Zlatan Ibrahimovic has signalled a move to Manchester United could be on the horizon.
The Sweden striker, who is leaving Paris Saint-Germain this summer, has been strongly linked with United.
And at a news conference Thursday, he confirmed he has had “concrete offers” from Premier League clubs.
He did not mention United specifically in that context, but spoke of his admiration for and “great relationship” with his former manager Jose Mourinho, who is expected to soon be named the club’s new manager.
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And when asked if there had been an offer from Old Trafford, Ibrahimovic paused for several seconds with a smile on his face, before saying: “Let’s see what happens.”
Asked if he has spoken to Mourinho in the past week, the 34-year-old striker said: “I have a great relationship with Mourinho and we are in contact, but not in the last weeks; we have been talking for many years.”
Regarding the prospect of Mourinho taking over at United, Ibrahimovic said: “I think it is a great move. If you want action you bring Mourinho.
“I believe he is the man to take them back to the top. Wherever he went he has won. He knows what he is doing. If you want to win, you bring Mourinho.
“I had a fantastic time with him when I was working with him, so working again with him ...?
“When I left Inter I said we had had a short time together but a great time. If we will work together again, I don’t know. Let’s see how things play out.
“I don’t give guarantees, but there are concrete offers from the Premier League, so let’s see what happens.”
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho's contract negotiations to become the next manager of Manchester United appear to hinge on the rights to the use of his image on merchandise, British media reported Thursday.
The rights are owned by his former club Chelsea and, while they are not expected to stop his hiring, they have drawn out the talks with Manchester United this week, the reports cited club sources as saying.
Mourinho was the manager at Chelsea before his firing in December and the shop at Stamford Bridge still sells mugs, posters and phone cases bearing his image.
The Guardian reported that the West London club bought the image rights in 2005 during his first stint as manager, and wants to sell them at a high price.
Chelsea registered the brand “Jose Mourinho” for five types of merchandise until 2025 and for the others until 2023 under European Union intellectual property laws, the report said.
Chelsea have not commented on the information but the rights issue was no impediment to Mourinho going on to work at Inter Milan and Real Madrid before coming back to Stamford Bridge.
Sports lawyer Carol Couse told the BBC it was “really unusual” for an individual not to own the trademark to their own name.
“If United had a brand of Mourinho clothing, it would be in breach of the trademark Chelsea currently own,” said Couse, of law firm Mills and Reeve.
“If Chelsea didn’t grant a licence, every time United used Jose Mourinho’s name in a commercial capacity against those products, Chelsea could sue Manchester United,” she said.
“I would suspect United would rather just pay a licence fee.”
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