When Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced to the world that he would sign for Manchester United for the 2016-17 season, a lot of skepticism surrounded his arrival.
Many felt the Swedish striker would struggle with the pace of the Premier League, especially as his track record against English clubs in the Champions League wasn’t the best.
Every league the player has been in has learnt the hard way never to underestimate him, even La Liga where he scored 22 goals and picked up 14 assists in 47 games for Barcelona.
After four successful seasons in France, Ibrahimovic left a lasting impact on a lot of players in Ligue 1, and Paris Saint-Germain have shown life after him might not be as easy as first thought, even though there’s plenty of time for that to change.
Tiémoué Bakayoko, who was part of the Monaco team who beat PSG 3-1 last weekend, told Goal France how things have changed since Ibrahimovic’s departure.
He said: “Last season, I think we overcomplicated things. There was inevitable fatigue. This season, I hope we’ll finish in the top two. There’s the fight with Lyon, but I think we can get closer to PSG.
“Without Ibra, they might not be the same team. Even if Cavani is one of the best strikers in the world, I think people are calmer and believe they can win more. When Ibrahimovic is on the pitch, you know it’ll be difficult, that you can’t give him an inch.”
Premier League teams have been warned. Give him an inch, and he’ll score (Leicester, Southampton and Bournemouth have already found out the hard way).
