Sebastian Larsson has hailed his former Sweden teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic as a "true winner."
Sunderland midfielder Larsson and Manchester United striker Ibrahimovic played alongside each other for Sweden before the latter retired from international football after Euro 2016.
The pair are due to come up against each other when their two respective clubs meet on Boxing Day, and Larsson accepts Sunderland will have to work hard to keep Ibrahimovic quiet at Old Trafford.
"He's a true winner, that's for sure," Larsson is quoted as saying by The Chronicle. "He doesn't accept anything else but winning, whether it's just training or whatever it is. I think that shows in the amount of medals he's got during his career.
"It will be interesting but I definitely hope he draws a blank when he comes up against us. I've played against him plenty of times in training, that's for sure, but I don't think I've ever come up against him in a competitive match."
While Larsson is a big fan of Ibrahimovic, he says the pair are not the best of friends off the field.
"Do I speak to him every day? No, I don't really speak to him at all outside of football but it's nice to see him in the Premier League," Larsson said.
"I think that's something everyone wanted to see and he's got 16 goals now so he's not doing too badly."