Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the King God of one liners.
Ibrahimovic, 34, is already becoming a cult figure at Manchester United before he’s even kicked a ball for the Red Devils.
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The Swedish striker has signed a one-year contract to play for Jose Mourinho’s side during the 2016-17 season and he is bringing his well documented self-confidence with him to Old Trafford.
Clearly.
Manchester United legend Eric Cantona was from the same mold as Zlatan, with the talismanic French striker speaking his mind and having plenty of controversial moments on and off the pitch.
Cantona’s arrival at United in a small money move from Leeds United was also the catalyst for an era of dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson as he was deemed the final piece of Fergie’s jigsaw with his swaggering panache and x-factor on the ball. Again, does he sound like someone else?
To this day Cantona’s name is still sung by United’s fans and he is referred to as “King Eric” by their supporters.
However, Cantona recently told the media that he was happy to see Zlatan arrive at United and he could become the Prince.
Quoted by Swedish paper Aftonbladet, Ibrahimovic had the following to say about those comments from the eccentric Frenchman.
If Zlatan has half the impact that Cantona did, he will go down in folklore as another eccentric showman who delivered the goods when United needed it most.
Let’s see if Zlatan can knock Cantona off his perch at United. With 392 goals in 677 total club appearances, Zlatan has played for the world’s biggest clubs and prospered.
Now he has to drag United back to the elite of England and Europe.
If he does, he could be mentioned somewhere close to Cantona in United folklore but can anybody really overtake King Eric in the hearts of United’s fans?