The Premier League is 'overrated', says Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he feels the quality of the Premier League is exaggerated, particularly the technical aspects.

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Ibrahimovic spent two seasons in the Premier League with Manchester United, and while he spent the latter mostly recovering from knee ligament injury, his first was excellent - registering 28 goals, 10 assists in all competitions as the Red Devils won the UEFA Europa League, EFL Cup and Community Shield.

“People said, ‘You don’t need to go to England, because if you fail in England, people will always say you weren’t good enough’," the Swede told FourFourTwo magazine.

"Everybody was against it. And guess what? That made me motivated. That gave me adrenaline.

“I liked the Premier League. I found it very motivating and very exciting.

He offered a critique of England's top tier, saying: "It gets a lot of attention, although I feel the quality is a little bit overrated – the individual quality, the technical part.

“But the rhythm is high. Even if you are the best, if you can’t handle the rhythm, the pace, then you will not succeed, because the pace is very high.

“I’m super proud and super happy that I went to United – it was the right club.

“As I said when I was in England; you’re lucky I didn’t come 10 years ago, because if I did what I did at 35 years old, imagine it if I was 25. Then it would have been a different story.

“I came there and they said I came in a wheelchair. All the people that talked, in the whole Premier League, I put them in a wheelchair. That’s what I did.”

The towering striker just finished a superb MLS season in the USA with LA Galaxy - and although the club failed to reach the playoffs, he bagged 22 goals and seven assists in 27 matches.

Now 37 years old, he is currently considering his options to play on, with strong rumours linking him with a return to AC Milan.