Ibrahimovic wasn't given the respect he deserved at Barca - Bojan

Martin Macdonald

• 1 Apr 2022 10:24 BST
• 2 min read

Former Barcelona forward Bojan believes Zlatan Ibrahimovic was not given the respect he deserved while at Camp Nou.

Financially, the Blaugrana’s acquisition of Ibrahimovic was one of the worst deals of all time. Barca not only splashed out around €68m for the Inter star, but they also handed over a world-class attacker in Samuel Eto’o in addition.

Although Zlatan’s goal record was good – 21 goals in 45 games on the way to winning La Liga and five trophies in one year – his time in Catalunya soon turned sour.

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He fell out with Pep Guardiola, lost his place in the starting XI as Lionel Messi was converted into a ‘false nine’, and suffered the ignominy of seeing Eto’o and Inter beat Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals.

After just one year at Barcelona he returned to San Siro – with Milan – for a cut-price transfer which eventually came to just €24m.

However, Bojan believes the big Swede should have been more valued at Barca.

"I hope he continues for a couple more seasons, he's a phenomenon. Remember?" Bojan explained to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"When I think of him, the speech he gave me just arrived in Barcelona comes to mind. I was twenty years old, he was already Zlatan. He didn't know me, so he called me to the dressing room, next to him, and he started to give me confidence. 'Don't worry, I'm here'.

"No one can speak ill of Ibra. I think he didn't have due respect that year, also because he scored decisive goals everywhere. When it came to pushing he was tough, yes, but the heart was never lacking.

"He was and will always be an example."

When will Ibrahimovic retire?

Zlatan is remarkably still plying his trade in Serie A at 40-years-old which is a testament to his will and how well he looks after himself.

The time will eventually come when he hangs up his boots, but when will it happen?

When discussing the topic with UEFA.com, he explained his situation in true Ibrahimovic style.

"I want to play as long as I can," he said.

"The reality is I'll play until I see that someone is better than me, so I'm still playing. The future is yet to be written.

"I don't plan. Let's see what happens. I don't want to regret stopping football and then saying that I could continue to play football because then I'd regret it for the rest of my life, seeing that I could have continued."