Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti has hailed Manchester United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, crediting his former teammate for the squad's improved collective leadership.

Speaking with Goal France, the Italy international praised the former Sweden international and believes the 35-year-old enriched the teammates he left behind.

"For some time and when things were not going our way, I often heard about a lack of leaders in the dressing room following the departure of Zlatan," Verratti wrote in his monthly column.

"On the contrary, he taught us to become leaders! He is a player who improves everyone who plays with him. With PSG, it was impressive to see that he was still training like an 18-year-old boy.

"He was also an example to follow in the locker room. He was a leader. Sometimes, just watching him train, you wanted to do more to not appear ridiculous. He brought a winning mentality to Paris."

Verratti also observed that captain Thiago Silva and vice skipper Thiago Motta are different leaders to Ibrahimovic but suggested that the striker's brutal honesty is missed at times.

"Zlatan and I have very different characters," Verratti wrote. "I like him a lot, but there are many different ways to be a leader. When something did not go right, Zlatan said straight away.

"There must be someone like that in the dressing room, but you cannot have 20 Ibrahimovics! Thiago Silva or Thiago Motta are different, for example."

Verratti was full of praise for his former teammate. Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

Julian Draxler recently joined PSG from Wolfsburg and Verratti feels one of Ibrahimovic's legacies is that the tight-knit squad crave perfection in everything they do.

"There is a strong core in this team who have known each other for four or five years, and that is useful when a new player arrives," he added of the Germany international's recent arrival. "They must quickly learn that there is no margin for error at PSG. Zlatan ensured we knew that and we still do.

"There is no shortage of leaders in the dressing room now that Zlatan is gone, they are just different. But he left us his mentality. And that is what we are trying to convey to those who were not there."