Ibrahimovic: I wanted to be like Ronaldo Nazario

Everybody needs someone to look up to, even a person as self-assured and occasionally cocky as Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Earning his stripes at Malmo and Ajax at the turn of the century, the Swede watched Ronaldo Nazario at his peak and has confessed to idolising the Brazilian striker.
"I thought Ronaldo was phenomenal," Ibrahimovic told United Review. "As a young player I watched him and said to myself 'I want to be exactly like that'.
"The player who makes the difference, the shining light, simple as that."
Ronaldo enjoyed a very successful career across Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Brazil, and it was his ability to scoring amazing goals that inspired Ibrahimovic.
"He was the player that whatever he did it was like 'Wow!' He could do a difficult thing and it became magic," the Manchester United man added. "He would take the ball and it was like him saying 'I'll take care of it now'.
"You didn't have that kind of football player before and you don't have it today. He doesn't exist."