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Sagarneel Chakraborty

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Priceless Reaction After KSI Compares Bukayo Saka to Lamine Yamal

Arsenal, Barcelona, Bukayo Saka, KSI, Lamine Yamal, Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Few footballers can turn a casual chat about the best players around into a lesson in who is in charge, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic has never needed much encouragement. The latest to learn that was KSI, who brought Bukayo Saka into the conversation and found it shut down before it got going.

The Swedish superstar found himself seize the narrative with a crude, yet correct answer (so very typical of the man) during a recent live stream with KSI. The British YouTuber turned Misfits and Prime co-founder is a committed Arsenal supporter, and he has been consistent on Bukayo Saka’s importance to Mikel Arteta’s side. He even has gone on to recently describe Saka as “easily” Arsenal’s most important player. Zlatan would certainly agree, and so would we.

But knowing how loud and proud Arsenal fans are about their beloved idols, it came as no surprise when during an FC27 encounter between the YouTuber and the football icon – KSI asked Zlatan who is his pick for the “best footballer in the world”, and pitched in Saka’s name as his pick.

And Zlatan was having none of it.

Asked about his pick for the best footballer in the world right now, Zlatan named his pick promptly – Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal. Many would find it difficult to argue with Zlatan’s pick – Yamal has been near-unstoppable in his meteoric rise to the top of the game owing to his performances with the Catalan side and the Spanish national team, being a part of the La Rojas outfit that lifted the FIFA World Cup earlier this year. However, KSI said something no one (certainly not Zlatan) expected him to say: “Saka?”

Zlatan’s initial reaction was one of pure incredulity – and has spread across social media like wildfire.

However, he composed himself and went on to speak his mind – the Swede said while he does undoubtedly agree Saka is a good player, he thinks he’s a level below the likes of Yamal, Mbappe, and the other absolute elites of the game. As usual, Zlatan’s take sounds crude at first but mulling over it does offer some hard truths – the Englishman still has some way to go to start being considered a world-beater – someone who can take the game away from anyone.  

However, Saka remains central to Arsenal’s title defence, and KSI’s assessment will find plenty of backers among Gunners fans. But the moment shows why Zlatan remains such good value for broadcasters and content creators. He turns every exchange into entertainment, and he does not mind who ends up on the wrong side of it.

For KSI, it is another reminder that taking on Zlatan in conversation is a lot like taking him on in the game used to be: the odds are never in your favour.

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