Zlatan Ibrahimovic wasn’t with Manchester United very long, but his short stint provided a lot of memorable moments. Perhaps the best season of the Jose Mourinho era at Old Trafford was the 2016-17 campaign, and that’s the term in which Ibrahimovic was the side’s leading scorer.
Mourinho is long gone now of course, and there are several players who are now finding themselves, and being all they can be under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who floundered or stagnated under the previous regime. Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford are two such examples, and they comprise the pair of players that Ibra believes United should build around going forward.
“I think Paul Pogba has the potential to be the best player in the world in his position,” Zlatan proclaimed during a special exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror in Los Angeles, California.
“He is a good guy, he trains hard, he listens, he wants to become better, he wants to win. He want to perform in every game.
“Things happening outside do not really bother him because when you are at that level, everyone will speak. Positive, negative, in between, everybody.”
The “best midfielder in the world” accolade is certainly a phrase you’ll commonly read on social media within the MUFC fan community whenever the Frenchman is truly on his game.
Pogba, when playing well, certainly fits that bill.
Ibrahimovic also had big, bold things to say about one individual United player in attack.
“Rashford is the future of Manchester United,” the mercurial Swede, currently plying his trade with the L.A. Galaxy for the second straight season continued.
“In the beginning, I saw him more as an individual – now he is playing more for the collective. He is using his quality more for the team, not for himself only. He has big potential and a big future with United and the special thing is that he comes from the academy.”
“I think he has no limits.”
Thus far under Solskjaer, United have often been at their best when they have a front line of Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard all fit and available; with Pogba on point and providing the assists.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.