Zlatan Ibrahimovic, interview: Milan, Modric, Leao, Allegri…

He lost his tail, not his drive. He learned to decline the “we”, to respect times and roles, to leave the spotlight to others, “but wait a moment: I always remain God”. Normalize Ibra? Impossible, and then why? However, after the two as a footballer, the third chapter of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s AC Milan life, which began in December 2023, is all in a new light. «I’m here to help. The first time Milan gave me happiness, the second time love. Now I’m here to give back. And to create the conditions to win.”

Ibra, how is life as a manager now that he is a partner at RedBird and a Milan consultant?

«I already have gray hair… I arrived with a tail, now I’m like this, soon I’ll be bald…».

«It all started after a 25-year career in football, at top speed. Then I had 3-4 months of freedom to do what I wanted, without an agenda, I spent a lot of time with my children and… after 25 years I met my wife. And the news is that we are still together! After three months, I saw Giorgio Furlani and he told me: “I want you to meet Gerry Cardinale”. I did it: twice in Milan, the third in Los Angeles. But I didn’t want anything, I felt like a free man, I didn’t want to start having plans again. He insisted, he challenged me and I always told him no. Then I got curious. I asked him three things to accept: 1) I have to be myself, no one should cage me; 2) if within it must be long-term; 3) I’m coming back to win. He said: “this is why we are here”.

But can you explain to us exactly what it does?

«My role has not changed, it is still the same, I represent the property. Last year I did more than I had to do, no one asked me, I was the one who felt like doing it, but I didn’t like it, because if I can’t be myself I’m not well. I don’t want to be caged and in fact I didn’t want to have an office. I go to those I need to talk to.”

The impression is that she ended up filling the gaps in the staff.

«Yes, the club has added what was missing, now there is a figure who is always in contact with the players and the coach, it is Igli Tare and he does it well. I come here to Casa Milan, sometimes I go to Milanello: I talk every day with Furlani and with Gerry who is very involved, we study what is needed to improve Milan, we make strategies, in the end Gerry decides, but he trusts a lot in those in the club. And then I am also involved in the corporate part and in the entertainment area of ​​RedBird. I’m a person who, if he doesn’t know something, shuts up, watches and learns. Of course, in other areas I have more experience and I speak more, or much more.”

For example, in Turin did he speak in the locker room? Didn’t he pin Leao to the wall?

«There is a coach, if I can help without disturbing him I will. But you don’t get on top of the coach, you just put him in difficulty. I may be better friends with the players than him, but I am still Ibra with Ibra’s experience. Before I only had a strong mode, over time I learned that to get into the players’ heads sometimes you have to be softer. And you have to persist.”

«So, in Turin I was in the locker room. They were all angry, all of them, Allegri, because we could win. And also Leao who had missed two goals. Let’s remember that during the preparation he was the best, then he was out for two months, now he has to get back into shape. Of course we expect magic, because Leao is magic! Of course we will always talk about him, because he is one of the strongest players in the world and I’m not saying this for marketing purposes, but because I played football. I saw him as a kid, now he has two children: it’s a journey. They say he is already 26 years old, but I became mature at 28 years old. And in any case when we won the scudetto I can say that he won it alone…”.

«I don’t take credits, I want to give them to others. That was my role that year. At the beginning of the season I asked: how many have won something? They raised their hands in one, maybe two. And how many have played in the Champions League? Again, one-two. It was a group of players who were on the bench in the teams they came from, they needed an alpha player, a leader to follow. It was all “Ibra, should we go to the right or to the left? When we lost I said “just send me to talk” so we left the team calm: for me it was like having breakfast. A strong group was born, which began to fly. When we won the scudetto I saw them cry, it was the greatest satisfaction. But I said it immediately on the first day of my return, go and check it.”

And what do you feel like saying this year?

«That the team is very competitive to achieve good results. It was already like this last year, but it was a strange year, as soon as we recovered we immediately crashed, but we learned a lot. However we won a trophy and came second in the Italian Cup. But we are Milan, we know it. The club has been very good at selling players not in the project or for other reasons well, it has chosen an experienced coach who gives balance and stability. And he brought what was missing, a bit of experience.”

What is Ibra doing, is he hiding? It’s not like her.

«If you know me a little, you know that my mentality is different from everyone else. It’s a winner.”

Is aiming for fourth place too little?

«Milan’s DNA is to win, especially in Europe, and we must return there. Nobody wants to change Milan, its culture or its tradition. Also because I give you a rule: no one changes Milan, it’s Milan that changes you. At Milanello you smell victory, after you’ve been there you don’t remain the same footballer. At Milanello, from the chef to the gardener, everyone makes sure that Allegri and the team can express themselves at their best.”

Can Modric in this Milan be what you were in the year of the Scudetto?

«We are different, he is a leader on the pitch, he takes up little space outside, but he brought the experience that was missing. Even if he hadn’t played like a wow, just being around him would have given you something. On the pitch we told him “come in and do it”. What if I’m amazed at how he’s playing? No, he’s been playing like this for twenty years. Many stay at the top for two years and then you never see them again. Others stay at the top for twenty years and are the true champions even if they don’t win the Ballon d’Or: one has it in front of him.”

Rabiot is also giving a lot.

«He was supposed to come a year ago, we tried but he wanted to play in France».

Who could be the surprise?

«Pavlovic can still improve. As soon as he gets unstuck, Gimenez will score a lot of goals. Jashari is a top. And Ricci will also grow: the team is the right mix of present and prospects.”

Has Allegri changed much since he coached you?

«I made him win his first trophy. In that Milan they were all champions, the difficult thing was to send them to the bench, on the pitch they went on automatic pilot. He was very good at managing. Now it’s different, there are fewer champion egos, it’s a very open team. And Allegri has also made his own journey, he has already won a lot, he knows how to do it.”

What do you say about your opponents? Napoli, Inter, Juve? «I don’t look at others, but not out of arrogance, because if I depend on others it means that I’m not strong enough. I have to become strong and the others have to look at me.”

Then at least tell me about Chivu.

«I’ve known him since Ajax. It was a talented team, he was the most mature. Move forward mentally and as a person. He was a champion, as a coach it’s too early to judge, I wish him good luck but he shouldn’t win…”.

His two sons, Maximilian, 19, and Vincent, 17, both play for AC Milan: one for AC Milan future, the other for the Under 18s. Which dad is he? Apprehensive? Does he follow them? From near or far?

«Until the age of 16 they bore their mother’s surname. Then they came to me to tell me that they wanted to be called Ibrahimovic. They were ready, they felt like it, I made them understand that it won’t be easy.”

No intervention on the coaches?

«When they started, I didn’t set foot in Vismara for two years. I don’t know if I made a mistake, because I’m also a dad who wants to enjoy their moments, but I didn’t want to make a mess. Now that they play, I help, give advice, follow them. But I judge them like everyone else. The thing that really made me angry was the amount of nonsense that came out. For example that Camarda didn’t sign because of me. Even for my son I didn’t bother to sign. It wouldn’t be fair: if they arrive it must be thanks to them. It’s clear that if it were up to me they would play for the first team and the national team. But they are as important as all the others in our Academy.”

On purpose. Milan future is relegated to the Amateurs after a year of C.

«We have not created a team to “survive” in Serie C. But we have built a platform designed to bridge the gap between the Primavera and the First Team – explains Ibra -, a fundamental step that has been missing for too long and to help talents grow. This is a long-term project that involves the entire youth sector: from the Primavera up to the First Team. The owners strongly believed in it and decided to invest with conviction and are satisfied with the work that Kirovski and Vergine are carrying out”.

In short, you don’t pronounce the word scudetto to me?

«Do I believe it? Yes, we all have to believe it. But it’s a process, it’s teamwork.”

Excuse me: have we gone from Ibra Dio, to I and we? «Hang on: Ibra is still God. If I was on the pitch I had all the answers, in the stands I still suffer from not being able to help the team. I have no personal goals, everything I do is for Milan. And to win again.”