Ibrahimovic: 'Ronaldo is one of the best - not the best'

The Swede wanted to refrain from saying the Real Madrid attacker is the greatest in the game and believes it is normal for PSG to be linked to him

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has branded Cristiano Ronaldo one of the best players in the world, but stopped short of suggesting he is the game's finest footballer.

Paris Saint-Germain have repeatedly been linked with a move for the Real Madrid forward, whose contract at the Santiago Bernabeu runs out in just under two years' time.

And ahead of a friendly between the European giants on Saturday, the 31-year-old claimed it makes sense for a top club like les Parisiens to be associated with the former Manchester United man, who he categorizes as among the greatest in the game.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world," he told reporters on Friday at a PSG press conference. "The fact that he is often linked to PSG, this is normal, because the project of the club is to become the best in Europe and therefore attract the best players."

When the translator for the press mistakenly said Ibrahimovic had called Ronaldo "the best in the world", the former AC Milan and Barcelona forward added in English: "No, he's one of the best - not the best."