France football's exclusive interview for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, former Psg player, part 2

 .....part 2 , Francefootball's exclusive interview with Ibrahimovic , fear , retirement ... straightness without makeup ......

√ At PSG, he declared upon leaving: "I come as a King, I leave as a legend." Has another legend succeeded him in Paris?

" Like I said, everyone has their own story. I have my own with PSG. Now, it's time for someone else to leave their motto engraved in stone. I wrote: "I am come as a King, I go as a legend." No one can pick that up, they'll need to find another one."

√ Is life a series of stories, always with a beginning and an end?

"Always. What matters most is how you start them and how you end them, these stories. But if you achieve something, we'll miss you."

√ Is it really important for us to always remember you?

" No. I do my job well and I'm here to help. To try to win and make a difference on the pitch. I'm not here to force people to remember me. Those who remember. to you, it's because you've achieved something. That's all."

√ Are you arrogant or conceited?

"I am confident. Not arrogant, not boastful. Someone ignorant will call me arrogant. A smart person will say confident."

√ Do you feel comfortable being considered the only one?

"I'm not special. I'm normal."

√ Your story and career make you special, doesn't it?

"That, it's something different. Everyone is normal. We're different in our own ways but we're all the same in heart."

√ With your reaction and personality, have you found a way to hide your flaws?

" When you reach my own level, you have no choice. I am not here to share my life with the whole world. I am a professional footballer, I share what I I'm not an Instagram clown who gets up and wonders what the best picture would be to say hello. I want to share things from my professional life. For I, I have a private life, it's very important. That, I don't share. And having a professional life, I share because it's part of my job. I make no secret of it. I'm just keeping my private life for me." 

√ You talk about confidence, is that a way of hiding a more fragile part of you?

" No. When you're confident, you believe in what you do and you believe in yourself. That makes you who you are. Maybe that gives you an edge, that allows you to feel comfortable. It's not to hide anything. It's a mentality, not a question of weakness. It's a strength, a strength."

√ Don't you think you can prevent all the weaknesses by taking action? Does this remind you of your childhood in Rosengard, where being called "idiot" was the worst insult? Is vulnerability a “weak” thing?

"No, I have some weaknesses. I have feelings, weaknesses, things that hurt. I'm not the Hulk. I'm not Superman. You see me on the pitch always confident, other than that. , but I have some weaknesses. I have my weaknesses, my feelings. That's natural."

√ However, did you play that role? Superman, Hulk?

" I don't think I've played a role at any given time. I'm just who I am. Nothing more... I mean, I've been raised like that, I've been through life. I have had my experience, I have grown. Now, I have a family, two children, it is part of my life. You go through the new chapters. I had some moments. difficult moments, great moments, ordinary moments too. You go through it all and that makes you who you are. Today, I'm who I am. Maybe in 6 months, one day. years, I'll be a different person. It depends on what you go through. I'm not 35, 30 or 25 anymore. My way of thinking isn't the same anymore. But I'm still who I am. That's what most importantly. I'm more mature, I handle different situations, on the field and off the field. I want to profit from playing at the highest level, sharing my experience with my teammates,"

√ At the age of nearly 40, can he still be a "hard" man or can't he anymore?

"But guys, would you really give me to a gangster? (laughs) Do you have a picture of me… I'm not a gangster. If I was nearly 2m tall and still healthy, that's it. It's because I train and work, not because I work out on the beach of Venice and I'm a "muscle guy" all day. I try to tailor my game to my age and age. I'm not as fast as I was at 25 or 30, I try my best to help my team. But I'm not a hard guy. snake or whatever."

√ Are you a good person?

"I am. When you know me, I have a big heart. When you don't know me, you hate me."

√ Do you want to be liked by everyone now?

" No. I just want people to recognize me when I'm good at something. Loved or hated... I mean, what is love? Tell me! Those close to you, that, that's love . Supporters for example. Take those things at Inter as an example. When I was there, they loved me, when I left, they didn't love me anymore. So, what is love?"

√ Family, people close to you…

" Exactly. When you do something good, you get liked, and then, all of a sudden, you're liked longer. Is that love? No, I don't need to be liked. I just I want people to be fair and appreciate what I do if I do it well. But it's part of something more global. I'm not looking for love for people involved in charitable causes. make sure people say about them: "Wow, he's a nice guy!" That's fake. If I do something, it's because I want to. No one will know about it. I do it. it's with my heart but some people, they, they do it with their heads sent money to the hospital, he sent money for COVID-19.” I do that, but I don't talk about it: "Big difference."

√ Is that the worst thing in football right now?

" But it's part of the world right now! People want to be perfect. They want to build an image, like: "Wow!" In the end, they'll all get caught up in reality. We'll know who they really are. Look at Tiger Woods. He's said to be the most perfect man on earth... Be yourself, don't be. try to play yourself and be someone who isn't like you that it's good or it will help or make you perfect. It's simply manipulation. I don't want to participate in manipulation. What you see on my social media, that's it. real life. One person. Not two." 

√ No makeup?

"No filter."

√ When we asked him if he wanted to be liked, we thought he had memorized the Swedish national anthem. We have a feeling that you want to reach a consensus in your country. Are we wrong?

"When I was a kid, I couldn't speak Swedish (Ibra's father is Bosnian, his mother is Croatian). Because it made me feel different. I was treated differently, judged differently, discriminated against. That's why I don't feel 100% Swedish I was made to feel that but if they let me feel like one of them, I would identify myself as 100% Swede. But today, I say it, I am 100% Swede. When I was young, I thought of it differently, but now, older, I have experience. experience, I'm 100% Swede. I represent the new Sweden. That's the world now. It's the same in France. There are still people talking about the old France. Oh! We're in 2021! The world is full of different mixes and contrasts. And it's not because you're like that that you can't feel 100% French or 100% Swedish. But when I was young, that, you couldn't. You get it. You're at a stage where b You learn and you gather information for weapons to understand. You suffer a little. But there are consequences to all of that. Mentally, when you're being treated differently, because you're different in their eyes, it's hard. It's like kids bullying others at school. People will say, "Don't worry, it will pass. They don't know that there are psychological consequences for many years to come. The person being bullied can become mentally unstable and subsequently traumatized. I always say it's easier to hit a big blow because it hurts for 5 minutes When you are bullied, the consequences can last for the rest of their lives. But people This person was raised poor, ignorant and thinks they can still live in the old world.My wife is 100% Swedish.So my children have contrasts, but they are also 100%. I'm Swede. Great. That's the world now. An open world."

√ Do you still feel this racism in Sweden?

"Not me, but it still exists, of course. Everywhere in the world. There will always be ignorant people. Though we are here to share love and joy on this Earth and in what we do best Me, I play football I don't play a game but football to spread this love My best way to spread this love is with my football. That is all."

√ Is your opinion different from LeBron James,

who you have clashed with?

" I said we are not politicians. Politics divides people. Football, in my world, unites people. Big difference. Because I had the opportunity to meet and I got to know people I would never have known if I hadn't played. I have met people from all corners of the world. We unite people. Politicians are divided. a politician, I would do politics. We should just do what we are good at. Sports and politics are two different things. If you're smart, you understand."

√ Aren't you afraid to take on a position?

" Whether I take a position or not is not a question. It has to do with what you do and the message you want to send. We, football people, we create love and joy. You can't bring your politics to the world I'm not here to send a bad message to people I'm just here to unite, spread love and joy This is the best medium we have to. Football or sport. Because we're good for that. I'm good for that. I'm good at soccer."

√ What are the things that hurt you?

"For those things, you look at different stages. I now have a family. With the circumstances we went through, with the quarantine, COVID-19, the face of the world. It's completely changed. In Italy it's better, recently I can eat out. I've started to see people. It's different, it's weird. I'm not used to it anymore. I only have one wish, to go home. I'm not used to that. I've gotten used to staying at home, wearing a mask for a long time, and it's still going. Mentally, it won't be easy. to come back to it, I hope that everything will work out and we will get used to it all. That things will go back to the way they were. But there will be consequences for the future, that's for sure. ." 

√ What are you afraid of?

" What is fear? It depends on the lens you want to talk about. I'm not afraid to take on challenges. I'm not afraid to try things. Fear... Fear of getting sick, yes. But

you can't focus on that, otherwise you will go crazy. Of course I have fears but I am a positive person. I try to be like that, at least."

√ Speaking of fears, when you're the father of kids, does that even increase?

"You can't talk about fear when you talk about children. However, you can talk about weaknesses. When you have children, they become your weaknesses. We are talking about sensitivity and emotion. Your children become your weak point Because your life is no longer in your hands, it is in their hands and becomes the most important thing.What happens to them is more important. what happens to you all of a sudden It becomes your weakness… Guys, we've been gone for 30 minutes I can't give you more time "

√ How much do you cost?

"A lot… Ask PSG!" 🙂

√ Can you give me another 5 or 10 minutes?

"Yes! Let's do it, but I have other things to do!"

√ We want to talk to you about retirement. Do you find it strange to have to give up football?

"I think so. For every player, it's very difficult when you retire. In your career you have a program. Every day, you wake up, you have breakfast, you train, you finish training, and then someone reboots, they cook you lunch, you go home, you recover, you spend time with your family or something, and the next day, it's the same. "repeat." We were programmed in our heads. And that's how it's been for 20 or 25 years for me. The day you stop, the first morning, you wake up and you say: " What the hell am I supposed to do?" You're no longer programmed and you're entering a new chapter in your life. And that, that scares me. What am I going to do? But I'm not there yet. I don't want to think about it. When it comes, I'll deal with it."

√ In France, we talk about it as a small death.

"It is, exactly like that. Also, it depends on your personality, the way you turn on, the way you fight, the way you react... It's not easy..."

√ Don't want to relax in retirement? Drink what you want, eat what you like...

"After my career, I want to disappear… When you live in this world as long as you can, you know what you've been through mentally and physically. So I just want to disappear and make the most of it. enjoy your life."

End