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Zlatan Ibrahimovic |United Player | See the thread in the United Forum

Should we sign Ibra on a free this summer ?


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Red Stone

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If Ibra spent all his life in Sweden, I'd agree with you.
But this guy has lived in Holland, Italy, Spain, France, etc
I don't think, the "Sweden Effect" which you are referring to, applies to him.
It's the Zlatan Effect. He told old age to feck off.
 

Ibi Dreams

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Giggs and Scholes were still very useful players at 35 years old, and both had declined much more than Ibrahimovic has so far. I am quite sure he's good for another season or two
 

Ecstatic

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I'm sure you've been asked this already but as a PSG fan, do you believe that if Zlatan were to move to the premier league he would be a good addition or would he be more likely to flop?
Are you sure you want my point of view? May I quote myself? :D
 

Ecstatic

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Yes, that's fine :)
Ok. Let's go :)

March


Clearly the greatest striker of All-time in the FRENCH league.

France and Sweden have added the verbe " To Zlatan" in their dictionnaries.

The new French word "zlataner" means "Dominate in a humiliating manner"
I think he wants to join the EPL.

He was available for a press conference in London this weekend. Generally, he hates that.

It is no accident as he is in campaign for a new challenge I guess.
Ibrahimovic is so wonderful and impressive at the age of 34.

2015-16 : he has scored 31 goals with PSG (all competitions) + 6 goals with Sweden in 6 matches......... 37 goals so far !!!!!!!!!

One of the top 6 scorers in Europe ATM with Aubamayeng, Suarez, Messi, Lewa and Cr7
April

Regarding Ibra, massive wages for a contract whose length would be 1 year (with possible extension of 1 year) indeed but:

- no transactions costs. What is the market value of Aubamayang, Keane, Benzema or Higuain ?
- proven ability to excel in any circumstances and leagues
- an excellent scorer is always expensive
- a real leader on the pitch and the team needs experience and thus confirmed players

What I consider as a wast of money is the acquisition of average players overpaid like Schneiderlin, Fellaini or Mata (already in a large decline in his last months with Chelsea: completely ignored by Mourinho).

Agreed. However, if Ibra is able to shine against Chelsea and City, why won't he able to score against Southamption, Hull and Everton next year?

My modest opinion is to say he is still capable to score 30 goals - all competitions - next season.

With or without Ibra, imho, there is an urgent need to recruit a winger able to play on the right and ideally versatile like Griezmann.
Hard to analyse the performance of Ibrahimovic against City because PSG has completely lost the battle midfield against City for many diverse reasons:

- ridiculous 'tactical coup' never tested in the last 3 years (3-5-2)
- Cavani played as a left-winger: a pure catastrophe. Cavani was on the bench in the last months but Laurent Blanc lacks courage to drop him to the bench
- a destroyed midfield: no Verratti no Party, Matuidi suspended, Pastore injured, a very declining Thiago Motta
- a defender surprised to be on the pitch: Van der wiel who was the 3rd choice as a right-back in the last 3 months
- like Barcelona, lack of freshness and humility: they started the season so well that they are tired... while Real Madrid sacked his coach 2 months ago and is in a good shape
- Aurier in a bad shape (following a ban of 2 months): he shouldn't have played

In France, most people haven't understood the game plan of Laurent...including players who publicly criticized the strategy. In France, this is perceived as the big failure of Blanc and a lot of people think it was a bad idea to have renewed his contract.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Of course, if you are in a position to hire Aubam, Lewa, Benzema, Higuain, Kane... so please go for them and I just wish you good luck to attract one of them. If you are successful, OK the salary package would be less expensive BUT you will have to pay a VERY HIGH transfer fee.

On the other hand, Ibra will bring you money because he is a super star: merchandising, brand, sponsors... Ibra is not the long-term future but an excellent springboard.

Last point, if you want to compare the market value of players, then you have to do a quick calculation: Transfer fee + salary package over the length of the contract = sum to be paid
Then, you have to compare this sum to the benefits the player offers (number of assists/goals, leadership skills, a model in terms of professionalism, merchandising, experience to share...).

At the end, you should understand such a transaction is not shocking in the today football world and that the recruitment of Ibra can't endanger the richest club in the world.

Ideally, you should acquire 2 offensive players.

With or without Ibra, Rooney is a big question mark: he is just 30 but his stats are appalling.

May


Time to introduce some quotes.

Carlo Ancellotti in October 2015

“Ibrahimovic is not on the decline, as he still trains a lot. He’s like Cristiano Ronaldo, Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo and Zinedine Zidane. I have trained them all and they are very professional people that always want to win.”

Source
http://www.gazzettaworld.com/news/ancelotti-open-paris-saint-germain-return/

Carlo Ancelotti about Ibra in his autobiography


Zlatan was in my eyes, without doubt, the key to PSG's improvement. His fascinating character, his consistant excellence in training, and how he focused and prepared for matches were always examples for his teammates [...] When I arrived at PSG, I had heard of him as a difficult player to manage. On the contrary, I found myself a helpful, professional champion who was always focused on his work. Not only have I never had a problem with him, even better, he was often a great help to me [...] He loves being a leader, he was born with this attitude - he never avoids his responsibilities, rather he seeks them because they help him give the best of his ability. He is the most unselfish player I have met, and I consider him as one of the greatest current forwards, alongside Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Source

https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/3yexj0/carlo_ancelotti_talking_about_zlatan_ibrahimovic/
In terms of professionalism, he is a model for everyone: that is why he is still performing at the age of 34.

He hates defeats, including during training sessions.

Regarding Coman, he only played 3 games with PSG in 2 seasons: he couldn't be considered as a full-time member of the squad. The vast majority of the time, he used to train with the reserve.
 
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Bugshot

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My favourite non United player like most here.

Why would anyone be against his signing. He would straight away improve us. He already knows how Jose wants him to play, which also means he'd help the team adjust to Jose's methods on the pitch as someone who knows his philosophy(sorry) through and through.

Age doesn't matter as long as he's fit and scoring goals. He never really relied on his pace to start with, he's an honorary black belt in taekwondo and most of his unique technique can be attributed to that which wouldn't simply go away all of a sudden. He still makes great runs off the ball and most his goals for PSG have come from crosses. We need someone who can score from those balls and corners.

His character, charisma and charm is exactly what's needed. Herrera and Mata won't even dare to take their cellphones out for a selfie when he's lurking around in the dressing room.
 
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Jazz

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I'm not totally crazy about us signing a 34 or 35 year old. However, his winning mentality would be good for our dressing room. Most importantly though, he seems loyal to Jose, and Jose will definitely need to have some allies going into a dressing room that seems to have a couple of 'press friendly' tendencies. So bring him on I say.
 

Bugshot

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If United is the club Zlatan is joining, then I think it will be next month or July before it's official

If we announced it in the next week, it would be obvious we have been working on Jose targets before he took charge and while LvG was in charge. It could look bad

Would make much more sense to agree it all in private, tell Zlatan to go enjoy the euros and then confirm it afterwards in public
Wouldn't it be the right way to do things if we actually are planning for advance?
That would send a positive signal about us as we've looked indecisive for the last 3 years.
 

AltiUn

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Ok. Let's go :)

March








April





May
Thanks for rooting these out. This transfer looks better and better the more I think about it. I hope you're right and he continues to thrive in the PL, he's one of the best players in the world even at 34. What I think his greatest trait for us will be is, as you mentioned, his leadership and being a brilliant role model for the youngsters. Glad to have seen a PSG fan's perspective on this. Very excited to see him play in the PL and if he does let's hope he helps us bring home that title!
 

Devil81

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If we sign him for a season it's effectively a loan signing, we can't lose in this situation. He's amazing, we do well, he looks over the hill, he moves on.

I think it makes perfect sense.
 

Flytan

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If we sign him for a season it's effectively a loan signing, we can't lose in this situation. He's amazing, we do well, he looks over the hill, he moves on.

I think it makes perfect sense.
He's out of contract, so it'll likely be a 1 year deal with an option for another.

Guessing he'd have the option.
 

Sandikan

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Hopefully we get this one pushed through quickly.

If Ibra really said his next move has been done since Feb, there's no reason it shouldn't be.
 

LawCharltonBest

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Wouldn't it be the right way to do things if we actually are planning for advance?
That would send a positive signal about us as we've looked indecisive for the last 3 years.
Yes, but if we get Ibrahimovic so quickly, it will look rather unprofessional that we were dealing with Mourinho targets while LvG was still manager.

Even if its basically done already, if we wait a month to confirm it then it looks more like we first approached him after JM took charge
 

Relem

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There's a mint article on the guardian website articulating why he would be a fantastic acquisition for us.

"He might just be the perfect little fun fling after that draining and tedious divorce, the kind of instant bolt-on 38-night stand who won’t ever take his sunglasses off and borrows your credit card and just wants to lie around being wonderful; but who somehow makes the future look a little brighter, a little more workable."
 

Rightnr

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Ugh, his agent being the 'nice guy' that he is, has tried to shift the media's focus away from us. I hope he still comes even if his agent is insufferable.
 

podurban2

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Ugh, his agent being the 'nice guy' that he is, has tried to shift the media's focus away from us. I hope he still comes even if his agent is insufferable.
Zlatan is old and has matured in many ways. This will be his decision.
 

Ibi Dreams

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That contradicts what Ibra himself has said, which was that he knew where he was going but couldn't say.
 

BBRBB

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Zlatan also said many months ago that his next move will be a surprise. Raiola is consistent.
 

Red Stone

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Raiola isn't Mendes.
He's an agent. He probably has one or two big payouts left in his biggest client, and furthering Zlatan's career isn't as much of an issue now. He'll want to milk it for what it's worth before Zlatan retires. If China are paying twice as much as we are Raiola's going to be a complete dick towards us.
 

Scarecrow

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You're right....he's worse.
Why do you think that? I'm not sure why his reputation is quite so bad on here. He's very good for his clients. They usually end up making the right moves for their careers. He's not the most pleasant man and there have been accusations of some shady stuff regarding some of his deals but I've always had the impression that he puts his clients' interests ahead of his own.
 

JPRouve

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He's an agent. He probably has one or two big payouts left in his biggest client, and furthering Zlatan's career isn't as much of an issue now. He'll want to milk it for what it's worth before Zlatan retires. If China are paying twice as much as we are Raiola's going to be a complete dick towards us.
He has never done that, just look at where his players play. Also when Matuidi was negociating with PSG Raiola squashed all the rumours because Matuidi wanted to stay, he could have sent him to City but he didn't.
 

RedRover

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He's an agent. He probably has one or two big payouts left in his biggest client, and furthering Zlatan's career isn't as much of an issue now. He'll want to milk it for what it's worth before Zlatan retires. If China are paying twice as much as we are Raiola's going to be a complete dick towards us.
Ibrahimovic doesn't seem like the kind of player to go where his agent wants him to go. In fact, he seems like a bloke who died what he likes.

If he wants to go to China for the cash then fair play to him. If he wants to stay relevant he'll stay in Europe. Whatever happens I very much suspect he'll be the one making the decision, not the agent.
 

Ibi Dreams

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I can't see Ibra going to China when he's still this good. They'll take him in two years for tons of money, I think he's the kind of guy who will want to play at the top as long as he can
 
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