Zlat’ll be a yes, then: Ibrahimovic drops major hint over Manchester United move
Former Paris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has revealed he talks to Jose Mourinho every day and hinted that he is ready to follow his one-time Inter Milan manager to Manchester United.
The evergreen 34-year-old Sweden star – a free agent this summer – spoke in glowing terms of his 2008-09 season in Italy with Mourinho and backed him to restore faded United to title-challenging form.
Ibrahimovic has been tipped to become a blockbusting first Mourinho signing at Old Trafford and while he admitted to fielding offers from English clubs, he coyly stopped short of confirming a deal.
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“I have a great relationship with Mourinho and we are in contact, but not [just] in the last weeks – we have been talking for many years. I have spoken with him every day since I left Inter Milan,” he said.
“If you want action you bring Mourinho. I believe he is the man to take them back to the top. Wherever he went he has won. He knows what he is doing. If you want to win, you bring Mourinho.
“I had a fantastic time with him when I was working with him. When I left Inter I said we had had a short time together but a great time. If we will work together again, I don’t know. Let’s see how things play out.”
Ibrahimovic added that he had “concrete offers” from the Premier League. When pressed if one of those was from United, he paused and said with a broad grin: “Let’s see what happens.”
The charismatic and volatile forward, who has also played for Barcelona, AC Milan, Juventus and Ajax since starting his career at hometown club Malmo, would be a coup given United’s absence from the Champions League – one of the few competitions he is yet to win.
His pairing with Mourinho, under whom he won the Italian league title, finished top scorer and won Serie A’s player of the year award, would reunited two of football’s most iconic and intriguing characters.
Ibrahimovic renegotiated his contract with PSG in January in a deal thought to have earned him £1m a month for the last five months.
Confirmation of Mourinho’s appointment by United is thought to have been held up by the finer points of his contract, including a complication around his image rights, but could still come before the weekend.
Ibrahimovic – Sweden’s all-time record international scorer has an extraordinary track record of success.
His club have finished top of their domestic league in 13 of the last 15 seasons, albeit that his two titles with Juventus were later annulled due to a match-fixing scandal.