The Swedish striker revealed that he was ready to play for free at Old Trafford
Ibrahimovic has admitted that he was willing to play for free at Old Trafford after he returned from an injury.
Zlatan suffered from a a critical ligament injury during his first season at the club
Zlatan was given a new contract for the club after returning ahead of schedule, but he failed to perform pre-injury which resulted in the player was released and was allowed to join LA Galaxy.
In talks with BBC, Zlatan revealed thathe wanted to play for United with nothing in return.
He said, “The situation was not about having a contract and earning money – it was the opposite. I said, ‘I don’t want a salary, you keep it’,”
“The mind can be ready but the knee was not ready. When I was ready, I said to myself ‘I am not there’. They had a Zlatan before. After, I was not ready to be that Zlatan”
“I was selected in many of the games but I told the coach: ‘Listen, I am not ready. I don’t want to disappoint you. The respect I have for my team-mates and the coach. Select someone else who can do the job better.’ I stood up and did it, even if I am Zlatan.”
Zlatan made his own inimitable impact in Los Angeles by scoring 2 goals in his debut.
He followed that up with the winner in injury time, heading home to give his side a 4-3 win over LA Football Club.When asked, he said that he knew that his 1st goal was a goal as soon as he kicked it.
“I knew immediately, this is going in. You know when you get a good hit. When it went in, the whole stadium was crazy,” he added.
“I was feeling I was alive again after a long time doing this recovery. I had been injured but I was there, doing what I love. I am doing it in my way, that I have been doing all my career. I could not describe the moment. All that eight months for that 20 minutes was worth it.”
Zlatan did not represent his country’s squad at the World Cup despite repeated hints that he would end his international retirement if asked.
