Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 'thick as two short planks' and needs 'a good slap'

Former France international Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes launches attack on the PSG striker

Tuesday 28 April 2015 11:48 BST

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (GETTY IMAGES)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is as "thick as two short planks" and is holding PSG back, according to former France international Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes.

The Swedish striker has helped fire his club to back-to-back Ligue 1 titles since joining from AC Milan, however his failure to deliver in the Champions League and inability to play alongside a second striker have irked Bertrand-Demanes, who used to play in goal for Nantes.

"I don't like Ibrahimovic," Bertrand-Demanes told L'Equipe. "He is so big-headed. The problem is people make him think he's intelligent but he's as thick as two short planks.

"He's not a caricature but not far off; he's a flat-track bully. You can be big-headed when you're [Luis] Suarez or [Lionel] Messi and score goals against Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.

"I'm sorry but, if you only score a hat-trick against Nancy ... if PSG want to progress, they need to get rid of him. He is a problem for PSG.

"You can't ask him to accept playing up front alongside someone because he's too stupid."

After a rousing Champions League victory over Chelsea in which Ibrahimovic was sent off in the first-leg, PSG were knocked out in the next round by Barcelona. However they can still complete a domestic treble this term.

Barcelona 2 PSG 0 player ratings

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Barcelona 2 PSG 0 player ratings

BARCELONA DEFENCE

Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Barely had much to do but when called upon he looked calm and assured, especially in the second half when he made two strong saves late on in the second half. 6
Dani Alves
He got forward exceptionally well while also doing his defensive duties with ease. His left-footed cross in for Neymar to score a header from was a particular highlight. 8
Gerard Pique
The experienced defender handled the large frame of Ibrahimovic well. Positionally he was well disciplined too. 7
Javier Mascherano
Alongside Pique, the former Liverpool player tidied up well. His experience ensured that he wasn’t susceptible to the pass in behind and aerially he wasn’t beaten easily. 7
Jordi Alba
Yet another Barcelona full-back who can be pleased with how they have played. The left-back provided excellent superb to Neymar but didn’t forget his duties of marking the fast Cavani. 7

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Barcelona 2 PSG 0 player ratings

BARCELONA MIDFIELD

Ivan Rakitic
Not the best of performances from the midfielder. Against Matuidi he found life a little difficult as he wasn’t afforded as much space as usual. 6
Sergio Busquets
Demonstrated his footballing intelligence to outwit his PSG counterparts. He didn’t do anything remotely special or flamboyant but he did make sure he protected the defenders behind him well enough to prevent the possibility of a comeback. 7
Andres Iniesta
Ran all the way from the halfway line beating three PSG players before playing in Neymar for the opener on the night. It was a vintage performance from a player who has given so much to Barcelona. Unfortunately he was substituted at half-time after suffering with injury. 8

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Barcelona 2 PSG 0 player ratings

BARCELONA ATTACK

Lionel Messi
Not Barcelona’s best player on a night where you’d expect him to thrive. Yes, he progressed play well but wasn’t a clear threat to the PSG defence. He was, though, a distraction to what was going on around him which mean Blanc’s players lost focus. 7
Luis Suarez
Replaced by Pedro late on. He went a little missing in the first half as Barcelona decided to channel their play down the left. After his sublime performance against them in the first leg it was no surprise that PSG tried to nullify him at every opportunity. 6
Neymar
A truly brilliant all round performance from the Brazilian. He played the entire game and never stopped running, never stopped crossing, never stopped threatening Sirigu’s goal. He took his two goals excellently, too. 9
Substitute - Xavi
Replaced Iniesta at half-time. An experienced showing from a player who is expected to leave the Camp Nou at the end of the season. He held the midfield together nicely. 7

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Barcelona 2 PSG 0 player ratings

PSG DEFENCE

Salvatore Sirigu
Couldn’t have stopped Neymar’s first goal of the night but the Brazilian’s header wasn’t the toughest to save and it went straight underneath the goalkeeper. 5
Gregory Van der Wiel
Handled Hazard very well in the round of 16 but Neymar is a different proposition to the Belgium international. Too often he was beaten for pace by the Brazilian. 5
Marquinhos
Usually such a calm player in defence but even he was rumbled several times by the pace of work rate of Neymar. 5
David Luiz
Made a couple of very strong tackles in the first half. May have done a little better to have followed the run of Neymar for Barcelona’s opener. He was PSG’s most reliable defender in the second half. 6
Maxwell
Nowhere to be seen when Alves crossed in for Neymar to head home in the first half. He either came inside too often or found himself exposed when he burst forward and lost the ball. 5

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PSG MIDFIELD

Yohan Cabaye
Didn’t do enough to stop the runs of Neymar in the first half and he played too deep at times which meant his teammates in attack didn’t get the service from him that they desperately needed. Shot from a deft distance out in the second half - no surprise it sailed over the Barcelona goal. 5
Blaise Matuidi
Yet another PSG player who had a deeply frustrating evening. Tasked with marking Messi and stifling Rakitic. He found it very difficult to do that while keeping up with the rest of his midfield colleagues. 5
Marco Verratti
Showed a lot of desire but that sometimes isn’t enough on a football pitch. He dropped deeper in the second half as he tried to orchestrate PSG attacks. It worked but it was too late to make a difference. 6
Javier Pastore
Made nowhere near the impact he made in the second leg against Chelsea in the round of 16. Consistently too far behind Ibrahimovic, which meant he was never close enough to the ball when the Barcelona defence lost the ball. 6

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PSG ATTACK

Zlatan Ibrahimovic
A quite frankly pathetic contribution from a player who believes he offers so much. He tried to chase down the ball but ended up going in circles. He got into a couple of decent positions but didn’t signal at the right time. By the time PSG were 5-1 down on aggregate he had just about lost all interest. 4
Edinson Cavani
He started on the right and remained there for the entirety of the match. He got forward well but wasn’t provided with enough passes to the right flank to make enough of an impact. 6

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Bertrand-Demanes also expressed strong views on France international Florian Thauvin in the interview, criticising the midfielder for forcing through a move from Lille to Marseille last summer.

"[Ibrahimovic] is like Thauvin," he said. "They both need a good slap.

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 'thick as two short planks' and needs 'a good slap'

Former France international Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes launches attack on the PSG striker

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Barcelona 2 PSG 0 player ratings

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BARCELONA DEFENCE

Barcelona 2 PSG 0 player ratings

BARCELONA MIDFIELD

Barcelona 2 PSG 0 player ratings

BARCELONA ATTACK

Barcelona 2 PSG 0 player ratings

PSG DEFENCE

Barcelona 2 PSG 0 player ratings

PSG MIDFIELD

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PSG ATTACK

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