Zlatan Ibrahimovic In Talks With Galaxy
- Updated: May 13, 2016
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be leaving Paris St.-Germain this summer, and according to ESPN sources, the Swedish star could be on his way to the LA Galaxy.
Ibrahimovic played for many clubs in his incredible career. Starting at Swedish side Malmo, Ibrahimovic moved on to Ajax before heading to Italy to play for Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan. Between his stints with Inter Milan and AC Milan, Ibrahimovic played for FC Barcelona and after returning to AC Milan for one season, moved to Paris.
The 34-year-old striker is also linked with a move to the Premier League, with Manchester United as the front-runners to earn his signature among those interested. However, ESPN claims that Ibrahimovic is more likely to come to MLS to join the Galaxy.
The Galaxy has forwards Robbie Keane, Gyasi Zardes and Giovani Dos Santos, who is having a stellar season. Keane is turning 36 years-old, so the Irishman could be retiring soon. Ibrahimovic would provide similar experience to the squad that Keane and Beckham brought to the Galaxy.
Ibrahimovic’s contract runs up with PSG, so the striker would be moving to the Galaxy on a free transfer, but his salary may be a problem. With many players on the Galaxy having expensive contracts, LA may have to sell some of its stars.
Designated Players Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane and Giovani Dos Santos make more than $4million each. With Keane and Gerrard nearing retirement, LA could afford Ibrahimovic in the long-run; however, the Galaxy would still have international stars in Ashley Cole and Nigel De Jong, who will want pay raises if they are to stay with the Galaxy.
De Jong is expected to fill Gerrard’s DP spot when the former Liverpool midfielder leaves LA. With that, the Galaxy would not be able to afford Ibrahimovic as the three DP slots would be filled. The Galaxy may be forced to sell Dos Santos and/or Robbie Keane.
The Galaxy also has the option of loaning Ibrahimovic to Europe until Keane retires or leaves LA before the current PSG captain makes his debut for the five-time MLS champions. Galaxy President Chris Klein has a lot of options to make this deal happen, and surely will do all in its power to get the marketable goalscorer to Southern California.
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