Soccer superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic has moved his friend Thijs Slegers, who has leukemia, to tears in a live show on ESPN NL.
Eindhoven – He knows he won’t live long, and yet he hasn’t lost his sense of humor. When he was diagnosed with terminal leukemia Thijs Slegers (46) announced on February 2 that he was going to diehe joked: “Tips for series welcome, I have to kill the time anyway!”
Soccer superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic (41) started his international career at Ajax Amsterdam and is currently under contract with AC Milan. © IMAGO / Independent Photo Agency
Now the press spokesman for the first division football team PSV Eindhoven didn’t react quite so coolly, but cried on a TV show from ESPN Netherlands.
Ironically, superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic (41) moved him to tears. The Swede was on the show, which was broadcast live from the PSV stadium premises and was intended to promote the stem cell donation.
The moderator asked the striker if he remembered when he met his former spokesman.
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“Do I remember? I’ll always remember! He was the only friend I had from Holland when I was lost, young and confused. I really didn’t have anyone in Holland. During that time, the journalists weren’t my friends , they were my opponents, my enemies. He took care of me”, “Ibra” recalls the summer of 2001, when at the age of 20 he had just switched from Malmö FF to Ajax Amsterdam for 7.8 million euros.
Slegers, who was working for Ajax at the time, went out to dinner with him once and from then on the two became really good friends. “We played tennis, we met and he helped me a lot,” recalls the Swede.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic with emotional words: “I love you, my friend!”
Thijs Slegers (46) knows he will die. This was announced by PSV Eindhoven’s spokesman two weeks ago. © IMAGO / Pro Shots
Slegers listened to his speech and you could see how he was struggling with his emotions by the minute.
“He gave me the support I needed. It was the first big step in my career,” said Ibrahimovic, who even wrote about it in his book.
“I’m very, very grateful for everything and we’re still in touch. From that moment on he catapulted himself straight into my heart. Thijs, I just want to say I love you my friend,” the striker touched at that moment himself and Slegers to tears.
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About two weeks ago, the 46-year-old made it public that he could no longer be cured of his leukemia because stem cell therapy did not bring the hoped-for success.
“The rejection disease that has plagued me for months is unstoppable,” he wrote Instagram.
TV show with Thijs Slegers a complete success: 10,000 new potential donors within 24 hours
Now the television show took place to draw attention to the stem cell donation and to give many people a chance of healing.
A complete success, because as PSV Eindhoven announced on Instagram, 10,000 people registered within less than 24 hours for a possible donation due to the broadcast.
Unfortunately, this cannot save Sleger’s life, but perhaps that of many others who are fighting the insidious disease.
Titelfoto: Fotomontage: IMAGO / Independent Photo Agency, Screenshot/TikTok ESPN NL