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Zlatan Ibrahimović and Tom Brady are two of the most decorated athletes in the world. Ibrahimović has won league titles around the world with some of the biggest clubs, while Brady has seven Super Bowls and countless NFL records to his name.
Another thing they both have in common: They are never satisfied because of an insatiable desire to win.
Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Ibrahimović sat down with Brady to talk about the differences in their sports and their desire to be the best.
Brady summed up their attitudes well at one point: “We would have been great teammates.”
Ibrahimović won league titles in Holland, Italy, Spain and France (12 in total) and he also won several trophies in his only full season with Manchester United. He scored more than 550 goals for his clubs and the Swedish national team throughout his career.
“You’re never satisfied, that was my thing,” Ibrahimović said. “When I did well, the next day I forgot what I did yesterday because I always wanted more, and I think that’s also mental.”
Meet the American World Cup
How much did the Swedish legend want to win? Brady mentioned how locked in he was, especially when there was more to a matchup than just the play.
“If you create the anger with the enemy, which in sports is the opposing team, you are the most focused,” Brady said. “You’re totally locked in. If you’re playing your brother in something, you want to beat him, but you don’t want to beat him that bad. He’s your brother, you love him, you care about him.”
Ibrahimović disagreed.
“I wanted to smash him on the field,” he said. “Yeah, I’d smash it. I don’t care. There’s only one winner, me or him. So outside, hugs.”
Ibrahimović played 122 times for the Swedish national team and scored 62 goals, making him the country’s all-time leading goalscorer. He explained to Brady how his “must-win” mentality didn’t always sit well with the national team.
“Sweden, we used to do a lot of team building, different things and not soccer. Like off the field we would do together, I don’t know, do different events, different mental training and like, how do you say the group thing, the team spirit and that. So just to bring everyone together. And Sweden, as a culture, is pretty soft. It’s nice.
“I was the only one who was different compared to them because I had a different approach. I demanded things and in Sweden, [it’s] like “Let’s see what happens.” No, no. That’s not my approach.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the best Swedish soccer player of all time. (Scott Heavey/Getty Images)
How intense did things get at times? During his club career, Ibrahimović said: “I had players who cried.”
Brady can certainly relate to Ibrahimović’s attitude. He noted that the teammates who were willing to put in the extra time and showed an ability to bounce back from adversity were the ones he attracted.
“I appreciate the teammates that went through the tough stuff because I’m like, ‘Man, I’d do anything for that guy,’ because I saw what he’s all about,” Brady said.
“I saw when he had a game and everybody booed him and he went home and he got the next day from the trainer and then he came out to practice two days later with the best attitude, wanted to be better, stayed after practice, worked on the things that he wasn’t good at in the game. The next morning, before anybody got there, he worked on the things that he wasn’t good at, after he practiced more, kept practicing, kept practice. facility, then more film. Then the next Sunday came out and he performed his best.”
