Zlatan Ibrahimovic explains ‘no’ to Antonio Conte

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s version

On the sidelines of Paulo Fonseca's officialization as the new coach of AC Milan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic spoke in a press conference explaining not only the background of the negotiations that led to the Portuguese man's hiring but also the alternatives evaluated and, in particular, the reasons that led to not considering Antonio Conte, who later went to Napoli.

"First we sifted through the available names,” recounted the former striker, now an adviser to AC Milan ownership, “then the approach at the level of the game, finally we wanted to meet the person, talk face to face. Fonseca convinced us by his ambition, è a coach who wants to work and improve".

"Conte? We did not discuss it because, while we have all the respect we have for him, he was not what we were looking for based on our criteria,” added Ibrahimovic, speaking about the 'no' to the Salento coach. “It was important to get a coach who would be good for the team we already have, Fonseca è the right man".

Speaking of players, the Swede also took advantage of the press conference to declare three protagonists of the last few Rossoneri years as untransferable: "Theo Hernandez, Maignan and Rafael Leao remain,” he said. “They have contracts and are happy, in their respective roles. Thanks to Redbird’s work we can improve without giving up our big".