Zlatan Ibrahimovic has urged Manchester United to stop living in the past, harping on the glories of yesteryears, and instead ‘focus on the present’ in a brutal assessment of his former club. Not known for one to pull his punches, the outspoken Swede went on an all-out assault on United, in the wake of the dismissal of their Norwegian manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Sunday.
United’s humiliating pie-in-the-face 4-1 defeat to relegation stragglers Watford saw the axe descending on Solskjaer with United now sitting eighth in the Premier League and 12 points off leaders Chelsea.
Ibrahimovic – known to let his playing do the talking on the pitch – was clearly galled by United’s penchant for ‘talking too much’ about past glories, adding that the Manchester side will not restore success by feasting on trophies from the past.
He told the Guardian: “They talk too much about the past. When I went there I said: ‘I’m here to focus on the present and to make my own story.’
“But when you have too much it becomes like a loop.
“You have to think about the present or you should go to a hospital and clean your head.”
Ibrahimovic was at Old Trafford for two seasons, and was instrumental in helping them win the League Cup as well as a Europa League.
For the record, United have not had any trophy success in four years and it has been eight years since they last enjoyed the honors with a league title, and all this barrenness despite huge investments in the current playing squad.
The Sweden international scored 17 goals in his first Premier League season but injuries impacted his second campaign and he was limited to only a few appearances on the pitch.
While Ibrahimovic enjoyed his time in England, he did come away with the belief that much of the talk around technique on the shores was to be ‘overrated’.
He added: “The quality is overrated in a technical way. But the Premier League has different qualities – the pace, the rhythm.
“You can be the best player in the world but if you cannot handle that pace and rhythm [you won’t succeed].
“In Spain, France, Italy, the technique is better. That’s why there are so many foreigners in the Premier League. They bring the technical [aspect].”
Credit: Football Tribe Malaysia
