Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s professional career has spanned over two decades. The Swede has played for some of Europe’s biggest clubs and has proven himself everywhere. At the age of 40, Zlatan continues to perform at the highest level for AC Milan and has no plans of retiring anytime soon.
The former Paris Saint-Germain striker was recently interviewed and several questions were asked about the current PSG side. Ibrahimovic spent four seasons at the Parc des Princes and scored 156 goals making him the club’s all-time top scorer then when he had left for Manchester United.
The Swede was Qatar Sports Investments’ marquee player during their initial takeover and Ibrahimovic set the founding stone for the new owners in building PSG into the popular club that it is today around the world.
The 40-year-old was asked about Kylian Mbappe, a player that Zlatan Ibrahimovic loves watching and keep an eye on. Zlatan replied:
“I love Mbappé, but what he does is not yet enough. He is too comfortable, in his zone. He needs to walk on fire and then he will be even better”- BEIN Sports
He then also said:
“He needs to sense the taste of blood. You have to be surrounded by those who tell you you’re not good enough and you can progress, not by those who say you’re the best”.
Mbappe needs a new and more competitive challenge to take his game to the next level
Ibrahimovic has been as candid as he could be with his words. When Zlatan said Kylian Mbappe is “too comfortable” he probably meant it’s time for Mbappe to take on a new challenge.
The Ligue 1 is too easy for a player of Kylian Mbappe’s calibre. He’s been the team’s top scorer in Ligue 1 for the past three campaigns. His only real challenge against quality oppositions are in the UEFA Champions League. A player like Mbappe should be playing against competitive teams week in and week out.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic knows what it means by walking on fire to improve oneself. The 40-year-old has played across Europe and has continuously developed while playing for the likes of Ajax, Inter, Barcelona, AC Milan, PSG and Manchester United, and he’s still not done.
At a club like Real Madrid, no matter how good you are or how well you perform consistently, the club and its fan always demand more. There’s no performance saturation by the fans or the club. Take for example Cristiano Ronaldo, despite scoring goals almost every match-day, the Portuguese was subject to boos and jeers from the hostile Bernabeu crowd that is the most demanding one from the lot.
At Real Madrid, even if you’re the best player in the world, that is not enough. You need to be better than what you were last season or your performance in the next fixture needs to be better than the previous one. It’s a continuous, demanding challenge but it’s also an experience of a lifetime.
Obviously, Kylian Mbappe knows what he wants. He already wanted to leave PSG earlier this summer. Come January, we can expect some transfer activity as Florentino Perez will look to settle things out with Mbappe and his agent over a prospective move in the summer of 2022.