The Swedish striker has previously been accused of being arrogant but his current team-mates find him anything but
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has “no ego” and has contributed plenty at AC Milan, according to team-mate Hakan Calhanoglu.
Ibrahimovic, 38, returned to Milan in January and had scored four goals in 10 games before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The striker is dealing with a calf injury ahead of the Serie A campaign restarting, with his future uncertain.
But Calhanoglu was full of praise for Ibrahimovic, who won Serie A and the Supercoppa Italiana during his first spell with the club.
“He is not a new player for Milan. He is a world star and a very experienced player,” he told beIN SPORTS.
“He is our star. He has contributed to us in every respect – with his experience, game ambition, mentality, helping very well out on the field.
“Everyone on the outside sees ego. I think there is no ego, he is very approachable, very sympathetic, immediately joking, very enjoyable to spend time with him.”
Fellow AC Milan team-mate Leo Duarte also recently singled out Ibrahimovic for praise after the Swede suffered a minor injury in training.
“Ibra is a great champion, very competitive,” Duarte – who has had injury problems himself since arriving at San Siro last year – told Sky Sport Italia.
“He helps us a lot in training to stay focused and improve – it really makes a difference for our team.
“We hope he can recover soon because he is very important for us.”
Suspended since March, Serie A is set to restart on June 20 with Milan currently sitting seventh in the league.
Ibrahimovic is contracted in Italy until the end of the season with reports suggesting he’s likely to move on once the campaign is completed but the man himself has left his future very much open.
“I have a contract with Milan and we will see how it ends there, if it ends,” Ibrahimovic told Dplay.
“I want to play football for as long as I can and be able to contribute something, not just play for what I have done or who I am.
“We’ll see what happens – who knew coronavirus would come and turn the world upside down in two weeks?”
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