Fan proves Zlatan’s twice the man he used to be
THERE is only one Zlatan Ibrahimović, as Manchester United fans – and for that matter the great man himself – like to chant.
Well, there was only one until yesterday, when the striker was joined on the pitch by his lookalike. Sporting a thin moustache, his long hair tied in a ponytail à la Zlatan, the fan came on at Old Trafford during the team’s 4-1 defeat of Leicester City.
Ibrahimović – who is in the habit of speaking about himself in the third person – appeared bemused.
The encounter came as United returned to winning ways after a poor start to the season under their new manager, José Mourinho.
Ibrahimović, who moved to Manchester United from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, appeared reluctant to talk to the fan. With a wry smile he gave him a less than welcoming shove in the face, before a member of the stadium’s security staff wrestled the intruder to the ground and led him off the pitch.
Presumably he thought there was little he could learn. He is after all the man who when asked what he would be giving his wife as a birthday gift replied, “nothing – she already has Zlatan”, and whose response to his native Sweden failing to qualify for the 2014 Brazil World Cup was to say: “A World Cup without me is nothing to watch.”
Such is the 32-year-old’s self-regard that in 2003 the name Zlatan was trademarked at the Swedish patent and registration office, allowing him exclusive rights to the name for products including sports goods, clothing and shoes.
He’s not without a sense of humour, however. “I can’t help but laugh at how perfect I am,” the star once said.
How could a mere look-alike compete with all that?