The future of Zlatan Ibrahimovic beyond the end of the season is up in the air, but the only certainty is that he will remain in the world of football.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, there are more uncertainties than certainties regarding the 40-year-old but the comments from the last week have opened up a new idea. The Swede remarked that he ‘won’t give up until I win with Milan’ and then Paolo Maldini added: “Maybe we can win this year, and it doesn’t mean that Ibra won’t have a future with us anyway.”
The premise of that is clear: Zlatan could continue with the Rossoneri even once he has stopped playing. It may be that the player and the club have already begun to discuss the issue, or that they intend to discuss it in the spring when a new contract might also be talked about, depending on his physical condition.
Ibra admitted in a December interview that he does not have the same confidence as before: “The future worries me a little. With the age of 40, a bit of anxiety came. If I will be a coach? I do not know, it’s so stressful. I will do something capable of giving me adrenaline. But as long as I hold up, I play as a centre-forward. I want to play for the Scudetto until the last day. And go to the World Cup in Qatar.”
Further physical troubles arrived after that, so now we begin to think about what kind of a role Ibrahimovic could have if he did stay. It could be a high-ranking position, like Javier Zanetti at Inter, or he could join Franco Baresi as a Rossoneri ambassador.
There is also another role in which Zlatan would certainly know how to move properly: that of club manager, that is the glue between the club and the dressing room, a position that Abbiati had held in his time.
That is a position that would also allow him to continue with his mentoring role. What cannot be excluded either is that the Swede goes down the path of an executive role, like Paolo Maldini did. Fans often remember Maldini’s blitz in Ibiza to personally convince Hernandez to accept Milan, and that might attract Ibra to try go down that path.
His presence,his attitude and professionalism would be a huge asset for the Rossoneri in any capacity!!
If he decides to stop playing we still need to keep him in the club and close to the team – his presence is invaluable.
Yes, club manager it is?
Ibra will certainly attract talents to Milan