As Tina Turner famously said: “If you want to leave, I won’t beg you to stay. And if you gotta go darling, Maybe it’s better that way.”
The song, later covered by both Aswad and Ace of Base, has lyrics that somewhat apply to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his future at Manchester United. Or at least to what United Manager Jose Mourinho said on this situation when he met the media a few hours ago to preview Wednesday night’s match at Tottenham Hotspur (video of the session available at here).
Last night, reports surfaced that the L.A. Galaxy were once again interested in signing Ibrahimovic and that the deal is supposedly closer to being done than it has ever been at any point.
Mourinho said he knew nothing about this situation, and first heard about it the way all of us have- through media reports. He also said if the move is to happen, and “if” is the key word because the manager said “if” over a dozen times in this press conference when discussing the topic, he won’t obstruct it.
“Zlatan is in last year of his contract, if, if, if — and he said nothing to it to me — but if, if, if that is true and Zlatan wants a future in another club in another country we are here to help and create conditions to help, not to make his life difficult,” Mourinho said.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic suffered a serious ACL injury last April against Anderlecht in the Europa League quarterfinals, but made a very speedy recovery that saw him return to action in November. However, he suffered a setback on Boxing Day and hasn’t played since. The Swede posted an Instagram story over the weekend showing what great shape he’s currently in and just how hard he’s working on his rehabilitation.
Added Mourinho: “the last thing Zlatan told me was he wants to recover totally and help the team.”
Zlatan has just one goal and seven appearances this season, while last season he was far and away United’s leading scorer. Given that his one year deal at Old Trafford heavily rewards goals and game time, while offering little for the time he spends on the bench and in the training room, perhaps it is best he moves across the pond and to Major League Soccer.
With Alexis Sanchez now in the fold, there will be less opportunities for Zlatan.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune corporation blogging community Chicago Now.
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