Saint-Etienne
forward Nolan Roux has admitted he thought Zlatan Ibrahimovic was so
good he did not understand why the striker was playing in Ligue 1.
Ibrahimovic
spent four seasons in the French top flight with Paris Saint-Germain,
scoring 113 goals in 122 league games and winning four titles.
The
Swede decided to seek a new challenge in the Premier League by joining
Manchester United this summer and Roux believes he was beyond what Ligue
1 defences could handle.
“It’s
a shame he’s gone,” he told L’Observateur de Beauvais. “At the same
time, when we saw him play, we wondered what he was doing in Ligue 1.
“On
the pitch, he exuded a calmness and serenity and was clearly on another
level. He may sound arrogant, but it’s a game. I love this player.
“When we were facing him, it was useless to create an ‘anti-Zlatan’ game plan because he was almost impossible to mark.”