As Argentina gear up for their FIFA World Cup quarterfinal clash against Netherlands, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has made clear which side he will be rooting for. The Swedish legend has picked Lionel Messi-led Argentina to win football’s biggest prize in Qatar this year.

The Rossoneri forward has told football publication 433, “I hope Argentina wins the World Cup because of Messi.”

Check out the video right here:

Zlatan has always been vocal about his admiration for his former Barcelona teammate. The two legends shared the dressing room from 2009 to 2010 after Ibrahimovic left Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan side to join the Blaugrana.

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However, when asked to weigh in on the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Messi greatest of all time debate, Zlatan did not pick either. According to him, the Brazilian Ronaldo is the greatest player of all time. When asked about his football G.O.A.T., Zlatan said, “Ronaldo the Phenomenon. As a child I imitated him.”

After Barcelona won the 2009 Champions League, Zlatan switched sides from Inter, only for the Nerazzurri to defeat Barcelona in the following year’s semi-final.

Argentina have a tough challenge ahead of them in the form of Netherlands in the quarterfinals. If La Albiceleste have to reach the final, they will have to defeat the winner between Brazil and Croatia.

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Former Brazil striker Fred has said that he wants a Brazil-Argentina clash in the semis. The two sides have last met each other in the tournament in 1990, when a Maradona-led Argentina defeated Brazil.

Messi’s best record against Brazil came in 2010, when he scored a hattrick to help his side stage a comeback 4-3 victory against their perennial rivals. 

Zlatan, who helped AC Milan win the Serie A last season, will be seen in his first film role as Antivirus, a Roman soldier, in the French film Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom.