GOAL

Former France star Thierry Henry has hit out at his compatriots for their treatment of Paris Saint-Germainattacker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The former Arsenal and Barcelona man feels the French public should enjoy having the Sweden star in Ligue 1 for as long as it lasts

The Sweden international has received his fair share of criticism in recent weeks after his outburst in the wake of PSG's loss to Bordeaux, when the experienced forward branded France "a s*** country".

Ibrahimovic later moved to clarify his remarks but many, including Primer Minister Manuel Valls, were incensed by his comments.

Henry, however, feels that Ibrahimovic deserves more respect and added that Ligue 1 followers should be glad to have a player of his stature in the French top flight.

"Zlatan is an extraordinary guy. He is incredibly kind and we laughed a lot together," Henry told L'Equipe .

"The people in France should make up their mind about what they really want. First they were complaining about the lack of big stars in Ligue 1 and now they have a player of Ibrahimovic's stature, they are complaining about him again...

"He is an amazing player, someone really special who has marked an era. He has won league titles wherever he went.

"Of course, he can be quite temperamental. He says what he thinks, but that has never bothered me. There are not a lot of players with his character.

"If they punish him for his comments after the PSG's loss versus Bordeaux, so be it, that's life. But the people in France should enjoy Ibrahimovic while it lasts."