The President of Napoli has recently revealed his dream of signing Manchester United forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Speaking in an interview with Walter Veltroni, Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis was asked who his ‘dream signing’ would be, to which the 67-year-old implied that it was Manchester United forward and former Swedish Captain, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
“My dream signing? I always try to go forward with what I have. One that I would like, though, is that giant who is at Manchester United now,” he said. “I had him as a dinner guest in Los Angeles and he’s incredibly nice, even though he always seems angry. You know the one I’m talking about, right?”
Ibrahimovic signed for United on a one-year-deal in the summer with an option to extend it further. The Swede has taken to life in the English game brilliantly and after seeing the kind of impact he has had at the club this season, talks over a contract extension are currently ongoing.
Last year it was revealed that the 35-year-old, who has already scored 20 goals in all competitions this term, wanted to end his career at Napoli. When his agent, Mino Raiola was asked about whether he was approached by the Ciucciarelli, he remained coy on the matter.
“Was Ibra approached by Napoli this summer? The presidents who talk to me, they know that what is said remains between us. We chose United recently, it was our goal, Ibra was also the club’s aim, and we’re now where we needed to be,” He said.
He went on to say: “All I can say is at Ciro Ferrara’s farewell game at the San Paolo, Zlatan called me and told me: ‘Mino, I want to end my career in Naples.’ That’s because the mentality of the Neapolitans is the one closest to his, and if the league remained as it was back then, he might have done just that.”
Ibrahimovic spent 7 trophy-laden seasons in the Serie A, spread across spells with AC Milan, Juventus and Internazionale. However unlikely it may seem, getting Ibrahimovic on a bosman would be a steal, and doing it at the expense of their rivals’ ire would certainly be considered priceless.