The Belgium international striker remains a big fan of this enigmatic Swede he once shared a dressing room with at Old Trafford.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic “is a winner”, states Romelu Lukaku, with the 38-year-old believed to still be setting the standard for an Inter striker who played alongside the Swede at Manchester United.
Two former Old Trafford frontmen now find themselves on opposing sides of the Milan divide.
A pair of prolific forwards have been among the goals this year, with Lukaku impressing after leaving the Premier League for a new challenge in Serie A.
Ibrahimovic is also proving, in the latter stages of his career, that he still has what it takes to compete in Europe after calling time on a productive stint in MLS with the LA Galaxy.
Lukaku, before a Milan derby date on Sunday, claims to have never had any doubt that a modern-day legend would glow back in Italy.
He claims to have taken important lessons from Ibrahimovic during their brief time together in Manchester, with an experienced head constantly on hand to offer out advice.
“Ibra is a winner, I admire him,” Lukaku told Tiki Taka.
“In Manchester, I could train every day with him, that was the most amazing thing for me.
“It will be nice to play against him He is a great champion and professional.
“For me, it’s normal he can do those things at the age of 38. He works a lot; he always gave me advice once we played together in Manchester.”
Recent comments from Ibrahimovic suggest that the prior Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain star was excited to see Lukaku work on his first touch in England.
The outspoken Swede said of his adventures with the Belgian back in October 2019: “I will say this on Romelu: don’t expect good technique from Lukaku. His best strength is sheer power. If only he’d listened to me.
“At Manchester United, we made a bet:’I’ll give you #50 for each decent first touch you make’.
I told him he would simply become a better player.
Perhaps he was afraid of losing?!
“Joking aside, Lukaku has this crazy hunger to show himself to the world and I am sure he will do well in Inter too.”
