Serie A - Internazionale striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has launched an extraordinary defence of Juventus.

The Swedish international left Juve last summer following the club's relegation to Serie B on match-fixing charges, but said the club had been demoted because of "jealousy".

Ibrahimovic also praised Luciano Moggi, the Juventus director accused of masterminding the Turin club's attempts to influence the appointment of referees.

He said that the mental toughness instilled in the squad gave them an inherent advantage over their rivals.

"When we entered the field with Juventus our opponents went down a level. At the start of the game it was already 1-0 for us. At Inter that is not the case," he said.

Nonetheless, Inter have lost just once on their way to the first Scudetto they have won on the pitch since 1989.

But Ibrahimovic still insisted they did not have the same winning mentality as the Bianconeri under Moggi.

"Juve were cast out because they won too much: a question of jealousy," he said.

"When I arrived at Inter the first thing I said to Moratti was: 'If you want to change the mentality you have to take Luciano'."