Henry tells French fans to stop moaning about Ibrahimovic

Retired French soccer star Thierry Henry told his compatriots to lay off Zlatan Ibrahimovic but to enjoy the time he's staying in Ligue 1.

"Zlatan is an extraordinary guy. He is incredibly kind and we laughed a lot together," Henry, a teammate with Ibrahimovic at Barcelona in 2009 and 2010, told L'Equipe.

PSG and Sweden forward Ibrahimovic was caught on camera after PSG's 3-2 loss to Bordeaux on March 15 calling France "a shit country" while complaining on a referee's performance.

"The country does not deserve the PSG. We are too good for them," said the 33-year-old, who apologized on the very night through the Ligue 1 champions website after a fallout from his outburst.

Ibrahimovic, who told a press conference ahead of the Moldova-Sweden match on Thursday that he's happy with his stay in France, will face a French Football League (LFP) disciplinary commission hearing on April 9 over his foul-mouthed rant.

Henry, however, felt that the Swede should be given more respect rather than complains.

"The people in France should make up their mind about what they really want," he said. "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," Henry added.

"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," Henry said. "But the people in France should enjoy Ibrahimovic while it lasts." Endi