Zlatan Ibrahimovic has urged Manchester United\u00a0to 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
United\u2019s humiliating pie-in-the-face 4-1 defeat to relegation stragglers Watford\u00a0saw the axe descending on Solskjaer with United now sitting eighth in the Premier League and 12 points off leaders Chelsea.<\/p>\n
Ibrahimovic \u2013 known to let his playing do the talking on the pitch \u2013 was clearly galled by United\u2019s penchant for ‘talking too much’ about past glories, adding that the Manchester side will not restore success by feasting on trophies from the past.<\/p>\n
He told the Guardian: \u201cThey 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.’<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when you have too much it becomes like a loop.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to think about the present or you should go to a hospital and clean your head.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ibrahimovic was at Old Trafford for two seasons, and was instrumental in helping them win the League Cup as well as a Europa League.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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’.<\/p>\n
He added:\u00a0\u201cThe quality is overrated in a technical way. But the Premier League has different qualities \u2013 the pace, the rhythm.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can be the best player in the world but if you cannot handle that pace and rhythm [you won’t succeed].<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Spain, France, Italy, the technique is better. That’s why there are so many foreigners in the Premier League. They bring the technical [aspect].\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"