5 possible destinations for Zlatan Ibrahimovic after being released by Manchester United
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s contract at Manchester United ends on 30 June and the club have announced that he will be released. The Swedish striker had signed a one-year deal last year with the option for a second but a knee ligament injury in April ended his season and also put in jeopardy his future at Old Trafford.
The option for a second year had not been triggered by either camp, possibly because they were waiting to see how the season panned out and what Jose Mourinho planned to do in the transfer market. Unfortunately for 35-year-old Ibrahimovic, it means he now needs to look elsewhere while he recovers.
We look at five possible destinations for the striker.
1) AC Milan
Having played in a number of top leagues across Europe, it was in Italy that he really made a name for himself. And he has fond memories of AC Milan – the last Serie A club he represented before moving on to Paris Saint-Germain.
In two seasons, Ibrahimovic scored 56 goals in all competitions for the Rossoneri winning one league title. His second season even saw him finish the league’s top goalscorer with 28 goals in only 32 games.
However, Milan have come a long way since his final season at the San Siro. They are no longer a Champions League team and are trying to rebuild the squad under new ownership. But he could be exactly the kind of experience they need to take the step up to the top four (from the 2017/18 season onwards, the top four teams from Italy automatically qualify for the Champions League).
Only Carlos Bacca managed to reach double-digits for goals scored with 13 in Serie A. Ibrahimovic could easily improve the side in the final third.
A January move, perhaps?