Adrenalina. My untold stories Quotes

“If I was asked to choose a friend from history to have dinner with, I’d definitely pick Muhammad Ali, because he was the same person, inside and out. He practised what he preached, even if it meant going to prison, in a time of social division – a time of war and racial tensions. When you manage to send out important messages from the platform afforded to a world champion athlete, messages that reach around the world, then you’re something far more than simply an athlete. You’re an icon, a symbol – everything. I would have loved to spend some time chatting with him.”
― Zlatan Ibrahimović, Adrenalina. My untold stories

“An athlete unites people, a politician divides them. It’s been my good luck, thanks to sport, to get to know other guys from all over the world. We live in the same dressing room, and we fight as one. If it hadn’t been for football, I would never have met them, and I’d know nothing about their cultures. Are you a Muslim? Are you a Catholic? It doesn’t matter. All that matters is basic respect in the dressing room.”
― Zlatan Ibrahimović, Adrenalina. My untold stories

“Right from the beginning of my whole story I’d vowed one thing over all others: whatever happens to me – success, wealth, fame – I won’t change. I have to remain myself, because if I change, I’ll disappoint myself. If I came up from the street, I have to remain exactly who I was, the same person, even if I make it to the top.”
― Zlatan Ibrahimović, Adrenalina. My untold stories

“I give 100 per cent from the first session, on the first day of training, because training is when you start winning. There’s not a single match that I don’t consider part of the finals, because every match has a winner and a loser, and I want to be the winner, every time. That’s what I wanted to teach the Americans; that’s how I wanted to help them grow.”
― Zlatan Ibrahimović, Adrenalina. My untold stories

“I don’t know them personally, but Maradona struck me as more authentic: he did everything from the heart; he was never afraid to talk, to run risks; he had no filter, he didn’t care about presenting a perfect self-image. When he made a mistake, it was a mistake from the heart. That’s why he touched you more than anyone else.

Nowadays 95 per cent of all footballers have a filter around them and seem obsessed with projecting a perfect image. I don’t even know what that’s about. As far as I’m concerned, you can only be yourself, and you’re only perfect if you manage this. Make mistakes, learn from your mistakes. In time you’ll make more mistakes. But you’ll remain yourself.

But these players have an entourage of people around them, protecting them, shielding them, to create this perfect image, and so people think: ‘Oh, this is a wonderful person.’ But it’s not necessarily true; they’re just hidden behind a filter. Maradona never gave a thought to his image, but he followed his instincts.”
― Zlatan Ibrahimović, Adrenalina. My untold stories

“Se avessi voluto occuparmi di politica, avrei fatto il politico. Invece ho fatto l’atleta. L’atleta unisce, il politico divide.”
― Zlatan Ibrahimović, Adrenalina. My untold stories