Albin Ekdal on Zlatan: “There are no bullies off the field”

Of: Malin Wahlberg

Published: October 04, 2020 at 11:47 p.m.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been singled out as a bully during his time on the national team.

Now Albin Ekdal gives his opinion on the information.

– I do not recognize that it would have been a bully who pushed the players, says the midfielder in the Viaplay study.

In his new book, Olof Lundh describes how Zlatan Ibrahimovic controlled and divided the national team during, above all, Erik Hamrén’s time as team captain.

A veteran national team leader later confirmed Lundh’s image for Sportbladet.

– I could say things that would surprise Swedish football about how it has behaved. I wondered more than once if it was worth staying. It was high-level adult bullying. This is something you basically have to report to the police. It was horrible, the leader said, among other things.

“Everyone has their photo”

In his summer talk, Albin Ekdal said, among other things, that Zlatan’s sharp gestures and comments “lowered the self-confidence of some players”, but the national team midfielder does not want to sign the recent information.

– I have said before that Zlatan is an incredible winner on the field who places enormous demands on his teammates and sometimes it can be expressed in the fact that he yells a lot and such. So I don’t recognize myself at all that there would be any thugs off the field, on the contrary, he got along well with most people. But as I said, on the court he could be in a bad temper, he says in the Viaplay study and continues:

– Everyone has their image of reality, I can only say what I experienced. Of course it was special to have it, but I don’t think it would have pushed people down.

“I had my duster with Zlatan”

Ekdal also says that he himself ended up in a fight with Ibrahimovic.

– I also had my feather duster with Zlatan, that’s what happens. It is clear that it is a little more difficult to argue with him than with anyone else on the team. But that’s what happens.

However, Ekdal does not believe that the information affects today’s selection at all.

– No way. Zlatan is no longer with the national team. You get pretty tired of answering questions. I understand that it is interesting, but it is a chicken of a feather.

Published: October 04, 2020 at 11:47 p.m.

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