10 of the most memorable transfer related quotes in football history

#6 Zlatan Ibrahimovic on his aborted move to Arsenal, 2000

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - now at Man United - turned down the chance for a trial at Arsenal in 2000

“Zlatan doesn’t do auditions”

As one of the most outspoken players in football history, it’s no surprise that Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic would have uttered a memorable quote relating to a transfer. After all, he’s made some huge moves in his career – moving around clubs like Barcelona, Inter Milan, Paris St. Germain and Juventus, usually for massive fees.

His best quote though still relates to his aborted move to Arsenal back in 2000. At that point, the 19-year old Ibrahimovic was largely unknown on the world scene but was garnering a reputation as an exciting prospect at Swedish club Malmo. Arsene Wenger was evidently impressed with what he’d seen of him and invited him to North London to discuss a move.

Unfortunately for Wenger, he probably didn’t expect such self-confidence from the teenager. When asked about the incident in 2012, Ibrahimovic explained, “He never actually made me a serious offer, it was more, 'I want to see how good you are, what kind of player you are. Have a trial'. I couldn't believe it. I was like, 'No way, Zlatan doesn't do auditions”.

It was a classic quote from the future superstar that’s now gone down in legend as a way of proving just how confident in his own skills Ibrahimovic is – and always has been. In the end, the Arsenal move went by-the-by, Zlatan went to Ajax instead and the rest is history.