As Paris Saint-Germain prepare to square off with Premier League topping Chelsea in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday, star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic revealed his great admiration for his former boss Jose Mourinho.
Ibrahimovic and Mourinho worked together at Internazionale when the Portuguese was the manager of the Italian club. The two, however, spent just a year together as Ibrahimovic moved to Barcelona with Samuel Etoa o moving the other way.
The Swede revealed that he regretted spending just that one year together and wished that he had spent more time with the former Real Madrid manager who won a historic treble with Inter the year after Ibra left Inter.
“I had a great experience with Jose,” he told Telefoot.
“We worked together for one year at Inter. The feeling was great between us and my only regret is that we were together for only one year.”
Last year, Mourinho was set to meet Ibra in the Champions League, but the Swede missed the tie through injury. He was, however, present in the audience during the match at Stamford Bridge and shared a special moment with the Portuguese that was caught on camera.
On Wednesday, as the two clubs lock horns again, the two will put their friendship aside and work towards guiding their respective teams into the quarterfinals of the competition. Ibrahimovic will, most definitely, be the one player Mourinho will need to be wary of.
At the moment, the tie is precariously poised with the score at 1-1 from the first leg.