Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof says Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the best player he has ever played with, despite only being team-mates for a matter of months.
Lindelof briefly played alongside the AC Milan striker at international level, having broken into the national side in March 2016, three months before Ibrahimovic retired from international duty after Euro 2016.
He was reunited with the veteran striker at Old Trafford when he joined the Red Devils from Benfica in the summer of 2017, though it would be a another brief reunion as Ibrahimovic left for LA Galaxy the following March.
Though their time together as team-mates was short, Ibrahimovic, who returned for a second spell at Milan in December, clearly made a big impression on Lindelof.
“I’ve played with some really good players but, if I have to pick one, I’ll go for Zlatan,” he told Manchester United’s website.
“I think he’s a great player and I got the chance to play with him in the national team and also in United. He’s the best player.”
Switching his attention to the current United squad, Lindelof believes the “best is yet to come” from a side that was showing tangible signs of improvement prior to the coronavirus shutdown.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions, a run that included impressive league victories over Chelsea and Manchester City as well as a 3-0 win at Championship side Derby to secure a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Lindelof isn’t getting carried away, however, insisting there is still room for improvement.
When asked what his favourite moment in a United shirt was, the 25-year-old said: “It’s not easy to pick just one moment. I think I would say the best is yet to come.
“We had a few good moments and have been winning some big games but I haven’t won a title yet. I’ll wait until I win a first title and then I can answer that question.”
Getty
A key component of United’s upturn in form has been the defence, with Lindelof developing an effective partnership with Harry Maguire.
Maguire only joined the club from Leicester last summer but is already a key member of the squad and was appointed club captain in January following the sale of Ashley Young.
“It’s been great playing with Harry a lot this season. It’s very important to play a lot of games together and you learn a lot from each other,” Lindelof said.
“The more games you play, the better you get as players and so it’s been great as we’ve been helping each other a lot and getting some good results.
“I think we’ve been improving lately as well, before the break, we had a lot of clean sheets and performed well.
“It’s been great but I’ve played with some others as well this season and we have some really good players in that position. It’s always a pleasure to play alongside everyone. But I’ve played with Harry a lot this season and it’s been great.”
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
