{"id":3133,"date":"2026-03-18T00:27:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T00:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=3133"},"modified":"2026-03-18T00:27:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T00:27:00","slug":"zlatan-core-the-26-best-quotes-from-the-global-soccer-icon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=3133","title":{"rendered":"Zlatan Core: The 26 Best Quotes From The Global Soccer Icon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            POPULAR SEARCHES\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            BROWSE BY\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Zlatan Ibrahimovi\u0107 is the master of the quote, and this summer the global soccer legend brings his words of wisdom to FOX Sports as an analyst for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Ahead of his debut with FOX Sports this summer, let&#8217;s look at some of The Lion&#8217;s most memorable sayings that have made him an icon on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>26. &#8220;When I say I am God? You think I&#8217;m joking or not? \u2026 I&#8217;m not joking. I feel like God.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Zlatan is never shy to compare himself to God or any deity out there, nor tell you that he truly believes it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>25. &#8220;I don&#8217;t do trials. You know who I am.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Former Arsenal manager Ars\u00e8ne Wenger was impressed enough by Zlatan&#8217;s talents back in 2000 to offer him a trial. But the confident striker felt he didn&#8217;t need to be evaluated, and joined Ajax in 2001. Oh, what could have been for the Gunners.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>24. &#8220;It\u2019s true I don\u2019t know much about the players here, but they definitely know who I am.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by Geoffroy Van der Hasselt\/Anadolu Agency\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>When Zlatan signed with Paris Saint-Germain in 2012, the team was still a sleeping giant which had just been acquired by its Qatari owners. Once he joined, PSG began its domination of French soccer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>23. &#8220;An injured Zlatan is a pretty serious thing for any team.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>The Swede detailed the serious knee injury he suffered in 2017 with Manchester United in his autobiography<i> I Am Zlatan<\/i> with some poignant third-person insight. Luckily for him and soccer fans everywhere, he recovered to continue playing for several seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>22. &#8220;I came like a king, left like a legend.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>From 2012-16, PSG dominated French soccer with 12 trophies, which included four straight league titles. When Zlatan departed the club, he was the club&#8217;s all-time leading scorer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>21. &#8220;I feel like Benjamin Button. I was born old, and I will die young.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Getting younger with age? An ever-rejuvenating Zlatan AC discussing his two-goal performance for ACMilan that won a key league game over Sampdoria in 2020.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>20. &#8220;I can\u2019t help but laugh at how perfect I am.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>A new challenge and a reunion with manager Jos\u00e9 Mourinho tempted Zlatan to join Manchester United in 2016. You&#8217;d think joining the world&#8217;s most popular club would humble the Swedish star? Think again.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by Rob Newell &#8211; CameraSport via Getty Images)<\/span> <!--&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>19. \"I just want you to feel happy and feel welcome, so I give you the No. 9, but I will take the No. 10.' That's the way we do it. So I never left, I just upgraded my number.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>When Romelu Lukaku joined Manchester United in 2017, Zlatan gave his new teammate a welcoming gift. But no act of kindness goes without a great one-liner.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>18. \"What Carew does with a football, I can do with an orange.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Former Aston Villa striker John Carew once said that Zlatan's playing style was \"pointless\" with too much theatrics. That certainly prompted an iconic response.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>17. \"Lions don\u2019t recover like humans.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Zlatan loves to compare himself to the king of the jungle, especially after returning to action only seven months after a knee injury in 2017 while with Manchester United.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>16. \"Here, I am like a Ferrari among Fiats.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Zlatan was never quiet about how much he felt about the level of play in MLS, but he certainly backed it all up as he was named 2018 MLS Newcomer of the Year and was a two-time MLS All-Star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>15. \"They wanted Zlatan. I gave them Zlatan.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Ibrahimovi\u0107 made his MLS debut as a second-half substitute in the first-ever edition of the \"El Trafico\" derby with LAFC in 2018. Moments after taking the pitch, Ibrahimovi\u0107 launched a long-distance rainbow right into the net. He would then score the game-winner in stoppage time of the 4-3 epic. It remains arguably the best MLS debut ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>14. \"By far.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Zlatan hadn't played a game for the Galaxy yet when he asked about whether he was the best player in MLS. Few could argue.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>13. \"When I see someone else play, I say: \u2018That\u2019s good.\u2019 When I play, I say: \u2018That\u2019s impossible.\u2019\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>It's fair to say Zlatan is a fan of watching his spectacular highlight reel and goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>12. \"Swedish style? No. Yugoslavian style? Of course not. It has to be Zlatan style.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Born in Sweden to Bosnian and Croatian parents, Zlatan gave his unique take when asked how he would define his unique way of playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>11. \"What do you mean, 'present?' She got Zlatan.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>When asked what he got a former girlfriend for her birthday, Zlatan made it known <i>he<\/i> was the gift.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>10. \"We're looking for an apartment. If we don't find anything, then I'll probably just buy the hotel.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>There are plenty of nice places to live in Paris. So when Zlatan joined PSG in 2012 in a big-money move, he (maybe?) joked at his introductory news conference about where he'd post up. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>9. \"There was the thought that this would send me into retirement. I sent their entire country into retirement.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Denmark fans were hoping they could send Zlatan into an early retirement in the Euro 2016 playoffs. Instead, Ibrahimovi\u0107 showed them why he was still one of the world's top strikers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>8. \"Keep booing. This is the biggest moment in your year seeing me.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>When Zlatan was giving his emotional farewell speech in 2023 in front of the AC Milan fans, the visiting Verona supporters decided to give him their own sendoff. Which of course, prompted another all-timer from the legend. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>7. \"When you buy me, you are buying a Ferrari. If you drive a Ferrari you put premium petrol in the tank, you hit the motorway and you step on the gas. Guardiola filled up with diesel and took a spin in the countryside. He should have bought a Fiat.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Zlatan playing with Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and the rest of those legendary Barcelona stars? It happened in the 2009-10 season, but tensions with Bar\u00e7a manager Pep Guardiola over playing style made Zlatan\u2019s tenure at Camp Nou a short one.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>6. \"I was playing to win. And to win I will destroy you.\" \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>It's a simple philosophy to live by when you're an elite competitor like Zlatan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>5. \"I don't believe they can change the Eiffel Tower for my statue, even the people behind the club. But if they can, I will stay here \u2014 I promise you.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Zlatan or the Eiffel Tower? Those were the towering figures in Paris during his four trophy-laden seasons at PSG. Ibrahimovi\u0107 wanted a different challenge in 2016 as he joined PSG. The Eiffel Tower\u2019s social media account even responded with it's own memorable quip: \"I like your humor and the view of Paris is so beautiful from here... but I\u2019m the Tower!\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>4. \"First I went left, he did too. Then I went right, he did too. Then I went left again, and he went to buy a hot dog.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>In soccer speak, it\u2019s referred to as an <i>\u00e9lastico<\/i>. In basketball parlance, it\u2019s known as a crossover (or maybe breaking ankles). But Zlatan\u2019s interpretation of this nifty move is definitely the \u2026 \u2018wiener.\u2019 The world took notice of the rising star when he twisted up Henchoz during a Champions League match, with the Liverpool defender later admitting he wasn\u2019t sure where the ball had gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>3. \"Dear Los Angeles, you're welcome.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>Zlatan's ad in the Los Angeles Times after joining the LA Galaxy in 2018 was amazingly direct and to the point. And he delivered some incredible goals during his two-year reign with the Galaxy. When he announced his departure in 2020, he provided an equally memorable line in his farewell post: \"Now go back to [watching] baseball.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>2. \"A lion doesn\u2019t compare himself to humans.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>There may not be a better quote that personifies Ibrahimovi\u0107\u2019s brash and confident style, even when he is complimenting some of the Premier League's best players. After praising Sergio Ag\u00fcero and Romelu Lukaku for their scoring prowess, he was asked by BT Sport in 2017 why he wouldn\u2019t add himself to that list. Fair enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6><strong>1. \"A World Cup without me wouldn't be a World Cup.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d515c0f6>During his time in MLS with the Galaxy, Zlatan and Sweden were aiming to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. They fell short of that objective and Zlatan wasn't part of the Sweden squad in 2022, but at least he wil have a big role with FOX Sports this summer in 2026.<\/p>\n\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY Zlatan Ibrahimovi\u0107 is the master of the quote, and this summer the global soccer legend brings his words of wisdom to FOX Sports as an analyst for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Ahead of his debut with FOX Sports this summer, let&#8217;s look at some of The Lion&#8217;s most memorable sayings [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}