Football Sport

Mourinho backs Ibrahimovic to star for new-look Manchester United

Written by Ben Blaschke

New Manchester United manager José Mourinho says the club’s first big-name signing of the summer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, will make a huge impact in the EPL despite the fact that he is 34 years of age.

Speaking to the media during United’s current tour of China, Mourinho is adamant that star Swede’s age will be no impediment as he looks to take the Red Devils back to the top of English football.

“I always think there’s our age in ID terms, but then there’s our real age,” Mourinho said. “For me, the real age is not the age on your ID. That’s just a date when you were born.

“The real age – the real ID – is your body, your brain, your attitude. And this guy is young, his body is amazing. The way he grew up playing the sports he did before football – especially martial arts – he was prepared in terms of his muscles and the mental point of view in a different way to the traditional football player, his DNA, his motivation.

“Let’s be honest, he’s very rich. He’s made money all his career, he’s won a lot of things. You only come to the most difficult championship in the world if you feel you can do it. If you don’t feel you can do it, you go to America, China or stay in the French League one more season.

“So the guy wanted this one more challenge. When I told him that I had won in England, Spain and Italy and he hadn’t – that he’d done Spain, Italy and France – he thought ‘I want to go. I want to win every one’.”

Mourinho said that motivation remains the key to Ibrahimovic’s success in what looms as by far the most intriguing piece of the Manchester United puzzle.

“His motivation is high and his body is amazing,” the manager continued. “On Sunday he is going to start a specific programme we have prepared before he joins our group on the Thursday, so he has five days just for him. So I expect he is going to be very good for us.”