FORMER FRANCE INTERNATIONAL Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes says Paris Saint-Germain should get rid of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, arguing that the striker is nothing more than a “stupid, “big-headed”, “flat-track bully” who needs “a good slap”.
PSG had not been champions of France since 1994 when Ibrahimovic joined the capital club from AC Milan in the summer of 2012 for an estimated fee of €20 million.
The Sweden international has since fired the Parc des Princes outfit to back-to-back Ligue 1 titles, while they are currently on course to record a domestic treble.
However, Bertrand-Demanes says that Ibrahimovic is actually holding PSG back, claiming that while the 33-year-old is capable of running riot in Ligue 1, he does not deliver in the Champions League, with Laurent Blanc’s men having been swept aside by Barcelona in the quarter-finals earlier this month.
The ex-Nantes goalkeeper also says that Ibrahimovic does not have the requisite intelligence to play alongside a striker, as underlined by the fact that PSG forward Edinson Cavani often has to play wide to accommodate his team-mate through the middle.
“I don’t like Ibrahimovic,” Bertrand-Demanes told L’Equipe. “He is so big-headed. The problem is people make him think he’s intelligent, but he’s as thick as two short planks.
“He’s not a caricature but not far off; he’s a flat-track bully. You can be big-headed when you’re [Luis] Suarez or [Lionel] Messi and score goals against Bayern Munich or Real Madrid. I’m sorry but, if you only score a hat-trick against Nancy… If PSG want to progress they need to get rid of him. He is a problem for PSG.”
You can’t ask him to accept playing up-front alongside someone because he’s too stupid.”
Bertrand-Demanes then took aim at France international Florian Thauvin, lashing out at the attacking midfielder for the way in which he forced through a move from Lille to Marseille last summer by effectively going on strike.
“[Ibrahimovic] is like Thauvin,” he added. “They both need a good slap.”
“When you see what Thauvin did to Lille to go to OM, you understand. These people have chick peas for brains and treat others like idiots.”
