Zlatan Ibrahimovic falls into a special category of “immortal” footballers alongside Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Carlo Ancelotti.
The Milan striker is 39 years old but is showing few signs of losing his qualities, having netted eight goals in five Serie A games for the Rossoneri this season.
His career at the top level was previously thought to be over when he suffered a serious knee injury when playing for Manchester United in the Europa League in 2017 but after a stint in MLS with the LA Galaxy, he has returned to the top level of the Italian game and not missed a beat.
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Meanwhile, 35-year-old Ronaldo remains one of the foremost superstars in the world game. Like Ibrahimovic, he remains a predator in front of goal, with six strikes returns from his four league outings.
Everton boss Ancelotti, who has taken charge of many of Europe’s biggest clubs in the past, including Juventus, Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Milan, has heaped praise on both men.
“When we went to America, I thought it was a last goodbye. Instead, he scored in every match,” he told Italia 1 show ‘Tiki Taka – La Repubblica del Ballo’ of the Swede.
“Now he’s back in Italy. I thought it was the end, but even here he scores every Sunday.
“He’s immortal, like Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Continuing to play is easy, but they don’t just play, they always score, and always scoring is not that simple.”
With Ibrahimovic among their ranks, Milan have enjoyed a remarkable start to the season, which has seen them go undefeated in Serie A through their opening seven matches and climb to the top of the table as a consequence.
Juventus, meanwhile, have made a relatively sluggish start to the campaign under rookie boss Andrea Pirlo and lie fifth, four points behind the San Siro side.
“He doesn’t need advice, but I want to give him one piece of it: if he has to sink, he should do it with his own ideas and not those of others,” veteran boss Ancelotti said.