Zlatan Ibrahimovic's response when asked about never winning the Ballon d'Or was priceless

Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave a priceless and classic response when he was asked about not winning the Ballon d'Or.

The Swede is one of the legends of the game after his performances in several leagues across Europe and his unique personality which exuded self-confidence and belief in himself.

The now retired striker made his debut for hometown club Malmo in 1999 before moving to Dutch side Ajax, where he won two Eredivisie titles and the Dutch Cup.

He moved to Italian team Juventus in 2004, but left in 2006 following the Calciopoli scandal which saw Juve stripped of two Serie A titles and the Turin club demoted to Serie B.

Ibrahimovic subsequently joined Inter Milan and won three successive Serie A titles before moving to Barcelona in 2009, with Samuel Eto'o heading in the opposite direction.

Ibrahimovic did win La Liga, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and two Supercopa de Espana crowns in his time at the Camp Nou, but left after his relationship with then boss Pep Guardiola went downhill and Lionel Messi was given a more prominent role centrally at Barca, which was the Swede's favoured position.

The striker moved to AC Milan, initially on loan, before the transfer was made permanent and he went on to win Serie A there.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired from playing football in 2023. (Image: Getty)

In 2012, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain and had four successful years in the French capital with a quartet of Ligue 1 titles, before moving to the Premier League and Manchester United in 2016.

At Old Trafford, Ibrahimovic won the Europa League and the League Cup under Jose Mourinho before moving to the LA Galaxy in the MLS.

But in 2020, the striker moved back to AC Milan where he would end his career in 2023 after winning another Serie A title and he retired with 511 goals in 866 club appearances, as well as 62 goals in 122 caps for Sweden.

Throughout his career, Ibrahimovic received a remarkable 11 nominations for the most prestigious individual football accolade in the world, the Ballon d'Or.

Despite his nominations going into double figures, Ibrahimovic never finished in the top three, with his best place being fourth in 2013.

That year's award was won by Cristiano Ronaldo, with Messi second and Franck Ribery third.

Back in 2021 when Ibrahimovic had turned 40 and was playing for Milan in his second spell with the club, he spoke on the subject during a presentation for his book entitled Adrenaline.

And his response was typical confident and classic Zlatan.

He was quoted as saying: "The Ballon d'Or is a nice thing. But I don't need it to prove that I am the best."