Dejan Kulusevski sheds light on what makes Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic elite

Dejan Kulusevski says learning from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo taught him what it's like 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 to become the player he is today.

speaking to The players' tribune, Kulusevski said: “My period in Juventus It was an opportunity to learn from the legends.

“I met Zlatan when he returned to Sweden, at the age of 39, and he said to me: 'Listen, I'm too nice to you guys. You should see me in Milan.

“I didn't know what he meant until one day I visited his house and he told me that he trained seven hours a day. Seven hours!

“The guy is now 42 years old and still posts photos 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 was on their phones, tapping, tapping, but he wasn't. 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 he met Kulusevski during his stay in the Swedish national team, while ronaldo He played in Turin between 2018 and 2021.

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

“I have to be honest, I have never been one to ask my teammates for favors, but I asked Cristiano to sign my shirt and I gave it to my mother,” Kulusevski added.

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

“Dreams come true for normal people.”