Ibrahimovic: Why sign Messi or Ronaldo when you have Zlatan

The Swede responded cheekily when asked if PSG should make a stellar signing, while he will not define his career by success or failure in the Champions League

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has suggested that Paris Saint-Germain do not need to sign another superstar while he is at the club.

The Ligue 1 outfit have been linked with audacious moves for Barcelona’s Lionel Messi or Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, the current Ballon d’Or holder, but the Swede responded cheekily when asked if his club should move for either.

“Why sign Messi or Ronaldo when you have Zlatan?” he responded on RMC’s ‘Luis Attaque’ show.

Ibrahimovic also believes that his side should have been strong enough to see off the challenge of Chelsea in the Champions League having earned a 3-1 advantage in the first leg of the quarter-final before slipping out on the away goals rule.

Asked if he had been able to play that match instead of watching on from the stands due to injury, would PSG have progressed, he joked: “For my ego, I will say yes. But from that tie, we should be able to enjoy the result of the first leg. That was a really good result. Even if the return leg was different and more complicated, we should have been able to hold on.”

The loss to Chelsea means that Ibrahimovic has still not won the Champions League, and while he does not consider the competition as something that might define his career, the 32-year-old is still hopeful that he will one day claim Europe’s greatest club prize.

“If I stopped playing football tomorrow, I would not say: ‘I did not win the Champions League so my career is a failure.’ On the contrary, my career has been fantastic. I enjoyed it and I continue to enjoy it.

“My favourite player was Ronaldo, ‘El Fenomeno’, the Brazilian. He did not win the Champions League either. That is why I am more relaxed.

“The team is improving. We cannot forget that it is only two years since the project began [at PSG]. Chelsea started 10 years ago. They were successful and won the Champions League after several attempts. We have already had some success. We’ve done better than last year.