In an interview with Swedish outlet Adtonbladet, Wilhelmsson has admitted that the national team might be better off without the services of their all-time record goalscorer.
Wilhelmsson enjoyed the best part of his career with the likes of Stabæk and Anderlecht, but he is known to most as the man Ibrahimovic once booted in a sour training session (below).
Manchester United striker Ibrahimovic has netted 62 times for Sweden, but his former team-mate believes that his hubris is holding up the development of others.
"He is still useful," said Wilhelmsson. "But he should be on bench sometimes. When he doesn't play, others dare more and play with more confidence in another way.
“Everyone at Barcelona plays for [Lionel] Messi – even Neymar did that. It's the same with Ibra."
