Jose does not fear a perfect end for Zlatan

EUROPA FINAL IN STOCKHOLM COULD BE IDEAL WAY FOR SWEDE TO BOW OUT

JOSE Mourinho refuses to consider that a potential Europa League final in Stockholm could be the perfect swansong for Swedish hitman Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

United are three matches away from reaching the May 24 showpiece in the Friends Arena.

It is the stadium where the Swedish FA are set to erect a bronze statue to honour the 35-year-old national hero.

Ibrahimovic has scored 28 goals for the Reds this season but has yet to commit himself to a further season with the club.

And a Stockholm send-off looks a script written for him.

“I don’t think about it,” said Mourinho when asked about the prospect that it could be the perfect ending to Zlatan’s fairytale season at Old Trafford. “I just think about Manchester United. I think it will be the perfect finale for us and perfect end of the season for us.

“Difficult season, lots of matches, trying to build a team trying to recover a certain mentality, trying to finish the season playing a European final. It will be the perfect finale for us and Manchester United.

“But for Zlatan it would be fantastic to play the final in Stockholm, in his country. It would be beautiful.”

Ibrahimovic has confessed fatigue is setting it and he was below par in Belgium last week in the 1-1 draw against Anderlecht in the quarter-final first leg.

Mourinho dropped him to the bench in favour of Marcus Rashford against Chelsea and the Mancunian scored in the 2-0 win.

“I wasn’t disappointed with Zlatan. The team had the game in their hands at Anderlecht and the team didn’t win the game,” Mourinho added. “If we won 3-0 in Anderlecht, tonight would be a nice game, I could play some of the younger boys without any pressure. “But we didn’t kill the game. I was not disappointed in Zlatan, it was just that the game was easy to kill.” Anderlecht managed a score draw in Brussels last week with one attempt on target, but Mourinho is adamant United’s motivation will be higher on home turf for tonight’s second leg. “The first thing is to have the motivation high,” he explained. “At a club like United, when you start the Europa League, you don’t have the motivation high, but that’s September. “At this stage, you have high motivation. We showed in Brussels that we are a strong team, but you have to equalise the motivational levels [shown in the Chelsea win], that’s the most important thing.”

I think it will be the perfect finale for us and the perfect end of the season for us Jose Mourinho