Manchester United made transfer headlines when they captured maverick superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic for one year on free. Zlatan, who is 34 currently, was a free agent when he left Paris after his four year spell at Paris Saint Germain where he won an astounding 12 trophies. Ibrahimovic was synonymous to the French club’s resurgence into the Elite group after the Middle Eastern takeover which injected a humongous amount of money into the club as President Naser Al- Khelaifi took charge and steered them through the new era. PSG were able to break the domination of Olympique Lyon and established their own in the Ligue 1 as well as the other domestic cups as they virtually did a clean sweep of the trophies for every year since 2012. Ibrahimovic finally got tired of winning in France and opted for his toughest challenge yet by signing a contract with the Red Devils.
Throughout his career, the Swede has played in almost all of Europe’s top leagues with the exception of the one in England. Coming to the country at a time when the competition is more fierce than ever at the twilight of his career is a decision which requires immense courage, for which Ibra has commanded great praise and respect from the critics and experts already. The question however lies elsewhere. There’s no denying the fact that Zlatan has been one of the greatest players of his generation with a career where he had been winning trophies in 4 different countries and scoring unbelievable goals from impossible angles or situations. Despite all that, he has never been in a league which is as competitive, intensive and fast as the Premier League. At his age it is going to be a massive challenge for the striker.
Manchester United have so far made a perfect start in the league and Ibrahimovic has already been in the thick of things with his 3 goals in his 3 games so far. He has also scored the winner in the Community shield game against Leicester City to claim his first title with his new club. Many will point out that with a start like this there won’t be any problems and the former Malmo trainee would be a definite success. Well, Zlatan surely can be a success but it is absolutely impossible to say that he will be doing just fine only after 3 games. The real test would begin in the second half when the striker would start to feel the toll on his body and there is also great pressure on his shoulders to perform week in week out which will test his mettle perhaps for the first time in a league where there are 5 to 6 teams fighting for the title and not just 2!
With 3 goals in 3 games, it has been a great start for both Ibrahimovic and United but it’s a long road to the end and the whole world would be watching with interest how the talismanic Swede fares in his final test of his career. Mourinho thinks he will be a success just like the man himself but till the results are out, it will always be a probability with a 50-50 chance.
