Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s supposed move to Manchester United may appear counter-intuitive but it could prove a very astute piece of business, writes Richard Jolly.
He has the ego the size of a small nation and presumably a bank balance to match. He has been a champion in four countries, winning multiple league titles with relentless regularity. His outlandish pronouncements have helped him develop a cult of personality. He has fallen out with Pep Guardiola. What could Jose Mourinho possibly see in Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
And what might Manchester United, scorers of a mere 49 league goals this season, want from a forward who struck 50 times in all competitions? Playing for Ligue Un’s dominant team in a division that offered some turkey shoots may distort the figures, but the Swede’s 38 league goals was more than Anthony Martial, Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata, Memphis Depay, Marouane Fellaini, Adnan Januzaj, Ashley Young, James Wilson and Ander Herrera mustered between them.
Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring for Manchester United against Aston Villa - Reuters
Ibrahimovic to Old Trafford makes sense, partly because of their mutual-admiration society. “A player who gave me as much as ‘Ibra’ will always be in my heart,” said Mourinho in 2014. Ibrahimovic, in his novelistic autobiography, drew a comparison between the managers in Manchester next season. “He's the exact opposite of Pep Guardiola,” he said. “If Mourinho lights up a room, Guardiola draws the curtains. Mourinho would become a guy I was basically willing to die for.”
It is a level of devotion Mourinho found was lacking in the Chelsea team who slumped to 16th when he was sacked in December. Perhaps tellingly, the group he ended up claiming “betrayed” him at Stamford Bridge were nearer his children’s age than his own. Ibrahimovic is from an older generation, perhaps the last of Mourinho’s disciples who bought into his cool older brother schtick, relating to the wisecracking and anti-authority posturing of a fashionable figure.
Importing one who is both a dressing-room ally and a prolific goalscorer would solve two problems in one swoop. For executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, whose Galactico hunt has been a painful, chastening process, the availability of one on a free transfer offers a rare opportunity. In Mourinho and Ibrahimovic, he could have two poster boys for a new regime, offering the glamour to attract yet more commercial partners and sponsors.
But the key considerations should be footballing. One is simply numerical, and not merely a matter of totting up Ibrahimovic’s 156 goals in four seasons for Paris Saint-Germain. Louis van Gaal was negligent in leaving United short-staffed in attack last summer, assembling a squad with too few out-and-out attackers and overestimating Wayne Rooney’s ability to torment defences. Whether or not the captain is rebranded as a midfielder – and United’s interest in Ibrahimovic suggests he will be – another centre-forward is required. It is unrealistic to expect Rashford to be the sole specialist striker for a season that could encompass 60 games.
Crystal Palace v Manchester United - Yohan Cabaye and Wayne Rooney - Reuters
There is a stylistic issue if Ibrahimovic, who turns 35 in October, is too slow and too static. Van Gaal’s regular refrain was that United needed more pace in attack. That, however, was for his stolid, sterile side. Mourinho’s spearheads have rarely been slow, but nor has speed been their most obvious quality: Didier Drogba, Diego Milito and Diego Costa were noted more for leading the line. Mourinho has rarely required a sprinter in attack. He does need a focal point, which is something Ibrahimovic provides.
The obvious drawbacks to a deal are not financial – Ibrahimovic’s wage demands may be exorbitant but United can afford them – but in its symbolism and its implications for Rashford. A manager who has never celebrated a fourth anniversary anywhere is becoming a byword for short-termism, which was never the United ethos. A player approaching pensionable age for footballers is unlikely to last even as long as Mourinho at Old Trafford.
The temptation is to damn Mourinho for demoting Rashford, especially as few flourish as his substitute strikers: just ask Loic Remy or Mateja Kezman. And Ibrahimovic’s age, the factor that makes his potential arrival seem such a switch in approach to prioritise the immediate over the future, is the reason why he should not present a long-term dent to Rashford’s career prospects. Signing a 24-year-old striker at the peak of his powers could have presented a roadblock to first-team football. Bringing in a 34-year-old need not.
Any wariness United supporters harbour is understandable. The last time their manager was reunited with an ageing player who had excelled for him at another club, they bought Bastian Schweinsteiger; that did not turn out too well. The last time Woodward thought he had signed one of the world’s top strikers, it was Radamel Falcao; that turned out even worse. Indeed, the last striker Mourinho signed was also Radamel Falcao; that went worse again. Yet Ibrahimovic is an individualist in much he does, his self-regard seemingly meaning he does not want to be bracketed with anyone else, let alone past blunders by short-sighted managers. Should he join United, it may reveal much about the modern-day club, the way philosophies are adopted and abandoned, the fondness for the rich and famous, the lack of consistency of thought, the pragmatic prioritising of the here and now, but that not make it a mistake. Quite the opposite, perhaps.
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