Zlatan Ibrahimovic Claims Mourinho & Man Utd Will Be 'Pumped' to Delay City Title Party

Zlatan Ibrahimovic says that his former Manchester United teammates will be 'pumped' to stop Manchester City from clinching the Premier League title when the two sides meet on Saturday evening.

Victory for City would break United's record from 2000/01 for the earliest Premier League title win, but Jose Mourinho will be more motivated by personal concerns, as he has a historically fraught relationship with Pep Guardiola.

Mourinho said in his pre-match press conference that it would not be 'the end of the world' if City were to secure the title on Saturday, but Ibrahimovic insisted that it will be a major motivation for him and his players.

“I think they are pumped," the Swedish star told Sky Sports. "They are looking forward to a game like that because obviously City are ahead by many points and the rest of the league is not playing for the Premier League trophy."

“They are playing for the Champions League and the places behind City so someone will want to give them a little shake like Liverpool did the other day.

“I know the coach very well. He is very motivated for these kind of games and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want them to become champions against him. He’ll make sure of that.”

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Ibrahimovic was part of the Manchester United side that won the League Cup and Europa League last season, but injuries meant that he only played seven more games for United after signing a new deal last summer.

He was allowed to leave last month and signed for MLS side LA Galaxy. Even at the age of 36 he continues to make headlines, scoring a screamer and a late winner on his debut as Galaxy came from 3-0 down to win the first ever LA derby against Los Angeles FC.