Herrera: Zlatan Looks Years Younger

Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrated his 35th birthday on Monday but Manchester United team-mate Ander Herrera believes the striker still plays like he's in his 20s.

The Swede is the second oldest member of the current squad, behind Michael Carrick who was born just over two months before Ibrahimovic. The no.9 is the only United player to have featured in every match so far this season and has kicked off his Reds career with six goals in 11 matches.

Having worked with Ibrahimovic at close quarters since he joined in the summer, Herrera describes him as "unbelievable" and says he's an example for everyone to admire.

"He trains every day at his best, trying to get everyone at their highest level. He doesn’t lose one training session," revealed the Spaniard in an interview with reporters after Sunday's draw with Stoke City.

"He is very, very aggressive and demanding but in a good way because every day he wants to win every training session and he wants everyone with him to win to keep working so we are very lucky to have Zlatan with us.

"If you saw a game and you didn’t know Zlatan's age you could think he was only 28 or 29 and that is good for us.

"He's an example for every one of us. I am not young, not old, I’m in the middle and he is an example for me as well. When you behave as a professional you can still be at a top club at 35."

Herrera has been particularly impressed with the way Ibrahimovic looks after himself off the pitch, alongside the hard work he puts in on it. And he saluted the professionalism of a host of United's experienced squad members.

"You see the way Zlatan behaves. The way he trains even before the training session, he is always stretching, taking care of his body, so that is the way a professional player has to behave," added Ander.

"But I cannot forget Wayne [Rooney] as well. He’s a top player, the same as Zlatan in every training session. Michael Carrick as well. We can’t forget Michael, Wayne, Ashley Young... they all train hard every day. They are examples for us.

“When I was not at a top team I used to admire these kinds of players. I wanted to be like one of them one day, to be at Manchester United for eight or nine seasons, but it is not easy. You always have to work hard.”

Another of Ibrahimovic's new colleagues, Daley Blind, agreed with Herrera and had this to say about Zlatan: “He is a great personality and a great guy as well. When you see how fit he is then you see what kind of a professional he is and I think he is an example for me and a lot of players."