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Starting his new adventure at Manchester United with a bang, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been struggling to find the back of the net recently.

Squandering good chances, ones he would normally put past the keeper with ease, the Swedish striker has started to receive criticism from the Old Trafford faithful.

However, wherever he has gone (except maybe Barcelona), teammates have backed Zlatan, especially for what he brought off the pitch, even if things on it weren’t going so well.

The latest of these happens to be Italian midfield prodigy Marco Verratti, who spent four seasons with Ibrahimovic at Paris Saint-Germain, where he got to know him very well.

Speaking to Le Figaro, he said: “His departure was important, and not just for me. Ibra wasn’t just a formidable player, he also made others around him better. He’s very difficult to replace, not just on the pitch.

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“Everything around it: the dressing room, training, preparing games. He’s someone who always wants to win and transmits that mentality to the whole team. I had a privileged relationship with him. I miss him. He’s a great guy and a great player.”

The 23-year-old arrived at the Ligue 1 club the same summer as Zlatan, and has since become one of the hottest properties on the market, with half of Europe dreaming of having him on their team.

However, as long as he’s happy in Paris, which he currently is, he won’t be moving anytime soon.