Zlatan Ibrahimovic addressed his teammates with a championship speech after winning the title in Italy. The Swedish striker from AC Milan returned to the club where he had been active two seasons earlier in 2019 and with his team kept close attacker Internazionale behind him thanks to a victory on the last match day at Sassuola (0-3 win). Afterwards, the forty-year-old attacker let us know in the dressing room what that performance did to him. “Nobody believed in us,” Zlatan said.
Ibrahimovic spoke up when he returned to the locker room. “Get everyone here. Guys, relax, I’m not leaving,” the Swede started his speech with a joke. “From the first day I came here, and others after me, few people believed in us. But when we understood that we had to sacrifice, suffer, have faith, and work hard, we became a team. And if you are a team you can achieve the things we have achieved now,” Ibrahimovic made clear what he believes has been the secret behind AC Milan’s success.
AlwayZ believe in @Ibra_official †#AlwaysWithYou #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/jZVY3OqwBI
— AC Milan (@acmilan) May 23, 2022
“Now we are the champions of Italy.” The Swede then expressed his thanks to both the players and the board. “First of all I would like to thank all the players. I now speak on behalf of the entire team. We would also like to thank Paolo Maldini, Ricky Massara and Ivan Gazidis.” Ibrahimovic concluded his speech by turning to his teammates again. “It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve been a real team this season. At the start of the season, nobody believed in us, but realizing those principles has made us stronger. I am very proud of you. Now do me a favor and celebrate like champions because not only Milan belongs to AC Milan, but all of Italy belongs to AC Milan,” after which he knocked down a table hard.
With 8 goals and 3 assists in 27 official games, Ibrahimovic has made a nice contribution to conquering the title this season. Earlier in his career, the former Ajax player already won champions in the Netherlands with Ajax, in Italy with Internazionale, in Spain with Barcelona and in France with Paris Saint-Germain. With his current club, the Swede also became champion of Italy in the 2010/11 season.