Come and get me, Zlatan tells English clubs
Goals, glamour and arrogance. If this man comes to England one thing’s for sure...
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC is keen on a blockbusting one-season move to the Premier League this summer. The Paris Saint-Germain striker, now 34, is set to leave France when his contract expires at the end of the season. He looks destined for a move to the MLS in 2017, when he is likely to join the David Beckham-led franchise in Miami. But Ibrahimovic is likely to be on the lookout for a 12-month deal at a new club this summer before heading to Florida. When asked about the prospect of coming to these shores after scoring in PSG’s 2-1 Champions League win over Chelsea on Tuesday, the Swede put England’s elite on red alert. ‘I have another three months here and then what will happen? Big things will happen,’ he said. ‘Is the Premier League something I fancy? Let’s just say I’m in shape.’ Ibrahimovic excelled at Inter Milan under Jose Mourinho, finishing top scorer as they won the 2008-09 Serie A title and, if the Portuguese coach takes over at Manchester United, Old Trafford would be his most likely English destination.
Could Zlatan do it on a rainy night at Stoke? We might be about to find out. love him or loathe him, there’s no denying Zlatan Ibrahimovic is box office.
It is looking increasingly likely the Swede will be on the move this summer, bringing the curtain down on four years at Paris Saint-Germain.
The striker has not renewed the lease on his Paris apartment, a clear hint he is preparing to leave France at the end of the season.
It is understood the striker has purchased a sprawling plot of land in Miami for the construction of a swanky new property. But the forward’s Florida home is not expected to be ready until 2017. What happens in Florida in 2017? Miami’s new football team should be ready to compete in their first MlS season. Who part-owns them? david Beckham — the man who’s formed a close bond with Ibrahimovic, having played with the striker at AC Milan and PSG. It’s not hard to connect the dots. So that leaves one question: how does Ibrahimovic occupy the time from this summer to his proposed move to the States in 2017? of course, he has not officially announced his intention to leave PSG when his
contract expires at the end of the season. You wouldn’t put it past him pulling the wool over our eyes and signing an extension at the Parc des Princes.
However, PSG chiefs are known to be preparing for his exit this summer. The man PSG owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi wants to become the club’s new marketing spearhead is Cristiano Ronaldo.
And if the Portuguese arrives this summer, then surely Ibrahimovic will be on his way out. Paris simply isn’t big enough for two of football’s biggest egos.
England will not be the only option for Ibrahimovic. He’ll be inundated with offers from all over the world.
But, in conducting his post-match duties following Tuesday’s Champions league win over Chelsea, Ibrahimovic hinted he is ready for the Premier league, telling English reporters: ‘I have another three months here (in Paris) and then what will happen? Big things will happen.
‘Is the Premier league something I fancy? let’s just say I’m in shape.’
Sources close to the striker claim he would give serious thought to an English transfer if the right offer came along. Invariably, money talks.
Ibrahimovic earns around £230,000 per week in Paris. That narrows the number of realistic destinations for the striker to around four: both Manchester clubs, Chelsea and, at a push, Arsenal.
But given that he is 34, even the Premier league’s elite would gawp at paying that sort of money. He would, though, still expect to earn around £180,000 per week, which equates to a £10million wage for a season’s service before he moves to America.
There would, of course, be no transfer fee, though the forward would expect a seven-figure signing-on fee.
What English clubs will ask themselves is: do the numbers add up?
The smart money would be on Ibrahimovic rekindling his love affair with Jose Mourinho at Manchester united. City could afford the striker, but having fallen out with Pep Guardiola, who is taking the reins at the Etihad next season, his chances of a switch there seem remote. Imagine it: Jose and Ibra versus Pep in Manchester. Hopefully we won’t have to imagine.