The difficult second season: Zlatan Ibrahimovic gamble backfires spectacularly on Manchester United
Manchester United have confirmed what everyone expected – Zlatan Ibrahimovic is off.
The club announced via a short statement that they had agreed to terminate the striker’s contract.
It’s expected the Swede will join MLS side LA Galaxy, possibly as early as tomorrow.
Man Utd statement
Manchester United confirms that it has agreed to the termination of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s contract with immediate effect.
Everyone at the club would like to thank Zlatan for his contribution to the team since his arrival and wishes him well for the future.
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The short, two-line statement is a flaccid end to Ibrahimovic’s time at Manchester United.
He arrived at the club from Paris St Germain in the summer of 2017, declaring himself as something close to a god. With 28 goals in his first season and two major trophies to his name it was difficult to argue.
But this was a god who could be injured, and that’s precisely what happened in the Europa League quarter-final against Anderlecht last April. Serious ligament damage was done and there were questions over whether he would ever play again.
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It was clear he would be out for some time, but despite his contract expiring last summer, Manchester United offered him another one-year deal. How they will wish they didn’t.
‘I am back to finish what I started,’ Ibrahimovic said at the time. If he meant earning a lot of money, he wasn’t wrong.
It was reported at the time of his new deal that he took a pay-cut from the £350,000-a-week he was on in his first year. But the 36-year-old still commanded £125,000-a-week.
From the date of his new deal to now, that would have netted him £3.75million.
In today’s market, and to a club as big as Manchester United, that isn’t a huge sum. And some might argue that the marketing opportunities his presence has presented and his shepherding of the club’s young strikers make it worth it. Marcus Rashford has already expressed his gratitude to Zlatan.
But it’s still a huge sum considering Manchester United were under no obligation to give him a new contract and they knew he was injured.
Considering he played 103 minutes of Premier League football this season, 16 minutes in the Champions League and his only goal came in the League Cup (a 2-1 defeat to Bristol City), it was an expensive gamble that didn’t pay off for Manchester United.
Zlatan’s season in numbers
1 Premier League start
4 Substitute appearances
103 minutes of Premier League football
£36,000-per-minute of Premier League football
1 goal in the League Cup (in a 2-1 defeat to Bristol City)
£3.75million earned in wages
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. #foreverredpic.twitter.com/vo1Gs3SUHL
— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) March 22, 2018
Reports strongly suggest Ibrahimovic will now join LA Galaxy, where it’s suggested he could become the best paid player in MLS history. With questions remaining over his fitness (he hasn’t played since Boxing Day), they would be right to fear they might not get their money’s worth.
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