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Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s time with Manchester United is over. Less than two years since moving to Old Trafford, the veteran Swede has announced that he is ser to leave. On Friday, LA Galaxy were confirmed as the lucky club to benefit from the superstar striker’s arrival.
It is a somewhat sour end to Ibrahimovic’s time in England, yet it has been on the cards for the best part of a year. As soon as the 36-year-old crumpled having injured his knee in a Europa League quarter-final match against Anderlecht almost exactly a year ago, the writing was on the wall.
Playing in a competition as demanding as the Premier League was always going to be a challenge for the attacker, but a serious knee ligament injury proved too much of a burden to overcome. His return to action was brief, amounting to only 187 minutes spread over seven games as Jose Mourinho could no longer afford to gamble on Ibra, who had signed a one-year extension to his deal in August.
“Great things also come to an end and it is time to move on after two fantastic seasons with Manchester United. Thank you to the club, the fans, the team, the coach, the staff and everybody who shared with me this part of my history,” Ibrahimovic, who styled himself as ‘The Lion’ when he joined the club, told his fans via social media.
Despite this tame and undignified ending, he was a striker that was clearly worth gambling on when United swept him up from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2016.
He may have been a veteran even then, aged 34, but the forward was still in the prime of his career. An incredibly physical specimen, he had never before suffered any serious injuries and was coming off the back of a career-best 50-goal campaign in France.
Some questioned whether he could make the step up to the Premier League, particularly given his fallible record in the latter stages of the Champions League, yet he rapidly showed that he was able to cope with the rigours of life in England. In 46 matches, he scored 28 goals and was a terrific influence on those around him.
Mourinho, certainly, feels that the injury stopped a blossoming relationship in its tracks.
“I think he has won the right of choosing his life, his future, such an amazing player and amazing career that only an awful injury in the wrong moment broke a fantastic couple of seasons he could and should have with us,” he said at the beginning of March.
“This season has been really difficult for him. He's not injured. Does he feel totally happy, ready and convinced that he's in conditions to help the team in this moment? No, but he's such an honest guy and such a champion he only wants to be back with that feeling of ‘I'm totally ready for it’.”
Sadly, Zlatan would never get that feeling but he leaves behind a remarkable legacy given how stunted his career at Old Trafford proved to be.
“Helped me become a better player for years to come. Ibra, all the best,” Marcus Rashford said via Twitter, with the 20-year-old having undoubtedly learned an enormous amount from a man with an unrivalled pedigree at winning titles all over Europe.
Ibrahimovic has won league championships in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France, and from each of these experiences he will have passed on his knowhow to United’s younger generation, including Rashford, Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku. His influence will still echo at Old Trafford for years to come.
He arrived at a time when an experienced option was required. The Red Devils have plenty of youth in their offensive ranks but lacked an old head to rally around. There was no better option than Zlatan, particularly since he arrived on a free transfer, making him a comparatively cheap option, even when his exorbitant wages were taken into consideration.
Of course there is an air of an anti-climax around the manner in which he has left for the MLS, but that should not be allowed to detract from what he achieved on the field or even off it, where he was a popular figure with United’s fans.
Ibra failed to write himself into the history books at Old Trafford in the manner he did in Paris, but his injury robbed him of the opportunity to do so. Nevertheless, he gave United good service and will not be quickly forgotten. ‘The Lion’ will live on in others.
