Some say Zlatan Ibrahimovic is really annoying, and many Paris Saint-Germain fans will agree with that. Recently, the Swedish star stated that the club didn’t exist until Qatari owners bought it in 2011. It isn’t the first time he makes inflammatory statements; he also recently joked that he’d stay at PSG if a statue of him replaced the Eiffel Tower.
The 34-year-old forward has won four Ligue 1 championships since he joined the squad during the 2012-2013 season. Of course, his 101 goals contributed to this achievement, a score that had never been seen in PSG’s 45 years of existence.
Maybe Zlatan wants to leave the club with the owners delighted. But we have to remind him that PSG existed long before big Qatari money arrived, and these six wonderful Latinos prove it.
1
Ronaldinho
The Brazilian crack only scored 25 times during his two seasons with the team. But let’s be honest, he’s the best soccer player in PSG history. Sorry not sorry Zlatan. Dinho first came to Europe when he was only 21 years old. When FC Barcelona bought him, he was on another level, and all the world began to adore him.
2
Rai
Rai is another amazing Brazilian of PSG and the most successful in its whole lifetime. He’s also the younger brother of the mythic Sócrates, won the One Ligue 1 title, a UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup, a League Cup, and two French Cups between 1993 and 1998.
3
Gabriel Heinze
The Argentine defender – mostly known as “El Gringo”– played 128 matches with the blue squad. In 2004, his skills led him to win the Gold Medal at Athens Olympic Games and therefore to Manchester United, since Fergie was impressed with his reliability at the left-back position.
4
Mauricio Pochettino
Like Heinze, this Argentine seleccionado strengthened PSG’s defense in the early 2000s. The current coach of Tottenham Hotspurs arrived in the French capital in 2001 after six great seasons with Espanyol. Pochettino was part of the Albiceleste in the Korea-Japan 2002 World Cup.
5
Mario Yepes
Colombia has good memories of this dazzling defender. Between 2004 and 2008, Yepes played nearly 150 games with PSG and won one French Cup and a League Cup. Very few players are remembered as fondly as the former captain of the Colombian national team.
6
Julio César Dely Valdés
Many people don’t know that the Panamanian player was a star at PSG. But Julio “Panagol” Dely Valdes was a goleador on the Parisian team between 1995 and 1997, where he rose with the Recopa European title in 1995-1996 against the Vienna Rapid.