05 October 2023 , 20:00
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic appeared to fire a dig at players moving to the Saudi Arabia as he questioned the motives of some of the world's biggest stars for moving there.
Neymar, Riyad Mahrez and Fabinho are among the big-name superstars that made the switch to the Saudi Pro League in the summer, after Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr back in January. Steven Gerrard, meanwhile, is one of the most high-profile managers to have moved to Saudi, with the Liverpool legend in the dugout at Al-Ettifaq.
Ibrahimovic, who announced his retirement from football in June, has now revealed that he received an offer from Saudi Arabia. The 42-year-old didn't end up taking up that proposal and finished his career at AC Milan, having returned to Europe in 2019 after a successful stint with LA Galaxy.
After being quizzed about Saudi Arabia, he told Piers Morgan Uncensored: "I had an offer also from China. I had an offer also from Saudi, but the situation is, what do you want? What objectives do you have? I said before we started, like certain players need to finish their career on the big stage because that is the high end of your career.
"You have to be remembered for your talent, not for what you earned. Because if you were remembered in the opposite way, what we are training every day for, what we are being recognised for, is our talent and that's what you want to be remembered for.
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"So I think certain players that reach a certain level, they have to stop at a certain stage, and that's the big stage. You cannot go in a lower stage and finish your career in a different way. But some players needed the situations where you can earn a lot of money because they didn't earn enough."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired from football in June (Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you agree with Zlatan's view on the Saudi Pro League? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
When asked about whether he would have a moral problem playing in Saudi Arabia, Ibrahimovic added: "No, absolutely not. You have the golf situation now. They came together and they made it one, so I am just sorry for the players that didn't go before because they didn't get the money that the [other] players got.
"Listen, wherever you play football, it's football. Football connects people. It's a dream we share, both of us. You are a fan, you are not a professional. You [Morgan] are an Arsenal fan, and I feel sorry for you a little bit, but as a professional football player, as long as you play football, and Saudi is growing, MLS is growing.
"China had a peak, and then I don't know, the situation changed there. But a moral thing, no, we do things for ourselves and our family. Who would judge you in 5 or 10 years when you have a wealthy, healthy life and have a good life? Because I don't think anything is for free. You don't work for free. I don't work for free. I don't need money but I am very expensive, that's the difference."
To watch the full interview go to Piers Morgan Uncensored on YouTube.