Zlatan Ibrahimovic is no ordinary player. But then, he is no ordinary man. He had a turbulent upbringing and has had to work very hard to become the magnificent specimen of a footballer we have grown accustomed to. The aura of ‘arrogance’ around him even is more of a relentless faith he’s always had in his abilities and it’s a huge part of what’s got him here today as one of the most highly paid and successful footballers on the planet.
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He might not be the pacy attacker who skips past players with ease or the hard working midfielder full of running and endeavor. But on his day, Zlatan is magic. And when you consider the plethora of titles and personal honours he’s accumulated in his career, you know that he produces his magic more often than not.
The enigmatic Swede isn’t young though at 34, and Manchester United, however, big the brand and profile of their club is, cannot really afford another season away from Europe’s premier competition. So I’ll be taking a look at why Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s seemingly imminent signing for Manchester United could turn out to be an excellent piece of business.
1) Goal-scoring record
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored 454 goals in 789 career appearances. Five times he’s finished a season as the top scorer. The staggering amount of goals he’s amassed in his career shows that he knows how to stick the ball in the back of the net consistently. His record for Sweden (62 goals in 113 games),a team that he often has to take the attacking impetus for adds further weight to his goal-scoring credentials.
Having a player of his class, stature and finishing ability will count in the most critical situations and will also rub off on United’s young forwards already on their roster. Wayne Rooney doesn’t look like the force he once was and United will need a world class goalscorer desperately next season.
2) Creativity
Ibrahimovic is much more than a goalscorer. He often drops deep and orchestrates play from midfield, so much so that teams frequently begin to depend on him to create chances and almost seem clueless as to what to do with the ball when he’s not around.
His link up play is brilliant, so are his little dinks from around the box and his perfectly timed through balls, which will benefit United hugely. It’s easy to imagine the likes of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford bursting through the opposition defenses with their pace and getting on the end of Zlatan’s passes.
3) Leadership and league winning pedigree
You don’t win 13 league titles (including the two revoked at Juve) at clubs like Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Milan and PSG by getting lucky or being in the right place at the right time.
You don’t accumulate a series of titles at clubs of that prestige and pedigree without having the balls to see out a league season at the top. He knows what it’s like to handle the pressure day in and day out and this experience will be critical if United are to make a serious run for the title next year. Moreover, you see the impact he’s had on players like Stephan El Shaarawy at Milan or Marco Verratti at PSG and you know his leadership skills are in absolutely no doubt.
4) Handling the pressure
At Manchester United, it doesn’t matter that you’ve just finished 5th or not had a great season. You remain one of the biggest clubs in football and are still expected to fight for all the competitions that you compete in.
Ibrahimovic has already played for the biggest clubs in the leagues that he’s competed in and knows how to handle the limelight, thrive on it in fact. He’ll be great for the United brand and his shirts will fly off the counters without a doubt, more than that he knows how to deliver the goods week in week out in the spotlight.
5) Who are the alternatives?
Finally, in a market that has transfer fees constantly rising, the price for a world class center forward is easily 50 million plus and landing a player in the bracket is also far from easy. Draw up a list of the best ten, even fifteen best forwards in the world and try to make an assumption of how much it would take to prise them away from their current clubs, even if they were to become available.
Consider the fact that United are out of Europe’s premier club competition and it only becomes harder to imagine the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Neymar or Robert Lewandowski leaving their clubs for Manchester. Out of the players that are available, Ibrahimovic would easily be the best option.
So, yes, Ibrahimovic might not have too many years ahead of him but the fact that he doesn’t rely on pace and seems to age like fine wine and that he’s available on a free transfer (despite his substantial wages) is something that cannot be ignored.
The brilliant Swede also has his critics and has occasionally disappeared in matches when his team has needed him the most, but it doesn’t change the multitude of success he’s achieved in his career and the consistency with which he’s been amongst the top scorers of the leagues that he’s played in.
It doesn’t change the fact that he’s one of the most elegant and enigmatic players to watch out there on his day, with moments of mesmerising magical skill that remind you why you watch the beautiful game in the first place.
