“Tjena Zlatan, hur är läget?” The fact that I was asking after his wellbeing in Swedish not only surprised him, but also helped break the ice. He was already acting very professionally during that interview, but having fun with our crew too – as well as with the Inter academy players who were acting as the Celta defenders for our reconstruction. 

More recently I interviewed the Swede via Zoom, during the long lockdown. “Det var inte igår,” I said – “Long time no see” – which again helped to put him at ease. We went through some of his Instagram posts during the interview; his comments were always very entertaining. “Who is less likely to be tamed, Zlatan or a lion?” I asked. “Zlatan, 100%,” he quickly replied. “You can tame a lion; you cannot tame Zlatan. It’s a different animal.” 

At the Ferrari factory in Maranello this time around, our third encounter, we talked and joked a lot. I must confess that I’m no Formula 1 expert and when he asked me some questions behind the scenes, more often than not I had no answers. “Boss, you know nothing,” he told me after a while, with a smile. Fortunately, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, plus drivers Carlos Sainz Jr and Charles Leclerc, were all on site. They were much better placed to feed his genuine curiosity.

After the 40-year-old’s driving experience, it was time for our interview. When I went to grab him, he told me, “Take it easy. I made the Champions League great, not the other way around.” I covered my mouth with my hand and said, “I promise I’m not laughing.” I was, of course – but fortunately he was too.

Too soon our interview came to an end. Normally I don’t ask players for selfies but this time was an exception; Zlatan is a legend, after all. “I heard you are desperate to have a picture with me,” I told him. He laughed again, smiled at the camera and said, “Hey, I made your day with this photo, right?”