Zlatan Ibrahimovic ’nearly made Man Utd players cry’ with AC Milan star set for reunion

Zlatan Ibrahimovic statue set on fire in Malmo

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be back at Manchester United. The club cut him loose because they felt he was past his best but, since then, the Sweden international has proven to be AC Milan’s saviour. And he’ll now go up against his old side after they were drawn together in the Europa League round of 16.

Back in the summer of 2016, Jose Mourinho replaced Louis van Gaal as United manager.

And, upon taking the keys to Old Trafford, the Portuguese picked up the phone to sign Ibrahimovic on a free transfer.

After succeeding in France, Spain and Italy, the Sweden international accepted the call and touched down at the Theatre of Dreams.

Unfortunately for United, Ibrahimovic was only at the club for 18 months.

But he did enough to become a firm fan favourite, scoring 29 goals and propelling them to Carabao Cup and Europa League glory.

In the end, United cut the 39-year-old loose after he sustained a serious knee injury – wrongly believing he was past his prime and unable to recover.

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But his legacy lives on and, speaking back in August, United goalkeeper Lee Grant revealed the stories he was told about the colourful character during his time in England.

“He [Zlatan] wasn’t here as a player but he was in LA, he came and visited us,” he told the club’s official website.

“All I was hearing in that first month or so, while I was acclimatising, were stories about Zlatan.

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“His period at the club had just come to an end but the lads would talk about him constantly.

“’Do you remember when Zlatan did this?’ ‘Do you remember him getting on to such and such in training and he nearly made him cry?’ ‘Do you remember that thing he does, the kung-fu kick over his head?’ ‘Do you remember Zlatan scored that goal? Do you remember when he nutmegged that guy and absolutely took the p***?

“I thought: ‘Oh my god, who is this Zlatan character but that was what it was like all the time.

“I got to meet him in LA but it was literally for five or 10 minutes, just to say hello and ask how he was enjoying America and all the rest of it.

“For me, just to see how the lads interacted with him. Huge stars, well huge stars to me, looking up to the King! It was quite an eye-opener. But he seemed a really nice guy.

“I’m actually disappointed I didn’t get the chance to play with him myself. I played against him, of course.”

Grant also joked he had Ibrahimovic ‘on toast’ after keeping him out in a 1-1 draw with Stoke City in October 2016.

“I had him on toast,” he said.

“He’s in here, in my pocket somewhere.

“I had him on toast that day. Of course, I wouldn’t say that to his face.

“If I was training against him, I would imagine he would have me on toast more than I had him on toast but that was a good day for me.

“I wanted to show the Manchester United fans, and everyone in that stadium, not consciously perhaps, but I wanted the fans to remember Lee Grant after this game.

“Subconsciously, I really wanted to do well and make some impression. I made 10 saves and had a really good game.”

In March 2019, Ibrahimovic described his time with United as ‘fantastic’.

“I think I had a fantastic time,” he said.

“I had the chance to go to Manchester United and if I was going to the Premier League, the only club I would go to is Manchester United so that when I do my thing, not only will England see it, the whole world will see it.

“And I came when I was 35 years old. I said I would take the challenge and I said it would not be easy but I will go and I will show who I am.

“And things went like they went.”

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