Food weighed to the gram based on an algorithm and prepped by his personal chef… but pasta and ice cream are BANNED: How Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s strict diet has him tearing up Serie A in great shape at the age of 39 – even though he rarely goes to the gym!
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic appears to be getting better and better during his career
- The Swede is the oldest player to score ten Serie A goals in the first eight games
- The 39-year-old has guided AC Milan to the top of Serie A with an unbeaten start
- Ibrahimovic uses a strict diet along with martial arts practice to help his game
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has become the oldest player to score ten goals in the first eight matches in Serie A – and the 39-year-old has a special diet to thank for this form.
The Swedish forward is having his best season for a number of years and his AC Milan lead the Serie A table after an unbeaten start to the 2020-21 campaign.
Ibrahimovic scored two goals against fellow high-flyers Napoli on Sunday night to help the Rossoneri move two points clear at the top, but there are even more interesting statistics which show the impact of the 39-year-old on Milan’s fortunes this season.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a special diet which helps him stay at the highest level of football
The Swede scored twice at Napoli to score his tenth goal of the season after just eight games
In the latest statistics produced by Serie A, the striker has been clocked as the third-fastest player in Italy’s top-flight this season, despite being one of the oldest players in the league.
One reason why Ibrahimovic is keeping in shape despite his age is his nutrition plan, which has been compared to fellow Serie A star Cristiano Ronaldo’s.
Like the Juventus star, the Swedish striker is meticulous with the type of food he eats and how much of it he consumes. According to GQItalia, Ibrahimovic has every single food item he eats weighed on a scale, with everything measured to the exact gram.
Ibrahimovic has managed to stay in incredible shape in his career due to his carbohydrate diet
Common foods he eats are white meats, bresaola meat and fresh vegetables, while frozen foods, ice cream and even Italian pasta have been culled from Ibrahimovic’s diet.
Overall, his diet requires a great deal of carbohydrates, though he tends to get this intake from cereals rather than pasta – which is often a popular choice among footballers.
Too many carbohydrates, however, and Ibrahimovic, who also has a personal chef, is weakened as he likes to keep his weight inbetween 92 and 94 kilograms.
This way of preparing his body goes back to his first stint in Serie A at Juventus, where he welcomed advice put to him by Italian dietitians who ordered him to eat eight almonds a day due to their richness in magnesium and ‘good fats’.
Ibrahimovic’s strict diet dates back to his time at Juventus during the beginning of his career
However, the Swede has often struggled to keep to his diet at the other clubs he has played at – which has often led to rows between him and chief dietitians.
At PSG, a dispute broke out between him and the club’s chef about the absence of fresh fruit and vegetables at the training ground. According to GQ, the chef claimed that the Ligue 1 side could not afford it due to the tight nutrition budget at the club.
The excuse was not good enough for Ibrahimovic and the chef ordered his assistants to collect fruit and vegetables from the local food market near the training ground.
The Swede clashed with the PSG chef over to not having fruit or vegetables during training
Zlatan does not like gym work but does do strength and conditioning with a taekwondo coach
Rather peculiarly, Ibrahimovic is not a fan of doing gym work, though he does do his fair share of strength and conditioning with South American taekwondo expert Nilson Damacena.
Rather than adding to his muscles in the gym, the 39-year-old believes taekwondo’s manner of improving the elasticity of his muscles is better-suited to his game, considering his age.
It’s this combination of martial arts and his strict dietary regime that allows Ibrahimovic to stay at the highest level of the professional game.
