I’m very proud I came from the old generation.” The generation before that you had to do a lot to get a little. But many people don’t understand suffering because the new generation, with all these platforms, have to do little to get credit. But getting two more followers will not heal you. The only thing that keeps me going is the adrenaline because every morning I have pain everywhere. “It’s not about contracts or being famous. Before we reach this contentious point, the middle‑aged maverick reiterates his worldview. He continues to stoke his own fire and as he proved just over a week ago when barging into César Azpilicueta during Sweden’s final World Cup qualifying group match, Ibrahimovic still adheres fiercely to his beliefs. He wanted to transform the youngest squad in Serie A and instil his formidable fight into players who revere him. But Ibrahimovic is different and he came back to Milan with a new goal. Such a stint in the US usually marks a lucrative swansong for a feted European player. After a serious knee injury hastened his departure from Manchester United in 2018, he spent two years playing for LA Galaxy. He returned to Milan for his second spell with the club in late December 2019. But Milan remain a work in progress as they lost 4-3 and are second in the table behind Napoli on goal difference. On Saturday, away against Fiorentina, Ibrahimovic scored two and set up a third goal. Sign up to The Recap, our weekly email of editors’ picks. I don’t want to have that regret if I stop and then, in a couple of years, I’m sitting with you and saying: ‘I could have continued because I was feeling good.’ It’s better to be totally finished and say: ‘I cannot do it any more.’ But I can still do it and I am doing it.” I’m coming to somewhere I need to work to keep myself at the top. “This morning I had pain everywhere but as long as I have objectives, as long as I have adrenaline, I keep going. He knows we are all going to die, or retire, but here is the defiant Ibrahimovic mantra:
Ibrahimovic continues to inspire a young Milan squad and to play football at the highest level while sparking controversy and embracing the wonder of being Zlatan with amusing gusto. This is how much it takes to remain an elite footballer at the age of 40. The mighty Swede grimaces before fixing me with his familiar stare of cocky intensity at Milan’s famous old training ground. Every day I wake up, I have pain everywhere,” Zlatan Ibrahimovic says as he resists the inevitable end on a beautiful afternoon at Milanello.