An emotional Zlatan Ibrahimovic had some lovely words for his friend Thijs Slegers, a Dutch journalist who has been diagnosed with leukaemia.
Ibrahimovic spoke live on ESPN and was unable to hold back his tears when talking to Slegers. Speaking during the broadcast, the Swedish centre-forward spoke about the 46-year-old with nothing but affection.
“If I remember? I will always remember. He was the only friend I had from Holland. I was lost, I was young, I was confused. I really didn’t have anybody in Holland. I had this journalist that reached out to me and in that time, the journalists, they were not my friends. They were the opposite, enemies,” he said.
“And he reached out and we met for a dinner, lunch let’s say and from there we became really good friends. We played tennis, we met, he helped me a lot. He gave me all the support I needed and that was a first step in my career.
“I even wrote about Thijs in my book, I was very thankful for everything and we still keep in contact and he went straight in my heart from that moment.”
As both became emotional, Zlatan finished: “Thijs, I only want to say that I love you my friend.”
Een emotionele Zlatan Ibrahimović met prachtige woorden voor Thijs Slegers❤️
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) February 13, 2023
