‘I get tired faster – I’m sleeping a lot’: Evergreen Zlatan Ibrahimovic admits he can feel his body slowing down at the age of 39… but the AC Milan striker has no plans to quit playing just yet
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the joint top-scorer in Serie A this season with 10 goals
- The Swedish star is leading AC Milan’s unlikely title charge at the age of 39
- Ibrahimovic considered retiring in the summer before deciding to play on
- Ibrahimovic believes the secret to his success is his mentality to keep playing
Zlatan Ibrahimovic admits he can feel his body slowing down at the age of 39 but has no retirement plans yet, as he continues to be AC Milan‘s leading light.
The Swedish star, who considered quitting in the summer before opting to continue, is Serie A‘s joint top-scorer with 10 goals, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku.
His Milan side are a point clear at the top of the Serie A table after 12 matches, and Ibrahimovic insists the secret to his success, beyond anything else, is his longstanding desire to play at the top level.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic admits he gets tried quicker nowadays but has no retirement plans just yet
AC Milan lead Serie A with Ibrahimovic leading their charge for the title at the age of 39
‘I’m 39 and with what I have done, I have no obligation to work anymore, but I still have this passion for what I’m doing,’ Ibrahimovic told UEFA’s website, as reported by Goal.
‘I’m never satisfied, and I always want more. I don’t see a lot of players who are my age who were, or are, performing like I am doing. The moment a player goes above 30 is [meant to be] when they start to go down and they quit.
‘Above 30 is when I started to become even better.
‘I hear athletes from [the] US say that they spent more than one million [dollars] to keep their body in shape. I am 39. I am in shape. I perform at the highest level. I spend zero to stay in shape.’
Ibrahimovic, who only left MLS side LA Galaxy at the back end of last year, added that the secret to his success is his mentality, more so than his physical attributes, but admitted he does now get tired quicker.
The Swedish star believes it is his mentality which keeps him going strong at the age of 39
‘The secret is not how much you spend, the secret is in your head – how much you want it, how much you’re willing to sacrifice.’ he added. ‘That is the secret. It’s the mentality and mentality doesn’t cost anything.’
‘I would like to have the brain of Zlatan in a 25-year-old body! I get tired faster now, compared to when I was younger. I’m sleeping a lot because I need to recover more.’
Ibrahimovic will be hoping to be in the goals on Sunday as Milan take on Sassuolo in Serie A.