Normally, it is not a good idea to tell your employer that you are ‘over it’. But, this is exactly what Ibrahimovic has done in recent days.

The Big Swede was quoted by Corriere dello Sport, saying, “Football is no longer burning inside me like it used to.

“I used not to think about anything else. Now it is not like that, I’m interested in other things.

“Now football is more part of a routine. You go to the training ground, you warm up, you train and then you go home. Before, I used to stay on after training because there was always something to do.

“It even takes a great deal of effort for me to play football with my kids in the garden – I now leave it to the babysitter.”

Unwanted by Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, Milan came to Ibra’s rescue last summer as they brought him back to Italy and his arrival eventually proved a major factor behind the club’s Scudetto success.

This past summer the club invested just over €21 million to grant him a permanent stay at the Milanello in a deal that runs to June of 2015.

Despite all this, Ibra has made it clearly known that he is rather ‘over it’, playing football that is. This is disheartening stuff to hear from a player who, it could be argued, is the centre-piece of Max Allegri’s Milan. So much so that the club have made attempts to sign a like player for when he is absent the champions are a different and, again it could be argued, a much weaker outfit.

In addition, as the team’s talisman, it cannot be good for the team’s morale especially given the delicate situation the team now finds itself in; closer to the relegation zone than the top of the table.

If there is to be a Milan resurgence in the coming month, and there quite simply needs to be otherwise all will effectively be lost, Ibra will form a major part of the puzzle.

But, his comments are not those of a player ready to help pull his side out of the doldrums.

Ibra added, “With age you have to care for yourself more. When I was young, if I felt any pain or had any problems then I could still shoot at goal from 40 metres away. That’s not the case today. I have to take great care in my warm up before even kicking a ball. I’m getting old.

“I’m not kidding about my situation. I hate to say it, but I don’t have the same determination as I had before and I enjoyed myself a lot more a few years ago.”

Allegri will do well to have the player sat down in front Paolo Maldini and Clarence Seedorf. These two players know what it means to always remain professional, to retain hunger for success even after great success has been achieved.

Talk of pain as a player gets older and there are a host of Milan veterans that could whisper a thing or two in his hear. Like, for example, it is only a natural thing and it is no reason at all to be so down and out. Rather, like a professional who is paid a tidy sum for what he can do he has to just play through it until it gets so bad that playing is no longer possible. That is if this occurs at all.

Ibra’s comments are reckless, unprofessional and could not  have come at a worse time. His agent and Max Allegri have downplayed them and they simply have had to in order to limit the damage. The Milan boss also tried to quel the inevitable rumours linking the Swede with a move away from the club.

He told Sky Sport, “Ibrahimovic, like the rest of us, wants to get back to winning ways.

“Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho? I am sure of what I say, Ibrahimovic wants to stay at Milan and continue winning.”

Well, at least Allegri knows his role as a professional football manager. Ibra will hopefully take a leaf out his boss’ book and do the same while hopefully some of the team’s older heads will give him their five cents worth too.