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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 due to an insatiable drive 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 good teammates.”
Ibrahimović won league titles in Holland, Italy, Spain and France (12 in total), and also won multiple 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 mental too.”
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How much did the Swedish legend want to earn? Brady mentioned how focused he was, especially when there was more to a matchup than just the game.
“If you create anger with the enemy, which in sports is the opposing team, you are the most focused,” Brady said. “You’re completely locked in. If you’re playing your brother in something, you want to beat him, but you don’t want to beat him that much. He’s your brother, you love him, you care about him.”
Ibrahimović disagreed.
“I would crush him on the field,” he said. “Yeah, I’d crush him. I don’t care. There’s only one winner, him or me. Then outside, hug.”
Ibrahimović played 122 times for the Swedish national team and scored 62 goals, making him the country’s all-time leading scorer. He explained to Brady that his “must win” mentality didn’t always mesh well with the national team.
“Sweden, we used to do a lot of teamwork, different things and not football. Like off the field, we did it together, I don’t know, we did some different events, different mental exercises and, how do you say, the group thing, the team spirit and stuff. So just getting everyone together. And Sweden, as a culture, is pretty soft. It’s nice.
“I was the only one who was different from 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 focus.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the best Swedish footballer of all time. (Scott Heavey/Getty Images)
How intense did things get at times? During his career at the club, Ibrahimović said: “I had players who cried.”
Brady can definitely relate to Ibrahimović’s attitude. He noted that teammates who were willing to put in the extra time and demonstrated an ability to bounce back from adversity were the ones he gravitated toward.
“I value teammates that went through tough things because I say, ‘Man, I’d do anything for that guy,’ because I saw what he’s about,” Brady said.
“I saw when he had a game and everyone booed him and he went home and the coach got him the next day and then he went out to practice the two days after with the best attitude, wanting to be better, he stayed after practice, worked on the things he wasn’t good at in the game. The next morning before anyone came, he was working on the things he wasn’t good at, then he went to practice, showed improvement, stayed after practice, did more, stayed in the facility, saw more videos. Then, the next Sunday he came out and gave his best.”
