Zlatan Ibrahimovic in his own words

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has always been an interviewer’s dream. Whenever he talks, everyone listens and his time in front of the camera at Manchester United was no exception.

A handful of lucky reporters in the club’s media team had the pleasure of sitting down to chat with the inimitable Swede and he never, ever disappointed with his pre-match or post-game comments.

Here’s a selection of some of the most memorable Zlatan quotes from his time with the Reds…

"This club is massive. I have played at other massive clubs; every club is massive and, if it was not massive, it became massive when I came!" (October 2016)

"I’ve met a lot of City fans but they became United supporters when they met me!" (October 2016)

"When I was living in Paris, in four years I didn’t go to see the Eiffel Tower once – I wanted them to change the Eiffel for my statue but they didn’t do it. Maybe if they do it now I will go to visit!" (October 2016)

"Advice? The thing I always say is you have to enjoy yourself; don’t forget what we play is the thing we love. It’s our passion. We’re playing football and you need to have a balance in your head to find the right level where you enjoy it but at the same time you perform." (October 2016)

"I’m happy with my teams I played with because they did magic stuff." (October 2016)

"Every medal has its story. You have the individual ones and you have the collective ones. It’s difficult to say which means the most… [pauses] because I have one from every country I went to. I don’t even have one from Sweden; can you imagine that - the King from Sweden doesn’t have a medal from Sweden. It’s not possible; I have to go there and conquer back my country!” (October 2016)

"Part of the game is for the fans; it's the way I play and the reason I play but, like I always say, without my team-mates, it’s not possible to win." (January 2017, after winning ManUtd.com’s Player of the Month prize)

"I have no individual targets because that I did already, after three months in England. I conquered England – it took three months." (January 2017, same interview)

"I’m an animal. I feel like a lion. I am a lion. I don’t want to be a lion. The lion is born a lion. It means I’m a lion!" (February 2017, after United's EFL Cup triumph)

"I feel in good shape. I train hard. People who know me from the locker room know that I train very hard. I have an objective every season I go into. And to reach that objective I need to train hard and I need to suffer when I train; that is how I achieve what I achieve.” (February 2017, same interview)

"My medal will be put in the museum. I have a house only for the medals." (February 2017, same interview)

"I’ve been in five different countries, I’ve been in the best clubs in the world and I’m repeating every year, what I am doing. This is another chapter in my career." (February 2017, same interview)

"I train hard. I believe in myself and I know what I am able to do. The older you are, the more experienced, the more intelligent you are, and you don't waste energy on things you don't need. I feel like Benjamin Button. I was born old and will die young." (April 2017, after scoring what turned out to be his final league goal for United, away at Sunderland)

"Master your man stare. I have mine, make sure you find yours. People will be afraid of you!” (February 2017, during his takeover of our Instagram)

"Be brilliant. Why do it normal? Why do it more than normal? Do it brilliant. We want to be brilliant in everything we do because people remember brilliant." (February 2017, Instagram takeover)

"I’m motivated, I’m pumped. Seeing the people standing up and when I score my goal that will be the moment I will enjoy most and what I look forward to." (August 2017, MUTV interview)

… And we’ll certainly remember Zlatan.