Kulusevski sheds light on what makes Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic elite

Dejan Kulusevski says that learning from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo taught him what it is to play at the highest level.

The Swedish star is now strutting his stuff for Tottenham and has established himself as a key player under Ange Postecoglou after showing glimpses of his ability since moving to north London.

But while the 23-year-old has been playing for Spurs since January 2022, it was his days in Turin, as well as with the Swedish national team, that influenced him into becoming the player he is today.

Speaking to The Players Tribune, Kulusevski said: “My period at Juventus was a chance to learn from legends.

“I got to know Zlatan when he made his comeback for Sweden — at the age of 39 — and he was like, ‘Listen, I’m too nice to you guys. You should see me in Milan.’

“I didn’t know what he meant until I visited his house one day and he told me he was training seven hours a day. Seven hours!

“The guy is 42 now and he’s still posting pictures and videos of himself training like an animal.

“What the hell is he training for?! Nobody knows. He’s just being Zlatan.

“And Cristiano? What a guy, man.

“After training everyone would be on their phones, tap, tap tap, but not him. You could see how hard he worked, how much he wanted it, even though he had nothing left to prove.”

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Ibrahimovic spent two years with Juventus but got to know Kulusevski during their time with the Sweden national team, while Ronaldo played in Turin between 2018 and 2021.

CR7 is one of the world’s most talismanic stars and Kulusevski admitted that even he was a little bit starstruck.

“I gotta be honest, I have never been the type to ask teammates for favours, but I asked Cristiano to sign his shirt, and I gave it to my mother,” Kulusevski added.

“Five years earlier we had been talking about me moving back to Sweden, maybe get a normal job. Now I was playing with one of the greatest of all time.

“Dreams do come true for normal people.”