Zlatan is taking credit for “putting France on the map”
November 13, 2015
Fresh off winning his 10th Swedish Golden Ball, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is apparently feeling even more enamored with himself than usual. Ahead of Sweden’s Euro 2016 qualification playoff against Denmark, the PSG striker declared that the tournament’s host nation would be nothing without him.
From the BBC:
“I would love to play at the European Championship in France,” said Ibrahimovic.
“I have played there for four years. I have put Sweden on the world map and now I have put France on the world map too.”
Just to be clear, France is a nation that won the World Cup (a trophy Zlatan has never won), won two European Championships (a trophy Zlatan has never won), and a French club won the Champions League (a trophy Zlatan has never won), all before Zlatan arrived in France in 2012.
Granted, Zlatan did bring renewed international interest in French football after Ligue 1 had fallen behind a bit and the French national team became a laughing stock at the 2010 World Cup, but to say he put France on the world map is just, well, about what you would expect from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
It’s only a matter of time before he takes credit for croissants and the works of Marcel Proust.