Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a rich man. A very rich man.
We doubt he knows the price of a carton of milk, and we can’t really imagine him trying to convince himself that the tomato sauce in a tin of beans counts towards his five-a-day because he couldn’t afford a proper dinner.
In short, at this stage of his career, the Swedish striker is pretty well set and probably doesn’t really need those massive paychecks that he cashes in every week (not that we blame him for doing it at all).
And Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho doesn’t believe that money is a motivating factor for Ibrahimovic swapping Paris for Manchester, telling The Independent:
“Let’s be honest, he’s very rich. He’s made money all his career, he’s won a lot of things, you only come to the most difficult championship in the world if you feel you can do it.Â
“If you don’t feel you can do it you go to America, China, stay in the French League one more season. So the guy wanted this one more challenge. When I told him that I had won in England, Spain and Italy and he hadn’t, that he’d done Spain, Italy and France, he thought: ‘Ahh, I want to go. I want to win every one.’ So his motivation is high.”
While some have said that, at 35-years-old, the Swedish captain is past it, Mourinho thinks that there’s still plenty left in the tank.
“I always think there’s our age in ID terms but then there’s our real age because for me the real age is not the age on your ID. That’s just a date when you were born,” he said. “The real age, the real ID is your body, your brain, your attitude and this guy is young, his body is amazing.
“The way he grew up playing the sports he did before football, especially martial arts, he was prepared in terms of his muscles and the mental point of view in a different way to the traditional football player, his DNA, his motivation.
“His body is amazing.”
There you have it, United fans. We hope you enjoy Zlatan’s amazing body.
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