Of all the big names who have gone through Manchester United since the departure of Alex Ferguson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was more successful than most.
Twenty-eight goals in his only full season in England was an admirable figure for a 35-year-old. He helped Manchester United to the League Cup and Europa League titles – still the latest trophies the club has won.
Over the past week, however, there are quotes from Zlatan’s forthcoming book Adrenaline has emerged that does not paint the best picture of his time at United – including a bizarre story about a bottle of fruit juice.
Zlatan claims that United once charged him £ 1 for a fruit juice
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has always seen himself as a bigger than life player, so his decision to sign for a club as big as Manchester United in 2016 would always bring fireworks.
Despite his age, he impressed during his only full season there, and he has talked a lot about the club since, saying in an interview with the Guardian last week that he had a “great experience” in England.
However, the latest quotes from Zlatan’s autobiography paint a very different picture of his time at the club. He tears in the club’s “little” mentality in the new book Adrenaline – and the choice of tales from Manchester is a bizarre story about a mini-bar fruit juice.
One day I was in the hotel with the team before a match. I got thirsty so I opened the minibar and got a fruit juice.
We played and then went home. Some time passed. My payslip arrives […] I realized they had taken a pound off my monthly salary.
I called the team leader: ‘Excuse me, why have they taken a pound off my salary.’ The team leader looked and told me, ‘It was the fruit juice from the minibar.’ “Are you taking too much fun, seriously?” ‘No I’m not. Here, if you order something, you have to pay for it. ‘
Can you believe it? One pound? It is the details that make a difference and earn the players respect.
Zlatan was one of two big names who came to Manchester United in the summer of 2016, along with French midfielder Paul Pogba. Pogba’s arrival was announced with great fanfare with a flashy video starring British rapper Stormzy, but Ibrahimovic has revealed in Adrenaline that he ruined United’s plans to announce him in a similar way.
Zlatan posted a picture of the Manchester United emblem on his Instagram account before he was officially announced. He says in Adrenaline that the post caused a frosty reception at the club on his arrival and that it allegedly cost United up to £ 5 million in the stock market.
I was so tired of the negotiations that I did not think Manchester was listed on the stock exchange. All hell broke loose. Mino [Raiola] would kill me.
I lost my patience, that’s all. It felt like I was standing in quicksand trying to do something to take myself forward, without thinking about the consequences.
They had planned a surprise campaign and a presentation with special effects à la Hollywood. And I ruined everything with an update on social media.
I get there and everyone hates me: Ibra the arrogant, the pretentious, the bully, the one who never scores [against] English teams, the old, thirty-five-year-olds. Well. That’s how I want it. Had me. I like that.
The “me against them” attitude is pretty standard fare for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but it’s surprising to hear that his time at Manchester United started in such a way.
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