Jose Mourinho Confirms Zlatan Ibrahimovic Likely to Leave Man United This Summer
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed that this is likely to be veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic's last season with the club, but insists the decision over whether to carry on or quit rests entirely with the player himself.
Ibrahimovic has played just seven games in 2017/18 after making his comeback from a serious knee injury in November, but hasn't been seen since Boxing Day due to a minor recurrence and a general lack of match fitness after such a long period out of action.
The 36-year-old, while no longer 'injured' is still not ready to return to playing just yet.
"For Zlatan, we all think it's his last season at Manchester United and it will be a very personal decision for him to play or to stop," Mourinho explained while speaking on Friday (ManUtd.com).
"I think he won the right of choosing his life and his future - he's such an amazing player with such an amazing career that only that awful injury in the wrong moment broke a fantastic couple of seasons that he could, and should, have with us."
Ibrahimovic scored 28 goals in his debut season with United following a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2016 and signed a fresh contract in August because he felt there was unfinished business to attend to after injury cut short his first year.
But for the first time in his career, the larger than life Swede has struggled.
"This season has been really difficult for him. Is he injured? No, he's not injured. Does he feel totally happy and totally ready and totally convinced that he's in [the] conditions to help the team in this moment? No," Mourinho explained.
"But he's such an honest guy and such a champion that he only wants to be back with that feeling of 'I'm totally ready for it'. He's working hard and, hopefully, his evolution brings him to that level that he wants to have a positive answer."
Ibrahimovic has been heavily linked with a move to Major League Soccer this year, with LA Galaxy believed to be very interested in securing his signature.
