Why Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the best fit for LA Galaxy
By Rohit Menon
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been linked with a move to LA Galaxy in the past week. Would the aging Swede be a good fit for the MLS club?
According to several reports doing the rounds, including one from the reputable BBC Sport, the LA Galaxy is planning to make a swoop for Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The giant Swede is in the final few months of his contract and hasn’t yet taken up the option to extend it, leaving the MLS club with a fair chance of signing him up in July.
The deal to bring Zlatan to the club would make him the highest-paid player in the MLS; he would earn more than Orlando City SC’s Kaka, who earns a lofty salary of $7.167m. His arrival at the club would also galvanize the global appeal of the league as a whole following the departures of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard at the end of the 2016 season.
Aging Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still scoring goals
Unlike most players who tend to drop off a bit physically when they age, Ibrahimovic has shown no signs of slowing down just yet. The striker has scored 26 times in 40 appearances for Manchester United at the ripe age of 35, after coming off a personal best season with PSG in 2016, which saw him net 50 goals in 51 games.
His arrival at Old Trafford has sparked a change of fortune for the club, who are slowly starting to get back to their best after a few years of struggle. Manager Jose Mourinho will want to keep the player to help transition his squad into a new and successful era, although he did hint that it was up to the former Swedish international to extend his contract.
A move for Zlatan would be an ambitious, albeit difficult, one for LA Galaxy. If it works out, he would also be a superior replacement for recently departed striker Robbie Keane, who scored over 100 goals for the club and won three MLS Cups in six campaigns.
Zlatan’s arrival could have a ‘Beckham effect’
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not only a premier striker; he’s also a larger than life character. The Swede is one of the most outspoken players in the game and has never shied away from giving players or referees a piece of his mind or divulging his thoughts to the media at any given point.
Zlatan spoke to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet about coming to the MLS back in October:
"“It’s a huge option for me. For the football and everything else. I can see myself conquering the US as I have with Europe. Lots of people stay in one place throughout their career, but I’ve traveled around like Napoleon, and conquered every new country where I’ve [stepped] foot. So perhaps I should do what Napoleon didn’t and cross the Atlantic and conquer the states as well.”"
His profile makes him the perfect signing for LA Galaxy, who consider themselves to be a ‘super club’ in the MLS. They always try to sign the best players in the world and essentially created the Designated Player ruling when they convinced David Beckham to continue his career in Los Angeles in 2007.
If Zlatan were to move to the United States, then it would be a win-win situation for both the player and his club. LA Galaxy would get a striker DP signing who could more or less guarantee them a title win, and Ibra would make plenty of money whilst expanding his brand in an evergrowing market.
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Whether it takes place soon seems unlikely at the moment, but the chances of it happening are greater than ever before. Maybe not this year, but next year is a distinct possibility.