Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has recently revealed that he was close to joining Premier League giants Arsenal and Manchester City in the past before signing for the Red Devils this summer.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was one of four summer signings Jose Mourinho made at Old Trafford this summer, and arguably one of the most needed ones. The Manchester United players struggled to find the back of the net for the majority of the 2015/16 season.
However, the arrival of the Swede has changed the Red Devil’ fortunes. The 34-year-old has hit the ground running at his new club by scoring four goals in as many games for them.
The United superstar has been quoted by ESPN recently as saying that he was on the verge of joining Arsenal and Manchester City in the past. The former PSG forward said that he moved to Old Trafford because of the healthy professional relationship he shared with Red Devils’ manager Jose Mourinho.
“I was close two times to moving to the Premier League — once with Arsenal and then Manchester City,” he told reporters. “But it never happened and I don’t need to play in the Premier League.”
Ibrahimovic was a part of Mourinho’s squad at Inter Milan. However, he was sold to Barcelona in 2010 and the two were together at the San Siro for just one season.
“He [Mourinho] is the mastermind, the masterbrain,” the 34-year-old added. “He knows what he needs to do to win. I learned a lot from him at Inter. Who wouldn’t want to have Mourinho as manager?”
In 2000, Ibrahimovic was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal. An unproven commodity then, little did Wenger know about the qualities the striker possessed. As reported by the Telegraph, the Swede was expected to give a trial at Arsenal to prove his worth, but decided against it and joined Dutch giants Ajax instead.
