Zlatan Ibrahimovic has never changed his mind about who did the real work at Manchester United. In the Swede’s reading, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United years owed as much to the forward alongside him as to anything the Portuguese did himself.

Ibrahimovic put the verdict on record in a BBC documentary about Rooney’s career in 2015, a year before he signed for United himself.

“When Cristiano Ronaldo played at United, Rooney did all the work but Cristiano took all the glory as he was the one who was getting the goals,” Ibrahimovic said at the time. “Rooney ran, fought and made far more of a team sacrifice than the player from Madeira.”

In the same interview, Ibrahimovic admitted he wanted a Rooney partnership of his own.

Read also: Ferrari insider on Michael Schumacher’s ‘unseen’ side that shocked engineers

“If I can’t play alongside Wayne, then I’ll just need to keep watching him on television. Great players have exceptional phases that last from between one to three years, it’s not normal that this phase lasts five years as in the case with Rooney.”

From admirer to teammate

A year later the two were in the same dressing room. Speaking to Sky Sports in August 2016, shortly after his move to Old Trafford, Ibrahimovic returned to a line he had used for years.

“I said many years ago the perfect partner for a striker is Wayne Rooney,” he said. “He works not only for himself but for the striker and the whole team.”

Later that year, in an interview with UEFA’s official site, Ibrahimovic went further still.

Read also: Mohamed Salah hailed as a ‘gift from God’ after stunning start to life away from Liverpool

“He is, first of all as a person fantastic. I had the luck to get to know the person and as a player, there are not enough words because he is the perfect player. Everybody knows what he can do, what he did and what he has done,” he told UEFA.com.

“We should appreciate him for the player he is and what he did and I don’t see many players from England who have had the same career as him. I feel a little bit sorry for the situation. They should show more respect for him.”

Read also: Jose Mourinho sends clear message to Trent Alexander-Arnold as Liverpool return takes shape