After two seasons in the United States, Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic finds AC Milan, 38. The striker announced on Friday, December 27, his return to the Lombard club, where he played between 2010 and 2012.
Free of any contract since his departure from the Los Angeles Galaxy in mid-November, he signed up for six months in transalpine training, with an optional additional year. "I'm going back to the city I love", rejoiced Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
This signature had been awaited for several weeks, stirred up by the Swede himself, never short of ideas to create excitement around his name. "See you soon in Italy"he said to the magazine GQ Italia early December, promising to "Find the stimuli necessary to surprise you again".
11e from Serie A
AC Milan, which currently has one of the worst attacks in the championship, stagnates at the 11e place and stay on a stinging defeat (5-0) against Atalanta Bergamo. The Lombard club almost ditched the top 4 in the championship, qualifying for the Champions League, a competition it has not contested since the 2013-2014 season. AC Milan are currently 14 points behind fourth-placed AS Roma.
On paper, the marriage seems perfect between the team in search of its past glory and the revenge player, who had left Europe on a mixed note. Their previous union was a success, with a title of champion in 2011 – the last of the Milanese – and the trophy for Serie A top scorer for the Swede in 2012 (28 goals).
After four prolific seasons at Paris-Saint-Germain between 2012 and 2016, Ibrahimovic showed signs of decline at Manchester United, where his departure was precipitated by several injuries, including a rupture of the cruciate ligaments of a knee in 2017, and statistics at half mast (1 goal in seven games during the 2017-2018 season).
Exit door
But his two seasons at the Los Angeles Galaxy reassured him about his form and his ability to be decisive. "Lions don't recover like humans", he explained, with his famous sense of distribution.
With 54 goals and 17 assists, the former Inter and Barça assumed his status as a Major League Soccer superstar, although he did not win a title with the California franchise. In the United States, he stacked spectacular goals and released a second autobiography, soberly titled Football is me.
At the age when most players are on the decline, the Malmö native is trying to stretch an already very rich story (Ajax Amsterdam, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, PSG, Manchester United) where he has almost everything won – except the Champions League -, to offer a way out to match his talent.
Like Zlatan Ibrahimovic before him, Thierry Henry and David Beckham returned to Europe, at the end of their careers, after an exile across the Atlantic, but without regaining their luster of yesteryear. Succeeding where these stars have failed is a challenge to the size of the Swede.
