Zlatan Ibrahimovic never did learn the art of fence-sitting, and his latest round of predictions won't make him many friends in Madrid. In a quick-fire segment shared by ESPN FC on October 2, the former Sweden striker was asked who he'd back for La Liga. "Barcelona." For the Champions League? "Barcelona." Two words, zero hesitation, and quite the endorsement for Hansi Flick's side from a man who spent the 2009-10 season wearing the shirt himself.
The Ballon d'Or answer was the most telling of all. "Lamine Yamal." The 19-year-old winger has started the season like a man in a hurry — 11 goals and seven assists in his first 10 appearances for Barcelona and Spain — and now even Ibrahimovic, a connoisseur of the spectacular, is calling him the best player on the planet. It's one thing to be hyped as football's future; it's quite another when Zlatan treats your Ballon d'Or as a formality.
Barcelona, meanwhile, keep collecting believers. Raphinha has 14 goals in eight games since moving into a central role, Flick's team topped La Liga's September awards, and the Champions League campaign is gathering steam. The season is young and Madrid are hardly finished, but if Ibrahimovic's gut is worth anything — and across a career like his, it usually is — this could be Barcelona's year, twice over.