Ronaldo at his peak, was the undisputed best footballer in the world during the 90's and early 00's.
He captured the imagination of most fans of a certain vintage as well as aspiring players. And one person who was in awe of the Brazilian's talent was a young Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Swede, who has garnered a reputation for being arrogant, is one of the least likely of the modern footballers to have admired anyone other than himself. But then again, Ronaldo was a sensation to watch. A two-time world cup winner and three FIFA player of the year awards were justified awards for the former Real Madrid player and Ibrahimovic enjoyed Ronaldo's displays during his teenage years.
We can only assume that Ibra's sense of self absorption didn't kick in until his later years.
A young Zlatan Ibrahimovic in awe of his idol Ronaldo... pic.twitter.com/h8nfaKh3j2
— Footy Throwbacks (@FootyThrowbacks) November 8, 2016
That aside, it's the way Ibrahimovic described his admiration for Ronaldo that is a bit strange. Speaking to the Man United's offical programme United Review, he said:
"I think Ronaldo was phenomenal. He was the player that whatever he did it became wow! He could do a difficult thing and it became magic. He would take the ball and it was like him saying ‘I’ll take care of it now’. You didn’t have that kind of football player before and you don’t have it today. He doesn’t exist. As a young player I watched him and said to myself ‘I want to be exactly like that’… the player who makes the difference, the shining light, simple as that."
"I'll take care of it now?" Quite a sensitive way of looking at Ronaldo's style of playing but each to their own and all that.
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