Cape Town - Schalke
defender Benjamin Stambouli has revealed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic
reacted angrily to being called the 'King of Paris' claiming that he
was, in fact, God.
The pair played together at PSG during the 2015/16 season and the Manchester United striker left a notable impression on the former Tottenham man.
"We were at physiotherapy and news was on TV," Stambouli told Goal. "Zlatan asked me to translate it because there was something about him on.
"So I explained that they said that Zlatan is the King of Paris. I thought he would be happy about it, because it's great that the people love him so much.
"But he was different. He was very angry and shouted at me: 'What the f***? I'm not the king, I'm god!' This guy is totally crazy."
However, the 27-year-old claimed that life was not all fun and games with the Swedish star, but gave a glowing character reference when asked what was special about him.
"His character, his strength on the pitch and his leadership. He is an incredible person that reads situations faster than everybody else," Stambouli said.
"Zlatan is very clever and tests you in every situation, only to analyse you. He loves to play things with you and is able to control some people this way."
The other trait that stood out to the Frenchman was Ibrahimovic's competitive spirit.
"Zlatan wants to win every single time," he said. "It doesn't matter if it's on the pitch or when we try to throw plastic bottles into the bin. Zlatan would do everything to win.
"When he was at PSG, he was the king of Paris and had already won a lot of trophies, but he was still hungry to win. He wants to win every day and wants to win everything you can win."
The 36-year-old has endured a difficult season at Old Trafford after returning from a long-term knee injury, playing just 119 minutes of football in all competitions for Jose Mourinho's side.