an and Hello Kitty were featured, along with the beloved blue Doraemon cat, who pulled from his pocket of magi

David Beckham says Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still among footballs best as the Manchester United striker won Swedens Golden Ball for the 11th time. Ibrahimovic, who was Beckhams team-mate at Paris Saint-Germain before the former England captain retired, has been awarded Swedens best player accolade every year since 2005 - bar 2006 - and will be honoured with a statue outside the Friends Arena - the countrys national stadium. Sky Sports Black Friday sale Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price! Beckham paid tribute to his close friend Ibrahimovic in a video message at the awards ceremony on Monday, and revealed why he is delighted the 35-year-old Swede is now at his beloved United. His physique, his passion, his love for the game, hasnt changed, Beckham said, as reported by TV4Sport . Hes still one of the greatest players that has ever played the game - one of the reasons why Im happy he is now playing at Manchester United, my team. Thanks for that, Zlatan. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored six Premier League goals for United this season On accepting his award, Ibrahimovic said: It feels unreal. Many are thinking Why him? and so on, but after all the hard work over 15 years in the national team and 20 years in my club career, it feels like its being appreciated.You usually get this after you die, but I still feel alive. When I die, this (statue) will live on forever.Beckham also admitted his favourite Ibrahimovic goal was his 30-yard overhead kick for Sweden in their 4-2 win over England in 2012, insisting only the United forward is capable of scoring such a goal. Ibrahimovic has scored six Premier League goals for Jose Mourinhos side this season after signing for the club in the summer, but missed the 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Saturday due to suspension. Beckham says Ibrahimovics overhead-kick against England in 2012 was the strikers best goal United are sixth in the table, nine points behind leaders Chelsea, but Beckham revealed Ibrahimovic will not tolerate losing. For me, Zlatan is a player who has class, always wants to win, and he proved that when I moved to PSG, said Beckham. He was one of those players that it doesnt matter whether we were playing an important match in the French league, or on the training field, he wanted to win. Highlights of Uniteds 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Saturday If he wasnt winning, he was like one of my children. He would get upset, he would get angry, he would lose it. Not that my kids lose it, but Zlatan does. For me he is a winner. Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price. Hurry, offer ends December 4! Also See: Carra on underrated Mata Carrick the answer for Utd Allen over Ozil on UEFA list Jose: Why I left Rooney out Wholesale Nike Shox Shoes . PETERSBURG, Fla. 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The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Shaking to samba and sharing reflections in uniquely Brazilian ways, Olympians and fans said goodbye to the Rio Games with one last big bash that was both revelatory and a sigh of relief.The Rio Games, the first in South America, were a 16-day spectacle that combined numerous highlight-reel moments with ugly and even bizarre episodes that sometimes overshadowed the competitions. Rio residents, known as Cariocas, were not about to let sporadic rains and strong wind gusts get in the way of a final hurrah.These were marvelous Olympic Games in the marvelous city, said International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, playing off the cidade maravilhosa nickname of Brazils postcard city of inviting coastlines, year-round sun and lush tropical vegetation.While the stadium erupted in applause at that designation, a few minutes later there were boos of sadness when he announced: I declare the Games of the XXXI Olympiad closed.The closing ceremony in iconic Maracana Stadium was also meant to take care of some business -- formally signaling the transition to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan.But Sundays party was all about Brazil, designed to be more low-key than the opening ceremony, which focused heavily on Rio.The ceremony featured original footage of Alberto Santos-Dumont, the man Brazilians recognize as the inventor of the airplane. The theme Brazilians can do with their bare hands was a nod to the emerging economy of the worlds fifth-most populous nation.Dressed in colorful feathers, dozens of dancers formed in the shape of the arches of Lapa, a popular area of Rio akin to Roman ruins, then morphed to make the shape of iconic Sugarloaf before quickly changing again, this time to the official 2016 symbol.Samba legend Martinho da Vila, whose tunes make their way into many popular telenovelas, sang Carinhoso, or Affectionate.The athletes poured in under light rain, waving their flags while many shook their bodies to samba-infused pop that made the stadium feel like a Carnival parade. Britains athletes wore shoes with soles that lit up in changing colors of red, white and blue, while Tongan taekwondo athlete Pita Taufatofua danced onstage in a grass skirt as a DJ performed, reprising a moment that captured attention when he carried the flag for his country during the opening ceremony.The show widened its lens to Greater Brazil, a massive country with a land mass slightly larger than the continental United States. There was a tribute to cave paintings of some of the first inhabitants of the Americas, in Serra da Capivara, in northeastern Brazil, today the nations poorest region.Spectators got to see performers shake to frevo, a frenetic dance that -- if its even possible -- makes high-octane samba seem like a staid ballroom affair. Holding small umbrellas, dancers jumped and marched while performing acrobatics.They performed to Vassourinhas, which means small brooms, a popular song that was also the name of a famous club in the northeastern city of Recife.The show also built performances around saudade, which means anything from longing for someone to sadness to remembering good times. It is one of the most important words in Brazilian Portuguuese.ddddddddddddLights flashed translations for the word in many languages, and a group of women sang Mulher Rendeira, or Lace-making Woman, a nod to the countrys African heritage. Brazil was the last country in the Americas to outlaw slavery, in 1888.The Games had many memorable moments, both for Brazilian competitors at home and athletes from around the world.Soccer-crazed Brazil got partial payback against Germany, winning gold two years after a 7-1 World Cup semifinal shellacking that left many in Latin Americas largest nation fuming. American gymnast Simone Biles asserted her dominance with four golds, swimmer Michael Phelps added five more to up his staggering total to 23, and the worlds fastest man, Usain Bolt, put on his usual show with three golds just days before his 30th birthday.But there were also ugly episodes, such as American swimmer Ryan Lochtes fabricated story about a harrowing robbery that was actually an intoxication-fueled vandalism of a gas station bathroom, and bizarre issues like Olympic diving pools going from crystal blue to gunky, algae green -- at a time when Rios water quality in open waters is one of the biggest local environmental issues.There is widespread expectation that the Games in Tokyo, one of the worlds richest, most recognizable and cosmopolitan cities, will run more smoothly than they have in Rio. But theres also worry in Japan over whether the Olympics will further drag down an economy that has been struggling for decades.Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike accepted the flag from the IOCs Bach and Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, signaling the transition.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abes brief but showstopping gig in the closing ceremony as the Nintendo character Mario offered a tantalizing glimpse at Tokyos plans.The organizers for the Tokyo Games crammed the works into a brief two-minute film montage before Abes appearance. Athletes perform more than a dozen sports as landmarks like Tokyo Tower, cherry blossoms, a bullet train, Tokyo Bay Bridge and the famous scramble intersection in Shibuya whiz by.Anime and video game icons like Pac-Man and Hello Kitty were featured, along with the beloved blue Doraemon cat, who pulled from his pocket of magic gadgets a green warp pipe to whisk Abe from his limousine in Tokyo straight to Rio.Abe emerged from his Mario outfit in his usual get-up of a smartly tailored suit and tie.Many people will analyze how things went for the Rio Games in the months ahead. But on Sunday, one strong sentiment was relief -- that despite some problems, overall the Games went well.That wasnt a given going in. The Zika virus scared away some competitors and tourists, rampant street crime in Rio and recent extremist attacks around the world raised fears about safety, and Brazils political crisis, and the economic angst behind it, threatened to cast a pall over the competitions.We are very resilient. We didnt leave anything important unaddressed, said Augusta Porto, 36, a translator and Rio resident. We can welcome people despite the serious problems that we have faced in the recent past. ' ' '