Romelu Lukaku has revealed Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a big influence on him and it was his influence that has helped him in shaping his football career.
Ibrahimovic reunited with Jose Mourinho at Manchester United and together they went on to lift the Europa League and EFL Cup. Zlatan took very little time to prove his class at the Old Trafford but a ligament injury shortened his United career.
The Swedish striker failed to recover in time and went on to join LA Galaxy later in 2018. Lukaku didn’t have much chance to interact with him after his arrival in Manchester.
But the Belgian insists Ibrahimovic’s competitiveness forced him to work hard and it has improved him as a player. “Everything I learned from Zlatan was great, from his stories that he told me when he was at Inter, AC Milan, Barcelona and even Ajax, to being on the field working with him, seeing how competitive he was
“I remember one training session – because we were both strikers, we were never on the same team – there was a 50/50 challenge. He went full-on against me!
“That is when I knew this guy wants to compete and this guy wants to fight for his spot. That is why he changed me. It was an eye-opener. The guy had to fight to be in the position he is in.
“So, I learned just to focus, work hard and enjoy it as well. Because he is a guy who you can have a lot fun with as well and having his personality in the dressing room was good.”
