Zlatan Ibrahimovic — one of the best strikers in Europe over the past 10 years — is being linked to a move to Major League Soccer.
Sky Italia reported on Wednesday that Ibrahimovic will announce he is leaving PSG at the end of the season. PSG ends its season on May 21 in the French Cup Final. The report says that if the Swedish striker were to leave, his “most likely destination” would be 90 percent Los Angeles Galaxy and 10 percent Manchester United.
The problem with a move to Los Angeles, however, is that the Galaxy already have their three designated player spots filled by Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard and Giovani dos Santos. The Galaxy have no plans to move any of them, president Chris Klein told the Los Angeles Times.
(UPDATE: According to ESPN, there have been negotiations between the two parties that have been characterized as “delicate”. As for the DP issue, the ESPN report says Keane is considering retiring after the current season. One option presented to the Galaxy would be to loan Ibrahimovic to a European team until January before bringing the Swedish star into the fold for the 2017 campaign.)
Ibrahimovic, 34, has scored an incredible 49 goals with 16 assists for PSG in all competitions this season. In league play, he has 36 goals and 13 assists in just 28 games. He will play with Sweden in the Euros this summer.
The latest rumors could also be a bargaining ploy by Ibrahimovic’s representatives, which wouldn’t be the first time foreign agents used MLS for leverage in search of bigger deals overseas.
What do you think of the reports? Do you think there’s a chance of Ibrahimovic joining the Galaxy? What MLS teams would make the most sense?
Share your thoughts below.
Smoke meet fire. This will be Beckham 2.0, either Keane retires or Gerrard goes home, would prefer the later but I’d guess Keane wouldn’t want to have his share of the spotlight reduced to a match head.
Keane certainly is a better player at this stage in their careers, but would you really need Zlatan, Keane, Gio, Gyasi, and Lletget in your forward stable. I guess you could get rid of Alan Gordon as your target man, lol.
4123/433
Lletget, zlatan, zardes
Keane, Gio
“The Tackle”
Back four
Lletget and keane could switch. But perhaps that’d merely end up being a 4-1-0-5…. haha
Prediction: During the summer transfer window LA Galaxy sign Ibra & Gooch in order to upgrade their attack and add depth to their defense. At their first practice Gooch breaks Ibra’s nose for being a D-Bag. Galaxy implode and don’t make the playoffs.
I’m sure that Gooch, Van Damme partnership would be great, considering there history as well.
Jean-Claude won right? 🙂
This guy is a Barry Bonds level narcissist. Feel free to youtube the video of him Tae Kwon Do kicking his AC Milan teammate in the back during training. He probably wouldn’t even talk to 90% of the Galaxy squad.
They should prank him by acting like he’s invisible during the entire first practice. Don’t introduce him, don’t speak to him at all, don’t pass to him, don’t acknowledge when he yells for not passing, etc.
Perhaps a end of practice gang tackle pile-on while laughing to end the joke and show him “we love ya but you’re not bigger than the team”
I wonder how long this has been on the burner for the Galaxy. No one seems surprised and no one has said a peep, and more importantly, no one has denied. So I’m thinking Zlatan’s agents have been in contact with the MLS (and the Galaxy) for a lot longer time than the announcement on the twittersphere. and by the press. This makes sense that both AC and Inter have expressed wished for Zlatan’s services and most likely Zlatan’s agent told them the current direction talks were going and to where, and those teams then spilled it to the Italian press, who broke the story.
But a lot can happen before this deal is done. If Van Gaal leaves MU or Mourinho gets a position with a team Zlatan fancies. direction could change.
While the Galaxy would most likely need MLS permission to table an offer, it seems likely that the Galaxy already are getting thier ducks in a row and comments from Gerrard as to his return to Liverpool may mean that the Galaxy may have had a sitdown with him and his agent.
And finally, there is still a mechanism that has been previously talked about, but bot enacted that very weel may be the solution to the Galaxy conundrum of no DP slots.
Why doesn’t the MLS allow a team to but another teams DP slot. They buy and trade everything else. I am sure that there are several teams who would love to sell a DP slot for, lets say, a million Garber Bucks.
You heard it here first
The Zatlan will not agree to sign with LAG then be loaned out like some Ligue 2 reject…
As much as I’ve despised the guy since the Gooch incident, I have to admit that he is a pretty special talent and would definitely put butts in seats wherever he goes. Keane has been pure gold at LA, but since his contract is ending this season, it could be cool to see Zlatan with LAG.
This “league” is such a joke.
Why even bother to have roster rules? They’re thrown out the window whenever LA wants to do something, and have been repeatedly.
This league is evolving and sometimes rules need to be changed so the whole of the league get’s better. Remember MLS is one company, so helping Zlatan come to MLS regardless of where would benefit the company. If all the teams had committed owners willing to spend, then MLS wouldn’t have to change the rules often.
You’re correct about one thing: MLS is one company, and that company cares about revenues first and foremost. But what that means to the suits is that a competition that’s fair only matters to the extent that if things seem set-up structurally in an unfair fashion, people don’t buy tickets/buy merchandise/watch and so the league suffers monetarily. OTOH, if they think that throwing out fairness completely will make them more money than they lose, they’ll happily do it. And *THAT* is why this league is a joke.
Instead of complaining about the Galaxy all MLS fans should thank them. They make the league get better. Every time a rule is changed or created to allow the Galaxy to do something, that new rule goes into effect for all teams. So then other teams can do the same.
The real issue is jealousy because the Galaxy attract the biggest stars, but you can’t do anything about that. I’m sure that most people think of Paris when thinking of visiting France; Rome when visiting Italy, etc. Some cities are simply more appealing. There are higher ranked and more prestigious schools than UCLA out there but every year UCLA gets the most applicants than any other college/university in the country. It’s L.A. baby.
But in addition to its overall financial health, a professional sports league is supposed to value free and fair competition. It is beyond dispute that some rule changes help some teams more than others. It is not helpful to say “the new rules are there for all of the clubs to use” when most of those clubs don’t have a steady stream of foreign players knocking on their doors. After twenty years, the single-entity structure, with its Rube Goldberg machine of roster rules, has got to go, and just get replaced with a flexible salary cap.
I agree with getting rid of the single-entity but that’s not likely to happen.
Nice lowkey brag attempt lol…
Public schools, by nature, get more applicants…. It’s a PUBLIC school. You can have your quantity, over here at SC we’ll take quality…..
You’re missing the point so entirely that I suspect you’re doing so intentionally.
Of course some cities are more attractive than others. That’s not the point. The point is that setting up rules which supposedly apply to all teams, and then repeatedly changing the rules when one specific team (LA) wants to do something that’s not allowed in the rules, destroys the even-handedness of those rules. It makes a mockery of a sports league; sports leagues are supposed to apply their rules fairly and evenly across the board, and that’s not what happens in MLS. Which isn’t a suprise, of course, since MLS is not a sports league: it’s a single company that stages soccer exhibitions that are structured/presented to the public in the format of a league. To the extent that competitive fairness is the most profitable thing to do for the single company, they’ll follow it; but if they think it makes more sense to have LA be the Harlem Globetrotters, and every single other team in the league be the Washington Generals, they’ll happily set up/apply the rules that way that if it means more money. Which, step-by-step, is the direction they’ve been going for a while now.
He’s going to Milan, stoked to see him back at AC and dethrown Juve
The only way this works is if the Galaxy can talk Irba into taking a non-DP contract for a half season, then the Galaxy will make it up to him starting the ’17 season.
Keane and Gerrard are on the last year of their contract. De Jong is supposedly taking one of their DP spots next season. Which leaves one DP spot remaining. There are talks that Keane is going to retire from international soccer after the Euros. Also that his plan is to play in Ireland/Dublin before retiring from club soccer.
Now, if this all happens, the Galaxy still have to find a way to add Jonathan dos Santos as well next season 🙂
Some IF’s:
IF…Van Gaal is sacked by Manchester United.
IF… Mourinho is appointed at Manchester United.
IF… Ibrahimovic isn’t ready to “retire” yet.
I could see Ibra signing a two year deal with Manchester United.
To the best of my knowledge, they had a positive working relationship and general like for one another. Ibra has talked many times about wanting to try England and this would move would make a lot of sense to both parties.
Regarding Los Angeles, boot Gerrard. Simple and easy. He hasn’t been worth DP money, is routinely talking about missing/wanting to return “home”, and of the three DP’s is the most replaceable.
good point, forgot about the link with mourinho; i could definitely see that swaying him towards man u.
Perhaps he signs with Man U then goes on loan to galaxy until the fall. Then join back up with Man U still in shape. That way he gets a little sliver of MLS, doesn’t have to take up a DP slot ( I think…) and can still play in the EPL
I don’t see why he would want to go to Manchester United?.. an England move makes sense but to a UCL contender. Tottenham, Leicester City or Arsenal or possibly Liverpool don’t really sound like options – I can see Manchester City as a possible good fit. but all of this proves the point that a nice move to LA sounds fun and easy
I don’t see why he would want to go to Manchester United?..
I think you meant you “I don’t agree” because not seeing why would be to admit you didn’t read any of my post that was specific to the reason why he could be tempted.
Additionally, if his intent is purely Champions League the consideration (and reported negotiations) with MLS would make zero sense.
“whether they will be able to fit all those egos in the same locker room”
Sure they can:
Gio polishes Zlatan’s shoes, Gerrard washes his cars and Keane cleans his house.
Can’t wait to see Zlatan trying his Kung Fu antics on “Da Boy” LOL
+1
Galaxy may figure out a way to fit him with some new flavor of Garberbucks, but the bigger issue is whether they will be able to fit all those egos in the same locker room. Would LA officially become the least likable team in MLS history?
It would fit the “Chelsea of MLS” narrative they have already
Maybe he would accept a non-DP contra… HAHAHAHAHAHA! Nevermind.
Maybe he will go to Los Angeles FC inste… HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Who has his “discovery” rights?
Philadelphia.
Keane for discovery rights switch?
There are plenty of candidates but this has to be the dumbest rule in MLS. Why should Philly get anything for this? Pretty much every person who’s watched soccer “discovered” that Zlatan was pretty good long before Philly ever even joined MLS.
You get no argument from me. It does make some sense from the single entity perspective that you don’t want two teams competing against each other, thus driving up the price, but the fact that money has to be exchanged is ridiculous, especially if Philly has no plans to pony up the cash for him.
They really should have a rule to avoid shakedowns. The Lleget story is the best. He came in the league after trialing with the Galaxy while he was still at Westham and while the Galaxy were on a European tour. But when the CBA was ,the MLS reset all the allocation lists and every team had to resubmit. As the Galaxy and a lot of the front office staff were in Europe, another MLS team snaked the name, and a result the Galaxy, who waited to avaoid paying Westham a tranfer fee of 500K had to pay out 50K to get his name from another MLS team.
But then again, how else will the Union, or the Revolution or Columbus ever get a name player from Europe or SA unless they were allotted one.
At least they get some compensation. As for teams who actually get the player? For a team like the Galaxy where Zlatan will command a very, very,very large salary that only a few teams could really afford, the 50K they would pay the Union is pretty much chickenfeed.
Ibra to MLS would be fantastic – don’t care where he plays! Picture Drogba battling Ibra for a corner late in game with result on the line. That would fill seats!
Picture Drogba battling Ibra for a corner late in game with result on the line. That would fill seats!
This is contingent on Drogba remaining in MLS – even through the summer – which I don’t see purely based on his own comments.
Disagree. Can we be any more of a retirement league? F Zlatan. Go to China or Qatar. MLS needs to at least TRY and sign a top soccer player in their prime with beaucoup bucks. Even if it’s a big rejection, so what, keep trying. At what point do we try to break out of being a farewell tour league and instead prioritize being a top competitive one, which means we focus on signing two or three top up and coming or middle tier established but still in their prime talents, vs one Ibra for short term marketing purposes. Granted Ibra is still a player for another year or so, but I guess there’s no end in sight to MLS valueing entertainment over substance.
The guy just scored 49 goals! this season for PSG. It would be awesome for MLS to land him next year. The retirement league talk does not apply to the Zlatan. As long as MLS only signs him for 2 years…
LAG could probably reduce one of their 3 DP’s salary in order to compensate the arrival of Zlatan. That’s how they were able to bring in Dos Santos last year.
That was with Omar’s relatively low 1.4 million dollar dp contract. None of their current dps is under 4 million so I don’t think they could pull together that kind of allocation money. Zlatan would just rest until next season when Keane or Gerrard are gone.
or they can tell Gerrard to retire..
I like this plan.
Aren’t both Keane and Gerrard’s contracts up after this year? Maybe both are gone and two slots are open.
Not that I want Keane gone…
If he’s interested in coming to MLS, Columbus should do whatever it takes to sign him (assuming he’s willing to live in a small market)
Then…no.
Sorry he’s going to go to LA because its LA not for the Galaxy.
The Zlatan does not due Columbus or the Midwest for that matter.
I’m sure the MLS league office is already preparing their announcement that all teams will be allowed a 4th designated player spot, effective immediately. However, the announcement will have nothing to do with Zlatan going to the LA Galaxy….(sarcasm)
Five years ago I would have agreed with your prediction.
Now I bet LA will just find a way to change things around with the current rules… somehow.
NYCFC sure could use Zlatan.
Duh!!! Every team in THE WORLD could use Zlatan.
“My last game tomorrow at Parc des Princes. I came like a king, left like a legend” – this guy is amazing. Would be entertaining to have him in MLS and he can still play a bit too, to say the least.
yes. there’s always a question of how seriously big signings will take mls, but i feel like zlatan’s ego would keep him from just cruising.
Not to mention his ego would sell tickets. Just for the sheer drama I want him in MLS