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Stage set for Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Manchester United

By on May 26, 2016

As the world’s media turns its attention to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s pending transfer this summer, the Swedish forward is soaking up the limelight in typical Zlatan fashion. Ibrahimovic was the starring act as the Swedish national team trained in Stockholm on Thursday afternoon ahead of the upcoming European Championships; the team’s preparations reduced to a mere sideshow.

He once again toyed with the media regarding rumors of his upcoming exit from Paris Saint-Germain during a press conference and of course, the world’s media lapped it up. A symphony of camera lens shuttered every time he flashed a cheeky smile or discussed his current transfer status and social media clung onto his every word.

For his part, Ibrahimovic is excellent at playing the media up. He dramatically declared that he has already made his decision regarding his future, saying, per the BBC: “The future is written. I made my choice a long time ago. I just have to push the button.”

Yet he played coy about Manchester United’s perceived interest and when asked whether United had made an offer, he paused and laughed with a wide grin before saying: “Let’s see what happens.”

He added, per the Telegraph: “I don’t give guarantees – but there are concrete offers from the Premier League, so let’s see what happens.”

That said, Ibrahimovic’s services are clearly United’s to lose. Ibrahimovic will undoubtedly have lucrative offers from China but it seems money is not an obstacle for United, especially given the fact that Ibra will join the club as a free agent. The Guardian report that he is asking for £220,000-a-week from United, some million-and-a-half fewer pounds than the club’s highest earner Wayne Rooney makes annually.

The Swede would enjoy the spotlight at Old Trafford, a theater fit for his persona and ready for a new batch of stars. Zlatan has repeatedly spoken of his admiration of incoming United manager Jose Mourinho, whom he worked with at Internazionale, and is exactly the player to partner with Mourinho to bring United out of their torpor and roaring back into Europe’s elite.

Zlatan has fond memories of his year working with Mourinho in the 2008/2009 season, in which Inter captured the Serie A and Zlatan was the top scorer in Serie A and Player of the Year in the process.

“We worked together for one year at Inter. The feeling was great between us and my only regret is that we were together for only one year,” said Zlatan, per SkySports.

Additionally, he said: “I believe he’s the man to bring [United] back to the top. If you want to win you bring in Mourinho.”

The warm and fuzzy feelings are seemingly mutual. Said Mourinho: “A player who gave me as much as Ibra will always be in my heart. He did a lot for Inter and Inter did a lot for him. I like seeing Ibra. I greet him whenever I get the chance to and I wish him all the best – except when he plays against me. He is very special, he is one of the best strikers in the world.”

In the 2008/2009 season, Mourinho even described Ibrahimovic as the best player in the world. “Ronaldo is a good player but he is certainly not the best…for me, Ibrahimovic is the best,” he said.

Despite his age of thirty-four, Zlatan put up world-class goalscoring numbers with PSG last season and with Mourinho eager to bolster United’s attacking line, surely it’s a match made in heaven. With the writing on the wall, surely even Ed Woodward couldn’t pass on this deal.

Homepage photo credit: Doha Stadium Plus Qatar (Zlatan Ibrahimovic) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.