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30th Dec 2016

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has his say on the ‘who is the best Ronaldo’ debate

Cristiano will not be happy about this.

Rob Burnett

The debate has raged for years, but at last The Zlatan has made his pronouncement on the subject.

Having failed to find a way of somehow awarding the title of ‘Best Ronaldo’ to himself, Manchester United’s super Swede has come down on the side of Brazilian (or if you prefer, Original) Ronaldo as being better than his Portuguese namesake Cristiano.

“I think Ronaldo, Il Fenomeno, was the best,” he told ESPN Brasil (Was he playing to the home audience with this…?).

“He was an example of what football is. Everything he did was like ‘wow’. The way he dribbled, the way he ran.

MUNICH, GERMANY - JUNE 18: Ronaldo of Brazil has a shot on goal as Craig Moore of Australia tries to block during the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 Group F match between Brazil and Australia at the Stadium Munich on June 18, 2006 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)(Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)

 

“Ronaldo was natural, he was born to be what he was. It was not something he trained to become. This type of player is not made, he is born. He is unique.”

And what of former United star and 2016 Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano?

MADRID, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 19: Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid celebrate after scoring Real's 3rd goal during the La Liga match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid CF at Vicente Calderon Stadium on November 19, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)(Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

 

“It is different because he is the result of hard training,” said Zlatan. “It is not natural.”

So there you have it. That’s that one sorted.

Also in the interview, Zlatan talked about his partnership with United midfielder Paul Pogba in typical style. “The situation with Paul’s easy,” he said. “I speak and he listens.”

Don’t ever change, Zlatan.