We could be just hours or days away from the official announcement: Zlatan Ibrahimovic is returning for a second season with the LA Galaxy.
The veteran Swedish striker posted a teaser video across his social media pages with the caption “MLZ Im (sic) not done with you yet,” in which MLZ surely stands for Major League Zlatan. The video features clips from various ESPN shows as pundits discussed Ibrahimovic’s future earlier this offseason, when it appeared more likely that he’d be leaving.
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Since October there have been strong rumors linking him to a return at AC Milan. However, Milan sporting director Leonardo said that a deal fell through and reports out of Sweden state that his family is enjoying life in Southern California and didn’t want to trade that right now for Italy. The LA Times reported last week that Ibrahimovic and the LA Galaxy were renegotiating his contract, one that would likely make him a Designated Player, in order to bring him back in 2018.
Of course, if Ibrahimovic became a Designated Player, one of Giovani and Jonathan Dos Santos or Romain Alessandrini would have to either leave or sign a new, lower contract. That is still up in the air, though signing Ibrahimovic as a DP would necessitate a move in one form or another.
It will be fascinating to see whether Ibrahimovic can follow up on his incredible 22-goal, 10-assist campaign. Can he continue to score timely and important goals as a 38-year-old?
