As far as transfer stories go, this one comes straight from the horse’s mouth. On October 29th, Zlatan Ibrahimovic posted a cryptic video message on his social media channels – “Hola España. Guess what… I’m coming back.”
Of course, the natural assumption is that Zlatan is hinting at a return to La Liga football following his one-year stint with Catalan giants Barcelona in the 2009/10 season. The 39-year-old has just finished an 18-month spell with Major League Soccer club La Galaxy where he scored 53 goals in 58 games, taking his career tally to 474 goals in 788 appearances. Ever the sensationalist, the Swede would surely love to hit the magic 500-mark in Spain, the scene of arguably one of his greatest failures as a player. Although his goal record during his time with Barcelona was half-decent (21 goals in 45 games), he failed to truly make his mark on one of the greatest teams in a generation and functioned merely as a member of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta’s supporting cast under Pep Guardiola’s supervision.
If he was to return to Spain then, where would he go? It is unlikely that any of Barcelona, Real Madrid or Athletico Madrid would have a player whose physical attributes have declined substantially and who has not played in Europe for almost two years. At this moment in time, all is quiet from Zlatan’s camp – we will have to wait and see.
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