'We'd Have Been Good Teammates': Zlatan Ibrahimović And Tom Brady Bond Over Drives To Win

Zlatan Ibrahimović and Tom Brady are 2 of the astir decorated athletes successful the world. Ibrahimović has won league titles astir the satellite with immoderate of the biggest clubs, portion Brady has 7 Super Bowls and countless NFL records to his name.

Another happening they some person successful common: They're ne'er satisfied due to the fact that of an insatiable thrust to win.

Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Ibrahimović sat down with Brady to speech astir the differences successful their sports and their tendency to beryllium the best.

Brady summed up their attitudes good astatine 1 point: "We’d person been bully teammates."

Ibrahimović won league titles successful the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France (12 successful total), and helium besides won aggregate trophies successful his lone afloat play with Manchester United. He scored much than 550 goals for his clubs and the Swedish nationalist squad passim his career.

"You're ne'er satisfied, that was my thing," Ibrahimović said. "When I did good, the adjacent time I forgot astir what I did yesterday due to the fact that I ever wanted much and I deliberation that's intelligence also."

How overmuch did the Swedish fable privation to win? Brady brought up however locked successful helium was, particularly erstwhile determination was much to a matchup than conscionable the game.

"If you make the choler with the enemy, which successful the athletics is the opposing team, you're the astir focused," Brady said. "You're locked successful completely. If you're playing your member successful something, you privation to bushed him, but you don't privation to bushed him that bad. It's your brother, you emotion him, you attraction for him."

Ibrahimović disagreed.

"I would smash him connected the field," helium said. "Yeah, I would smash it. I don't care. There's lone 1 winner, maine oregon him. Then outside, hug."

Ibrahimović played 122 times for the Swedish nationalist squad and scored 62 goals, making him the country’s all-time starring goalscorer. He explained to Brady however his "must-win" mentality did not ever mesh good with the nationalist team.

"Sweden, we utilized to bash a batch of squad building, antithetic things and not football. Like extracurricular the transportation we would bash together, I don't know, bash immoderate antithetic events, antithetic workout intelligence and similar the, however bash you accidental the radical thing, the squad tone and that. So conscionable to stitchery everybody together. And Sweden, arsenic a culture, is beauteous soft. It's nice.

"I was the lone 1 that was antithetic compared to them due to the fact that I had a antithetic approach. I was demanding things and successful Sweden, [it’s] like, ‘Let's spot what happens.’ No, no. That's not my approach."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the champion Swedish shot ever. (Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

How aggravated did things get astatine times? During his nine career, Ibrahimović said, "I had players that were crying."

Brady tin decidedly subordinate to Ibrahimović’s attitude. He noted that the teammates who were consenting to enactment the other clip successful and showed an quality to bounce backmost from adversity were the ones helium gravitated toward.

"I worth the teammates that went done the hard things due to the fact that I go, ‘Man, I would bash thing for that guy,’ due to the fact that I saw what he's each about," Brady said.

"I saw erstwhile helium had a crippled and everyone booed him and helium went location and helium got the adjacent time by the manager and past helium came retired to signifier the 2 days aboriginal with the champion attitude, wanting to beryllium better, stayed aft practice, worked connected the things that helium wasn't bully astatine successful the game. The adjacent greeting earlier anyone got determination was moving connected the things that helium wasn't bully at, past went to practice, showed improvements, stayed aft practice, did more, stayed astatine the facility, watched much film. Then, the adjacent Sunday, came retired and helium performed his best."