"Before winning the 2012-13 league title, we were getting ready to play against Lyon," Marco Verratti said. "Carlo Ancelotti was a bit tense, so Ibra approached him and asked him if he believed in Jesus. Ancelotti said yes, so Ibra told him: 'Good, so you believe in me. You can relax!' Zlatan is like this.”
Verratti’s little story is as good as any when used to describe the kind of figure that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is.
Arguably one of the most confident men to ever walk the Earth, and one of the most underappreciated players in terms of individual awards, Ibrahimovic will finally get the chance to prove he’s perhaps the world’s greatest footballer with Manchester United.
For years people waving the Ronaldo-Messi flags have undermined what this Swedish legend has done all around Europe. He hasn’t given any hints of being bothered by it, but hearing that he only managed to win as much as he did because he’s played in weaker leagues has to sting.
Now, however, Zlatan is playing in the Premier League under Jose Mourinho. It doesn’t matter where your allegiances lay, saying that the EPL is significantly weaker than La Liga would be nothing short of blasphemy.
Conquering England with Manchester United would be a testament to Ibrahimovic’s knack for winning as well as a record of sorts.
With a Premier League title added to his silverware collection, Ibra will be one Bundesliga title away from conquering all six of Europe’s major leagues.
He has won 13 titles over the last 15 seasons. That’s one league title more than Messi and Ronaldo have won combined.
Of those 13, six are Serie A titles, four are Ligue 1 titles, two are Eredivisie titles and one is a La Liga title.
Another fun fact here is that in the two years he didn’t win a league title, Ibra was a runner-up to the national trophy — in 2002-03 with Ajax and 2011-12 with AC Milan.
"But he’s getting old already…"
Yeah, forget about that excuse. Zlatan is like a fine wine, he keeps getting better with age.
The striker scored 50 goals in 51 matches during his last season with Paris Saint-Germain. He tallied a total of 156 goals in 180 games during his stint in Paris.
If that is not enough, just look at his current record with Manchester United. So far, Ibra has played in two matches and scored twice.
Not a bad return for an aging 34-year-old.
.@Ibra_official: MotM vs Bournemouth @ManUtd #BOUMUN pic.twitter.com/qWVRzuuRb5
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) August 14, 2016
Now, the question is for how long will he be able to keep this fantastic form going? More importantly, will he be able to challenge for his sixth league scoring title? And, perhaps, a long deserved Balon d’Or?
He’s already done enough to convince Jose Mourinho that he’ll be at Manchester United for another year. The sky's the limit for Zlatan and Manchester United.
