Zlatan Ibrahimovic has said he wants to play football until “someone better” than him comes along.
The veteran AC Milan forward recently said that he feels a “sense of panic” at the prospect of retiring from football.
“I want to play as long as I can,” Ibrahimovic told UEFA.com. “The reality is I’ll play until I see that someone is better than me, so I’m still playing. The future is yet to be written.”
Ibrahimovic, 40, wants to extend his contract with the Italian outfit for at least another season, with his deal ending this summer.
“I don’t plan,” he said about the future. “Let’s see what happens. I don’t want to regret stopping football and then saying that I could continue to play football because then I’d regret it for the rest of my life, seeing that I could have continued.”
Ibrahimovic has performed at a high level since re-joining Milan in January 2020 from MLS side LA Galaxy.
The former Manchester United star has helped the Rossoneri qualify for the Champions League and challenge for the Serie A title.
Despite Milan being eliminated from the Champions League in the group stages this season, Ibrahimovic believes returning to play in Europe’s elite was already a step forward for him and the club.
“After a couple of years struggling and not being in the Champions League, everybody was super excited and super happy to be back,” he said.
“I scored a couple of goals that I enjoyed, and I got the opportunity to play against the best teams and players in Europe.
“How do I feel about the fact that I never won it [Champions League]? To win it would be amazing. To not win it would not change me as a player. If I win it, it doesn’t mean that I’d be a better player because I am the best player. This has been proven; the best player doesn’t win everything.”
Ibrahimovic, who is Sweden’s all-time leading scorer, is on international duty looking to help his country qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
