Zlatan Ibrahimovic is currently trying to lead AC Milan to a first Scudetto in 11 years but it could have been a very different story entirely.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis revealed that Ibrahimovic was very close to Napoli, but the-then manager Gennaro Gattuso said no to the transfer. De Laurentiis spoke in an interview with DAZN and offered some background, with SempreMilan.it relaying his words.
“We had already signed everything with Ibrahimovic, the agreement was there. Then Ancelotti was sacked and Gattuso arrived in his place. He called me and told me we didn’t need Zlatan. I trusted him,” he said.
Obviously Ibrahimovic ended up rejoining Milan in the winter window of the 2019-20 season and sparked a continuous rise that continues today, with Stefano Pioli’s men fighting for the Scudetto with four games to go, also and above all thanks to the Zlatan factor.
Ibra has battled numerous physical problems this season which have limited the amount he has been able to play, but as his assist for Sandro Tonali in the 92nd minute of the dramatic win over Lazio showed, he can still be decisive.
