Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 'easily one of the top five' players of the past 15 years | ESPN FC 

how can all of you people in the comments hate on Zlatan. There is no other player like him. How can a man so tall be so acrobatic? His creative karate kick goals are one-of-a-kind, but he is also a clinical finisher and has an incredible goal scoring record. Not to mention he has maintained his goalscoring in every league that he's ever played in AND for the national team as well. what a player.

If Zlatan was brazilian or italian he would have won ballon d´or. People underestimate him only because of his swedish nationality

He has to be the one of the top 5 most consistent world class strikers if you look over a career arc of 15 years. He was the star for every club he played for

Kids in the comments section saying that he is not even in their top 5. His records and goals prove that he is one of the best strikers of the last 20 years. He could score those kind of goals consistently that only you only see in video games . I hated him and thought he was overrated too before he destroyed England in 2012. His arrogance and confidence is what makes him so good and people need to show him more respect.

even Thierry Henry said he ranks zlatna in top 5 strikers of all time

Hilarious reading these comments. Comparing the man with wingers, midfielders and defenders. During his years in Europe, he was definitely in the Top Five striker list. During his last years he was excelled by Suarez and Lewandowski. If you need a Zlatan history lesson. Ask me. His "arrogance" was developed in Malmö where he was an underdog from day one. Lots of people are judging him based on his last year. Clueless people. He was injured at the age of 36 playing way beyond the 90th minute in a knockout tournament. It was reckless. Use him sensibly, he still has technique and skill.

The best out and out striker in the past 10 years. Not just scores, but scores unbelievable goals.

So far, Zlatan is the best pure striker in the 21st century. Even though some other guys were better in their peak, Zlatan has been consistent for more then 15 years.

I'd say he is right after Messi and Ronaldo Stats agree too.

Zlatan did it ALL OVER EUROPE!!! He came to MUFC when we were down&changed the vibes!!!! NEVER DOUBT THIS MAN-THANK YOU SIR!

The best goalscorer walking on the planet. And 9 time champion in a row in Holland, Italy,Spain. What a show.

Never seen a more consistant player at the highest top still at 37 years of age.. man people will never get that. He was even seen as the best Striker in the world not long ago. You can argue about top 5, but if you don't put him among your top 20, then you probably just hate Ibrahimovic in general.

he will be remembered forever in italy. He played the majority of his career there; Juventus, Inter, Milan (and won the title every year). And back in that time, Italian League were still among the very best. He won the national League that he played in for.. i dont know, 10-12 straight times, starting with Malmö Sweden, then ajax Holland, juventus italy etc etc etc every time, his team won the League title.

Why are people acting like zlatan Ibrahimovic wasn't the best striker in the past decade.

This man is one of the top three strikers in the past decade, one of the biggest personalities in football history. He's a living legend, if he had stayed in Barcelona a couple more seasons he would have won a champions league, and if u saw his La galaxy debut you know this man is pure elegance

how dare they try to rank god among mortals

He definitely is .. Zlatan’s probably the most complete ST of this generation and very unique

They said the past 15 years and people in the comment section talking about players who have been retired for over 15 years smh

Top 10 421 goals 4ths most goals scores of all time TOP PLAYER WORLD CLASS Henry said his TOP 5 strikes

Yall need to show zlatan some more respect smh

I remember when he virtually put England to the sword with 4 goals for Sweden against England and as much as football is a team game Zlatan much like Cantona sometimes wins the game seemingly by himself.

He is the greatest striker of my generation, couldn’t watch r9 play

I'll always remember him at AC Milan. The only time in the past 11 years that Milan was top 2 in Serie A was the Scudetto in 2011 and 2nd the following year in 2012 which were the 2 seasons Zlatan was with Milan and he was obviously a key reason why.

To everybody who is saying zlatn is not in top5...by your statement,ronaldhino,pele,maradona should be better than messi..but he is not is he?because messi is 100 times consistent..so zlatan is easily in top 5..because he has been consistent for 15 years!!and has done it everywhere he has gone..to say he is not in the top 5 is the most stupid thing I have ever heard in football

Top 5 for sure, because he played all 15 season at high level, Ronaldinho, Kaka and some other players are out of real football almost 10 years , yes they won Fifa best player , but Zlatan was great in Ajax and was great in Man Utd until injury

He has been the star player for every single club he's played for (except for barcelona where Messi was). He has succeded in so many leagues over so many years. His consistency is unmatched.

In terms of goals, flair, impact and amount of titles there's no argument for him being a top 5 in most cases. If not as a player overall then definitely as a striker... Arguably a top 3 striker the last 10-15 years. A history great!

He's won the league title almost every season he played as THE man. Definitely top 5

I think in terms of being a pure fantasy player, Zlatan has a really good case to make the top 5. Overall, sure, you have Messi, Ronaldo... but then there are the players who might not always be rated quite as highly, but they show us the beautiful game at its best: Ronaldinho, Zidane, Totti, Rivaldo, Bergkamp, Riquelme, and I'm sure a few others. But Zlatan is in this category of maverick players who do things that most players wouldn't even think of.

What these don't mention is Zlatan is a striker . He is next best striker of all time efter( Ronaldo 9)

These guys forgot to say Zlatan returned Man U back to the Champions League.

Top five of his generation, without a doubt. Top 10 STRIKER of the past 15 years.

Zlatan is a complementary guy. He’s a game changer and that’s why he’s a top 5 in the last 15 years, if you don’t like it don’t. But Ibrahimovic was and is top 5

This makes me so proud I almost cry. This comming from the most bitter and hard to please critics in the world.

The dude is playing professional football since 1999. The consistency is off the charts.

ESPN needs to be stripped of their soccer card this is almost criminal

A pretty accurate description of Zlatan's career. Thanks!

Definitely in the top 5 strikers. Cant say about players because I dont know how you compare a defender or a GK with a striker. But please check the goal scoring ratio (Club and country) and then comment. Zlatan has been a very consistent striker for the last 15 years.

Zlatan has dominated Europe lots of time. He won a league title in every club he played for in europe except united however he still won the europa cup. He scored goals which people never done before. He a player who is the deadliest finisher that has lived. He is one of the world best player to live. He in my eyes outtakes ronaldo and messi. Champion League is the best cup to win but that shouldn't be able to show who a better player.

Zlatan is the King!!!

Henry, Ronaldinho, Messi, Ronaldo, Xavi, Iniesta, Drogba, Rooney and even guys like Lampard and Gerrard are all above Zlatan in terms of legacies/trophies/overall impact during their careers (I could even name a few more tbh). Therefor, I can't disagree with people saying Zlatan doesn't belong in the top 5 over the past 15 years. That being said though, he'd be a no brainer for top 20 or maybe even top 15 - because of his unique qualities and aura on the pitch alone. I have never seen a player so damn huge being so damn skilled and inventive with the ball at this feet. You're talking about a guy who's 6'5 and roughly 220 pounds, finessing defensemen like he's Dimitar Berbatov in a strong man's body. As Raphael Honigstein pointed out, he also brought different kinds of moves into football. Revolutionary stuff I hadn't seen before like karate volleys and overhead lobs. Like every other Ajax fan I'll always remember his goal against NAC Breda in 2004, which probably demonstrated best how special Ibra is. Brute strength paired with gracious ball skills. Even considering all the league titles he's collected over the years and the fact he dominated pretty much everywhere he played, there's always gonna be a bunch of players of his generation keeping him out of that top 5. But I'm pretty sure when people in 2050 or something talk about the most entertaining players in football during the first 20 years of this century, Zlatan will be one of the first names to get mentioned and for good reason.

”He didnt even win a Champions League” wow, R9 didnt win it either

Yes Ibra talked shit but he always backed it up with his quality.

Ibrahimovic is the best CF I have ever seen. Since I was born in the 90s I can only judge players from that era and onwards. Messi is still the best player I have ever seen, I also rank Tevez very, very high.

Easily top 5

Anybody else not like gabs analysis not just on zlatan but overall on the show

he scored 28 goals for united, more than ronaldo yet everyone is praising the tap in merchant, let that sink in boys.

They were talking about Zlatan's legacy not knowing that the king was just on a break only to get back better.

thanks zlatan awesome job with reds glory ManU top 20 United player all time

Scoring that fantastic far distance bicycle kick against England's national team is a far bigger individual feat than winning Champions league. There's plenty of unworthy substitute players who's won that CL trophy without even stepping on the field.

zlatan is top 5 EZYYYYYY - stats dont lie

Off the top of my head (strkers/ AMF only) L. Messi, Ronaldo De Lima, Zidane, C. Ronaldo, Henry, Ronaldinho, M. Owen, Aguero, Giggs, Iniesta If i was to count all the best footballers this list would be 20+

Who is the dark haired guy with beard? He doesn't understand that Zlatan is a troll in media. His teammates has always loved him. Exept Ljungberg :D

Grande Ibra!! Outside of Messi and Ronaldo, THE MAN in the past 15 years!

Top 5: Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo R9, Ibrahimovic and Drogba

One thing I’ve observed, Brits hate a cocky person. I’ve seen similar opinions on young Cristiano. The culture is all for self deprecation and humbling of yourself. Whereas I think Zlatan will fit right in in America.

Giovani dos Santos has a new teammate.

If him and pep got on Barcelona would have been even more dominant 💯

Zlatan wasn't a starter this season for Man. U.(partly because of an injury, granted) In the last 15 years we had people on the field like Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Neymar, Cafu, Kaka,...and this is only speaking about Brazilian players where imo he doesn't fall into the top 5. Let's continue for fun, do note, this is coming from somebody that has barely followed soccer in the last decade. I think we can say there are at least 50 people of equal or greater skill than Zlatan. Zidane, Figo, Messi, C. Ronaldo, De Bruyne, Kroos, Suarez, Inniesta, Xavi, Most defenders of the Italy 2006 squad like Cannavaro, Ballack, Buffon, Khan and Neuer. I'm NOT saying these are all better than him. I'm saying that you can't argue they're not. He's an amazing player but they seem to forget that there are A LOT of amazing players out there of even or greater skill. This is NOT an insult towards Zlatan who's an amazing player, it's just showing how insanely competitive those top spots are with the top 2 already taken and have been for the past 10 years and Zlatan never once took that 3rd spot.

Also for you all saying he isnt top 5 because he never won the champions league then please never call pele in the top 1000 cause he has never even played in champions league

When he played with competition in his teams (juve and Barca) he did not start and left then went to Inter at the time the Italian league was going thru the gambling scandal. Went to a transitional AC Milan team and I think he was great there and went to a cup cake league in the French league

Never even played CL final even though played with Juve, Barca, AC Milan, Inter Milan.

Zlatan is probably in top 3 of the best strikers of last 15 years unarguiably cuz of being consistent for 15 long years.I mean who have done that . If u think about it the top players like kaka ronaldinho ronaldo nazario played world class football for what 4 to 5 years maximum but zlatan was and is still playing at the top level . Ronaldinho is my all time favorite player but his career lasted only for 4 years when he was in Barcelona after leaving Barcelona he declined But zlatan for fifteen years we never said that he is declining but on the contrary the more he is aging the better he is getting . When he went to England at 35 every one thought he could never perform that he is an old man on a wheel chair but what happens after 5 to 6 months ,he is the reason man utd won 3 trophy's so he is without a doubt on of the top 3 strikers of last 15 years

His highlights package is a top 5 for last 15 years. That's what people will be seeing years from now

Mad to think zlatan is only 5 years younger than ronaldo(Brazilian one)

Zlatan isn’t leaving Europe, Europe is leaving Zlatan

You could make the argument, he is among the top 5 because he played on a very consistent level over this time span. But at the same time I don't think that at any point in the last fifteen years he was a top five player. For example you could say Zlatan was beter than Kaka, because he was great for a long time, but in my opinion there is no question that peak Kaka is better than peak Zlatan.

Zlatan is Zlatan

Putting him in the top 5 means he would take Emile Heskey's spot, I simply can't justify that.

He is the best player ever set foot on a football field. You don't know that until you met him on the field! Argue as much as you want... or cry over Messi and Ronaldo.... thats just the way it is plus his record... you ever wondered why he "left" barca.... rofl...

7:13 fucks yer yappin about? his teammates absolutely loved him.

People keep confusing durability and time playing at his peak for best in terms of actual play. The fact is that zlatan was playing solid football at a longer time in his career than others players but there are so many players during all of his years who were better than him. They just had lesser time at their peak. In other words, zlatan was a good player consistently, but he was never a top top player in any of the time he played

ZLATAN IS ZLATAN

This top 5 question is silly. The purpose of asking about a top 5 of the last fifteen years is surely not just about compiling statistics --- anyone can do that. No, it means you have to compare entirely different players in ways that are statistically without measure. That will always be a matter of personal preference. I'm a big Zlatan fan and although I have to agree he is not top 5, he has certainly had a career (so far) that few others have. Just the mere fact that he's moved around so much and always won important trophies and league titles on the very highest level for such a long time makes him pretty much unique in history. I hope he wins in MLS as well; he certainly deserves to leave the sport on his own terms.

This is why the US isn't in the world cup because we have people who can't view talent

Zlatan isn't one of top 5 players in the past 15 years...Top 5 players in the past 15 years is Zlatan.

That guy on the left has a _huge_ chip on his shoulder. Zlatan has an "almost abusive" relationship with his teammates? He tells them he's not going to talk to them unless they give him the ball? What a load of horseshit. Yeah, he demands the ball-and he should!-because he's the best; he's going to score, and that's what he's there for. But that he abused the players around him? Please, little man... The Englishman can't handle it... The truth is that wherever he has been Zlatan has been hugely popular with his teammates. And yeah, he is definitely in the top 5 players in the last 15 years-in no particular order. I'm calling it: he's #2.

WTF you people are talking about ? lol as an Inter fan , yes he left but Ibra is not a bad memory ...

Many times zlatan has taken Sweden while they are 4 down or 2 down and he ends up taking control of the game the team gets behind him they end up drawing or winning

He's in the top 5 for sure

messi, ronaldo ,xavi, iniesta all above him in my book, maybe 5th

ESPN really doesn't know how to cover this topic. Everything they say is wrong.

Everyone needs to understand that theyre saying hes top 5 past 15yrs is because hes in America now duh. But honestly one of the best strikers of all time.

there is only one lion and his top 5 cubs

Not top, but maybe top 5 strikers last 15 years. And he’s my personal favourite player

This shit is outrageous!!! He doesn’t come close to CR7, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and buffon. His best season isn’t even better than Kaka’s, ronaldinho’s, cannavaro’s. These guys are insane

Top 5 players in last 15 years 1-Cristiano Ronaldo 2- Messi 3- Zidane 4- Ronaldo 5- Ronaldinho

Top 20 yes for past 15 years but certainly not top 5. There were plenty of Ballon D'ors and fantastic players like Henry, Ronaldinho, Neymar, Messi, CR7, Xavi, Iniesta, Buffon, Rooney, Drogba, Lampard, Gerrard who at particular times of the 15 year period were better than Ibrahimovic in terms of overall contribution

zlatan not yet finished ..he must keep playing in europe..

Did she just mention Suarez as a top 5

Zlatan is great but top5 the last 15 years? Just off the Top of my head a few names i would consider better players : Zidane, ronaldo1 and 2, Messi, kahn, Henry, iniesta, xavi, Pirlo, Raul, buffon, Kaka, gerrard, r.carlos, figo, v. Nistelrooy, etoo, dinho Cmon now....

sorry yall forget he played at my barcelona team he was definately not the man there

Last 15yrs (2003-2018) Messi, Ronaldo, Kaka, Ronaldinho & Thierry Henry (Who should've won the '04 ballon d'or & world player of the year).

Lions don't compare themselves with humans.

Leagues are the hardest to consistently win he could link up play up front on his own he scored on every team same standard . I know the champions league is the best . But thirteen leagues in all those different countries. And when he came to the premiership he scored a hatful . And made us better. Bit of bad luck with champions league Buffon didn’t win it either Ronaldo 9 missed out to and as for the passenger thing a lot of players that won the champions league will be forgotten before him .

Zlatan Ibrahimovic terminates contract with Manchester United

super talent with super arrogance.

I'm glad he left the Trash team. He deserves better Zlatan with LA will be great. 👍

Easily top 5? In no particular let's see who's played in Europe since 2003... Zidane Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo Messi Ronaldinho Kaka Iniesta And they're just offensive players. Including defensive players guys like Cannavaro and Buffon etc are better at their roles.

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