Zlatan Ibrahimovic had his heart set on a move to AC Milan before joining Manchester United, according to his agent Mino Raiola. The Swede was out of contract with Ligue 1 giants Paris St. Germain in the summer and wanted to move to Italy, but the Rossoneri were unable to afford him, affording Manchester United the chance to sign him and reunite him with former boss Jose Mourinho.
Speaking to Italian news outlet, Mediaset Premium, Raoila was his typically candid self, noting that AC Milan were Zlatan’s favourite club, saying “Milan are in his heart, certainly his favourite club in Italy and probably the whole world. Italy cannot afford him, so we had to work out other plans.”
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AC Milan have been subsequently bought by a Chinese consortium, ending Silvio Berlusconi’s 30 year reign, but they would probably still baulk at Zlatan’s enormous wage demands. However, Raiola then revealed that he had focused on getting the Manchester United deal across the line, saying “But this summer we always worked towards Manchester United.”
Ibrahimovic did have some previous with AC Milan, noting previously that Milan was his ‘second home’, and a club where he could ‘imagine going back, if I had to choose.’ After 2 seasons with the Rossoneri where he was involved in 81 goals from 85 games, the Swede was sold with Thiago Silva to PSG.
Ibrahimovic has enjoyed a great start to his Red Devil career
While it seems that Manchester United were very much Ibrahimovic’s second choice of destination, the Super Swede has gotten off to a bright beginning with the Red Devils. He scored the winner in the FA Community Shield, while also scoring against Bournemouth and Southampton to take his tally to 3 goals from 3 games.
However, Ibrahimovic has only signed for a single season, which could mean that he could leave Jose Mourinho and Old Trafford at the end of the year for AC Milan or another European club, with the Swede previously ruling out retirement.
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However, with AC Milan currently floundering in Serie A, Zlatan Ibrahimovic might think twice about returning to Milan. As it stands, things look promising for Manchester United in the Premier League as the Red Devils are 3rd in the table on goal difference, with manager Jose Mourinho convinced that Zlatan will extend his stay in Manchester.
