As it happens, it is Ibra alone who must decide on whether he signs a new contract at San Siro or hangs up his boots for good.
“I need to be in good shape, I need to do things. When I feel good, then I’ll see what the situation is. I still feel that I can make the difference when I’m on the pitch. I don’t see another Ibra out there.
“I will make a decision over the next few days. I had a really tough time lately, it was bad both physically, but also for other personal matters. At the end of the day, I did everything I could to help Milan win this trophy.
“I was afraid that I might have to quit, but I want to do it my way.”
Inevitably, Ibrahimovic is a leader in the locker room and is looked to for his speeches to the younger elements.
“Naturally, I talk a lot in the locker room, I told everyone to stay concentrated, as it’s easy in these situations to lose your head. It is revenge for many players that people didn’t believe in.”
Milan are a very different club now to when Ibrahimovic left for PSG in 2012, as at the time their owner was Silvio Berlusconi. They’ve since gone through Yonghong Li and Elliott Management, now seemingly about to be taken over by American fund RedBird.
“It’s a huge difference. The team 11 years ago was 22 champions who had won it all, we were the favourites going in every season. The current squad is full of young players, we put pressure on and let them understand what Milan represents. It’s a whole other story.”