Zlatan Ibrahimovic has claimed offers from Arsenal and Manchester City were previously on the table before he joined ‘mastermind’ Jose Mourinho.
The 34-year-old made the switch to Manchester United this summer and had long since been a Premier League target.
But Ibrahimovic revealed playing in England was not something he needed to tick off until this summer.
The striker has scored four goals in his first four games since arriving at Old Trafford and is set to start the Manchester derby against Pep Guardiola’s City on Saturday lunchtime.
It is thought any interest from Arsenal and City dates back years, with United having a clear run at Ibrahimovic ahead of Mourinho’s arrival.
‘I was close to moving to the Premier League twice – once with Arsenal and then Manchester City,’ Ibrahimovic said.
‘But it never happened and I didn’t need to play in the Premier League.’
Ibrahimovic and Mourinho enjoyed a strong relationship at Inter Milan, the former having gone on record to say he regrets only spending a year with the Portuguese at the San Siro.
And he said the former Chelsea boss was the one who convinced him into move to the Premier League.
‘Mourinho is the mastermind, the masterbrain,’ Ibrahimovic added. ‘He knows what he needs to do to win. I learned a lot from him at Inter.
‘Who wouldn’t want to have Mourinho as manager?’
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