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Home » Transcript: Zlatan Ibrahimović x Tom Brady – GOATS on GREATNESS

Transcript: Zlatan Ibrahimović x Tom Brady – GOATS on GREATNESS

Editor’s Note: In this exclusive FOX Sports feature, legendary champions Zlatan Ibrahimović and Tom Brady sit down for a candid conversation about what it truly takes to reach the pinnacle of sports. The two icons bond over their relentless, parallel drives to win, sharing unique insights into the mentalities and adversities that fueled their legendary careers. It is an unmissable meeting of minds that perfectly illustrates why both athletes are universally regarded as the ultimate “GOATs” of their respective games. (May 27, 2026) 

TRANSCRIPT:

Did You Ever Enjoy Your Achievements?

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ: Did you ever enjoy your achievements when you were active?

TOM BRADY: No.

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ: Same thing.

TOM BRADY: The moments of greatness or being in sport for me was always— the best parts were the moments leading up to the big moment.

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ: When it’s good, you don’t learn a lot. When it’s difficult, you learn much more and you become stronger, especially here. And that will show who you are in the end.

TOM BRADY: I always remembered where I started, which was as a kid behind everybody else. I was you once, but I was also the kid that wanted what you had once too. So you better figure it out. I always remember your bicycle kick in Sweden, England.

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ: In that situation, you become like, wow, or you become, what are you doing? But only the genius will do the one out of— That’s me. That’s why I love you.

TOM BRADY: We would have been good teammates.

Aspiring to Be a Professional Athlete

TOM BRADY: All right, guys, so obviously professional athletes, star athletes at the height of your careers. When you look back, around what age do you remember aspiring to be a professional athlete?

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ: What does it mean? Aspiring.

TOM BRADY: So aspire means that you thought about becoming one or you really looked, you love the idea of becoming.

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ: Since the day I was born, yeah.

TOM BRADY: That’s a good time. What exactly was in your mind when you were born that allowed you to think about it?

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ: So when I was born, I told myself, “you’re going to be the one, you are the one.” No, for me it was around, obviously I had a different background. Where I came from, with my background, was not— the people with the same background didn’t have the same success as I had because I came from a different situation. And obviously, if I go fast forward in front, I opened the doors for many athletes with my background.

But let’s say when I was 17, I had a teammate, he was on trial with us. I played in Malmö in Sweden. And he said after one week, “if you don’t make it, it’s your own fault.” And that got me thinking, like, what does it mean? And then I figure out it’s up to me if I’m going to make it or not. I decide my own destiny. I just had to work hard for it. And then from there, things started to change. Obviously, a little bit luck, momentum, and— But I always had the confidence that I would make it. Because my confidence— not ego, confidence.

TOM BRADY: Yeah.

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ: That I was better than the other ones and nobody could stop me. But obviously with hard work. And because of the situation I was in, I had to work more than the other ones. ‘Cause where I come from, people were typical blond, blue eyes, and the Swedish was perfect. My Swedish was not perfect. Sounded like a villain. But it worked out anyway. And I had to work more to show myself and to get opportunity. And from there, when I got my first professional contract, from there I was flying.

Taking the Challenge: Moving Abroad

TOM BRADY: Yeah. Did you have the desire and the passion when you were in your teens, like you turned 12 or 13, did you ever envision yourself having the career that you had? Or did it take a series of steps that were like, wow, I could become—

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ: So I moved around a lot. I’m not the one that was in one club like 20, 25 years. I like to challenge myself. I take my backpack. I go to different gardens. Which means different countries, different clubs, challenge myself if I was able to play my game in outside my comfort zone.

TOM BRADY: Yeah.

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ: And obviously, steps by steps, because of the, the level, the development. So my first, my first abroad, outside my comfort zone, was Amsterdam, Ajax. So I come to the— That was a development team that played high level, played Champions League, played against the big teams. But the level was not the same as Premier League, Serie A, or the La Liga, Spain. And I wanted to go there to develop my own game because of the way they were playing. They have a pretty special way of playing.

But it was difficult. That was really difficult. The first year, I was like— after 3 months, I called my old club, “please, can you bring me back?” And they were like, “no, the money is finished.” And now I had a record transfer fee when I moved to Ajax. And I had to go through that because it was a battle against myself mentally. Yeah, and obviously the game itself was not easy in the beginning because it was a different level, full of talents. Everybody wanted to go to the next, next level, next stage, and the next stage was like the top of the top, like the— where the big players were playing.

So first year, second year got better, third year I was— that became my comfort zone. So it became my home and where my confidence was.