is to do better than last season.”

Ibrahimovic: “The team is very young, they don't have the obligation to win something. They don't have this fixed thinking about goals. We don't have to relax, and here I interfere. You don't have to be satisfied.”

Ibrahimovic: “We know that the team is not like Inter and Juventus who have a bigger squad. We are young, maybe someone is not ready to play all the games. The sense is that we have to win if we want something, they are not used to it.”

Ibrahimovic: “Against Rio Ave there was pressure, they started playing for something. They have some experience but they are not used to it.”

Ibrahimovic: “Can the team aim for CL? I think so. I played for eight months here, I think so. But it's not just quality and talent, sacrifice and discipline also count. All are small details that make the difference.”

Ibrahimovic: “If I find people who always say yes I don't like it. It doesn't have to be that way. It looks like I'm a boss, but confrontation is important.”

Ibrahimovic: “They say it is not easy to play with me, but this is a winning mentality. You do things to win. I put pressure, yes, I ask a lot. At Milan you have to ask for a lot: If you don’t win they will get another one.”

Ibrahimovic: “Am I exaggerating? But I'm still here and I won what I won: there must be a reason. Not many manage to stay at this level for long. One can take it either bad or well, but at this level either you eat or they eat you. And I chose to eat.”

Ibrahimovic: “What will I do after football? I don't know, I have two children. I put pressure on them too, because they have to understand how things work. Discipline, respect, sacrifice, work.”

Ibrahimovic: “Coaching? I don’t think so. Being a coach is a stressful thing, I should give orders to players who would not be able to do things that I did.”

Ibrahimovic: “Retiring? It depends on the body. Look at Totti: he could go on, he didn't lack quality. Whoever goes on despite everything is out of ego. I went to the US because I wasn’t sure I am able to do things the way I used to. I was realistic.”

Ibrahimovic: “Pioli asked me what I wanted to do. I replied ‘No, I won’t continue. Enough’. My family is also important, I am here by myself, it’s a sacrifice. For six months it’s fine but for another year like this one it’s not.”

Ibrahimovic: “Pioli told me ‘Ok, I respect you, fine’. The next day we talked again ‘No, it’s not this simple. If you stay it will be something else here’. And I said ‘No, I’ve decided to leave’. Set aside the contract, at this age it’s not important.”

Ibrahimovic: “Then something changed. I didn't want to have any regrets. I called Milan and decided to go ahead. But at first I decided: 'No, I won't stay next year’.”

Ibrahimovic: “At United I was already thinking of retiring. I was 35-36 years old. The one before the serious ACL injury. After the injury I told myself to continue as long as I could stand.”

Ibrahimovic: “Who am I without football? When you don't do what you've been doing for 25 years, it's not easy. Am I ready? No, because I feel too good.”

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