Frey: Ibrahimovic completely different to public persona

Sebastien Frey says that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is "completely different" to his public persona, claiming that the Paris Saint-Germain ace is "loved" by nearly every team-mate who has ever shared a dressing room with him.

Ibrahimovic is renowned for his perceived arrogance, an image which he often plays up to in interviews, while he has also earned a reputation as a difficult player to coach on account of his tumultuous relationship with Pep Guardiola during their one season together at Barcelona in 2009-10.

However, Frey says that everyone he knows that has played with the Sweden international has nothing but nice things to say about the striker.

"He has huge physical and psychological strength," the goalkeeper told Goal. "Despite his size, he has impressive speed.

"He is a very complete player. He brought a lot to solidify PSG's mental strength.

"Off the pitch, the man is completely different. He looks after himself well. You do not hear too much about him off the field.

"All the players I've known that have been in contact with him have told me such good things about him.

"There are always exceptions, but the majority have loved being in the dressing room with him and playing with him."

Frey also revealed that he is a big admirer of Ibrahimovic's club-mate, Edinson Cavani.

The Uruguay international has been consistently linked with a move away from the Parc des Princes but Frey believes that the striker is arguably PSG's most valuable player.

"I love Cavani," the former Inter shot-stopper stated. "He is a player of great physical strength and monstrous generosity.

"In Paris, he is one of those players I would never sell if I were the chairman.

"Of course, we already realised what a great player he was during his time at Napoli."

Frey played alongside another key man in the PSG team, Thiago Motta, revealing that his former Genoa team-mate considered quitting the game at one point because of persistent injury issues.

"Things were not going too well for him at Genoa as he had physical problems," the 35-year-old Frenchman explained. "He even wanted to finish his career.

"But the staff urged him to continue working and he then went on to have some remarkable seasons at Inter and PSG.

"On the pitch, he is a mad dog and he's so good for the team."

Frey, though, feels that Thiago Silva is arguably an even more important cog in a PSG team he feels capable of challenging for this season's Champions League.

"Thiago Silva is the class player," the free agent added. "Like his coach, Laurent Blanc, he manages to transmit calm in the defence.

"Tactically, he's a step ahead of others. He is intelligent on the field and he's always impressed me. With players like him, PSG can win the Champions League."