Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
The news may not come as the biggest surprise but as of today it has finally been confirmed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been released by Manchester United after the club decided not to award him a second year extension to the contract he signed last Summer.
That of course is due to the performances of the mercurial Swede but the overriding caveat that he is currently recovering from major surgery after suffering a serious cruciate ligament injury in the Europa League Quarter Final 2nd leg tie with Anderlecht.
After an innocuous looking fall to the ground by Ibrahimovic it ended up proving to be a lot worse and the image of him being helped off the pitch would be the last action that he would see not only this season but ultimately for United.
On the balance of performances alone than a contract extension offer was an almost near certainity, 17 goals in 28 Premier League appearances and 28 goals in 46 appearances across all competitions meant that Ibrahimovic’s sole season in England was an unqualified success.
Add to the mix the silverware he earned last season, a treble of sorts as United won the Community Shield, the EFL Cup and the Europa League. Zlatan paid a huge part in the first two with the winner against Leicester and then an all decisive hat-trick against Southampton in the EFL Cup Final back in February.
Of course you cannot understand his efforts in Europe either as his goals helped United progress throughout the competition, although the former Barcelona forward would not take part in the final itself he would still be awarded a winners medal due to being named as part of the 25 man tournament squad.
Perhaps that was a hollow victory but the next success that he has to aim for is a full return to fitness, one that if as expected comes to fruition will still have a list of clubs looking to acquire his services for the second half of the season.
If that does prove to be the case then the smart money would be on a move to Major League Soccer, it was something that the talismanic striker was linked with before prior to picking up the long term injury and due to that all transfer talk will be placed on the back burner.
With that said United themselves will monitor the situation with interest, should their star asset from last season still be a free agent once a return to fitness has been completed then there is every possibility that they could then come in with a short term deal.
So it may not be the last we ever see of Zlatan at Old Trafford but if it is then at least we can say his star shone bright in the time he graced us with his Premier League presence.
