Louis van Gaal has been sacked and it seems just a matter of time before Jose Mourinho’s appointment is made official. The Portuguese wants to kick start things at once, and reports have emerged suggesting he has already convinced Zlatan Ibrahimovic to sign for Manchester United.
Ibrahimovic, who went to PSG as a “king” and departed “as a legend”, will become a free agent as his four-year long contract with the Paris-based club is set to expire in June and he has already expressed his desire to move elsewhere. As reported by the Mirror, a deal to join the Red Devils seems to have been agreed.
The one-year deal, which has an option to be extended by another year, could be made official within the next 48 hours.
Also read: Are Mourinho and United the perfect match?
The towering forward is the only player to have played in the Champions League with six different clubs, enjoying stints at Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, A.C Milan and PSG. The Swede will leave Ligue 1 with numerous records to his name as he has been in his best form for PSG this season, scoring 50 goals in 51 appearances across all competitions and breaking the record for most goals in a season in the league, scoring a whopping 38 goals.
The 34-year-old striker has previously played under Mourinho at Inter Milan and is keen to reunite with the Special One before leading his country to the Euro 2016. The deal will see him earn a bumper wage of £250,000-a-week.
United are set to go against their long-term philosophy of the club by appointing Mourinho, who has never lasted at any club for more than three or four years. But the agenda of the big-money backing for a third consecutive season is to get back to winning ways, reminiscent of the Ferguson era, after which the two-time Champions League winners have failed to finish in top three in the Premier League.
Fans can look forward to more such star-signings as Mourinho is said to have been given a war chest of £200 million to rebuild the team, and has already identified Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez, Everton center back John Stones, Zlatan’s PSG teammate Marquinhos and Borussia Dortmund’s top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as his prime targets.
The appointment of the two-time Champions League-winning manager would be bad news for some players; obvious victims to face the axe being Juan Mata, who was sold by Mourinho at Chelsea and Germany skipper Bastian Schweinsteiger, who cannot be relied upon due to his fitness issues.
