‘We would have been good teammates’: Zlatan Ibrahimović and Tom Brady bond to win

Zlatan Ibrahimović and Tom Brady are two of the most decorated athletes in the world. Ibrahimović has won championship titles around the world with some of the biggest clubs, while Brady has seven Super Bowls and countless NFL records under his belt. Another thing they both have in common: they are never satisfied because of an insatiable will to win. Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Ibrahimović sat down with Brady to talk about the differences between their sports and their desire to be the best. Brady summed up their attitude well at one point: “We would have been good teammates.” Ibrahimović won league titles in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France (12 in total), and he also won several trophies in his only full season with Manchester United. He scored over 550 goals for his clubs and the Swedish national team throughout his career. “You’re never satisfied, that was my thing,” Ibrahimović said. “When I did well, the next day I forgot what I did yesterday because I always wanted more and I think it’s also mental.” How much did the Swedish legend want to win? Brady talked about how locked in he was, especially when there was more to a game than just the game. “If you create anger at the enemy, which in sports is the opposing team, you are most focused,” Brady said. “You’re completely locked in. If you play your brother in something, you want to beat him, but you don’t want to beat him that bad. He’s your brother, you love him, you care about him.” Ibrahimović disagreed. “I would crush him on the field,” he said. “Yeah, I’d crush him. I don’t care. There’s only one winner, me or him. So outside, give a hug.” Ibrahimović played 122 times for the Swedish national team and scored 62 goals, making him the country’s all-time top scorer. He explained to Brady how his must-win mentality didn’t always suit the national team. “In Sweden we used to do a lot of team building, different things and not football. Like off the field we did it together, I don’t know, we did different events, different mental exercises and like, how do you say the group thing, team spirit and that. So just to bring everyone together. And Sweden, as a culture, is quite gentle. It’s nice. “I was the only one who was different from them because I had an approach different. I demanded things and in Sweden, [it’s] like, “Let’s see what happens. » No, no. That’s not my approach.” How intense did things get at times? During his club career, Ibrahimović said, “I had players who cried.” Brady can certainly relate to Ibrahimović’s attitude. He noted that teammates who were willing to put in the extra time and showed an ability to bounce back from adversity were the ones he looked to. “I saw when he had a game and everyone else did. booed and he went home and he was received the next day by the coach, then he came out to practice the two days later with the best attitude, wanting to be better, stayed after practice, worked on the things he wasn’t good at in the game. The next morning, before anyone arrived, he worked on the things he wasn’t good at, then he went to practice, showed improvement, stayed after practice, did more, stayed in the facility, watched more film. Then the next Sunday he went out and did his best.”