MX23RW : Saturday, March 22 23:27:25| >> :120:15450:15450:

Ex-teammate Anders Svensson brands Zlatan Ibrahimovic a "complete idiot"

Former Sweden international midfielder Anders Svensson accuses Zlatan Ibrahimovic of being overly ruthless when it comes to dealing with younger players.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a "complete idiot" who does not treat younger players with respect, according to former Sweden international teammate Anders Svensson.

The ex-Elfsborg and Southampton midfielder spent 12 years with Ibrahimovic in the national side, sharing captaincy duties with the now-Manchester United ace.

Ibrahimovic has made an instant impression at Old Trafford in his first campaign in English football, gaining a reputation for being the ultimate professional, but Svensson has accused the country's leading all-time scorer of being overly ruthless at times.

"He can be as enjoyable one minute, and in the next second he'll be a complete idiot," he is quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News. "Occasionally he has behaved so badly with some players that you wondered what actually happened.

"I think he wants to test new players. It's like he wants to break them down to see what they can do. But I can not say I believe in that model. There has never been something between him and me, I think he always had some sort of respect for us who are a little older."

Ibrahimovic, who retired from international football after last year's European Championship finals, has scored 26 goals in 40 appearances for United.

ID:293837: cacheID:293837:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2244:
Written by
Daniel Lewis
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney in action during his side's FA Cup third round clash with Reading at Old Trafford on January 7, 2017
Read Next:
Rooney, Martial ruled out of Rostov clash
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29217169274270
2Arsenal291610353242958
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest29166749351454
4Chelsea29147853371649
5Manchester CityMan City29146955401548
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2814594738947
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29121164842647
8Fulham2912984338545
9Aston Villa2912984145-445
10Bournemouth29128948361244
11Brentford29125125045541
12Crystal Palace2810993633339
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd29107123740-337
14Tottenham HotspurSpurs291041555431234
15Everton2971393236-434
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2997133349-1634
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2975174058-1826
18Ipswich TownIpswich2938182862-3417
19Leicester CityLeicester2945202565-4017
20Southampton2923242170-499


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!