The 27-year-old Sweden striker is never shy to voice his opinion when things are going against him and his team, and made his feelings known after Inter's lead at the Serie A summit was cut to seven points following last weekend's shock 1-0 defeat at Napoli.

He has been linked with a summer move away from the San Siro after hinting he could be ready for a change, but Mourinho is a big fan and reckons his outbursts are borne out of his hunger to succeed.

"This year we played about 50 games and approximately 1,000 training games. You know how many times I've seen Ibra happy? Only when he won," said the Portuguese, who took over the Nerazzurri reins last June,

"If, by misfortune, he does not win a four-against-four match in training, it is the fault of the referee, the goalkeeper, the grass, the ball is deflated, the cameras of Inter channel behind the goal or the sun was too low! He only does not complain if he wins. I really like people like this.

"If Ibra doesn't win he's not happy. He can say whatever he wants. He's ambitious, he's a winner. He can even criticise the coach, and maybe for that he'll win an extra Scudetto.

"He criticised after the defeat at Napoli, after the eliminations from the Champions League and the Coppa Italia. I like it like that, because it means that he is a winner and that he has ambition."