Updated at 18.45
THE GHOSTWRITER OF Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s acclaimed autobiography, ‘I Am Zlatan,’ says he was not quoting the player for a considerable portion of the book.
Speaking at the Hay Festival, David Lagercrantz admitted to reporters that he invented several passages attributed to the Swedish superstar.
“I worked with Ibrahimovic very thoroughly,” he said. “I just asked him about things I didn’t know… I think it really was his true voice. The key thing is that I was not working as a journalist.
“I was not quoting him. I know this — if you want to find something that sounds true and authentic, the last thing you want to do is quote. I don’t think I have any real quotes from him. I tried to get an illusion of him, to try and find the story. I tried to find the literary Ibrahimovic.”
The book turned out to be a critical success, earning a shortlisting for the 2013 William Hill sports book of the year.
Despite initial reservations, Lagercrantz described how the Sweden and PSG star eventually warmed to the writer’s approach.
“You can imagine the moment when I, the fake Zlatan Ibrahimovic, had to send the manuscript to the real Zlatan Ibrahimovic,” he said.
“The first thing [Ibrahimovic] said was: ‘What the fuck is this? I never said this!’ But after a while, I think he understood what I was trying to do. Nowadays, he thinks it’s really his story.”
