Zlatan Ibrahimovic has returned to Manchester United with Premier League glory on his mind, and says the challenge of coming back from his serious knee injury made it an easy decision.
The 36-year-old former Sweden captain has been out of action since suffering cruciate ligament damage in the Europa League clash with Anderlecht in April.
“I said I will come back to finish what I started,” Ibrahimovic, who signed a new one-year deal with United over the summer and is expected to be available before the end of the year, told Sky Sports News.
“Everything I build up from the first season, because obviously we won the three trophies… the ending for me was not the ending I wanted, or nobody wanted, especially after how the season went.
“The target is the Premier League. That is my target to finish. So everything that I started from the first season, we will finish it in the second one.”
The injury had put Ibrahimovic’s future in doubt, given he only had an initial one-year deal, but he says it spurred him on.
“In that moment when it happened it was easier for me to say that I will come back because then I had a challenge,” he said.
“And the challenge was that I never had a major injury, and all these people talking that ‘it’s over’ or ‘he’s too old’ – all these doubts I had in my whole career.
“When that goes, it triggers me because it gives me energy, it gives me challenges, it gives me objective.
Now he cant run away. @D_DeGea @ericbailly24 @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/5dpgWWhPyg
— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) October 24, 2017
“The thing is in the last years, when you’re thinking how many more years you want to play, that is when you’re hesitating.
“But when the injury happened it was easy for me. I had one target and that is to come back, to play the game, and I will walk out just like I came in.
“I will not walk out limping. I will walk out the way I want to walk out – even if I have to walk on water, I will do that also!”
Provided by Press Association Sport
