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Jose Mourinho insists Zlatan Ibrahimovic will 'extra man' for 2018 but rules out Champions League appearance

He also revealed Wayne Rooney spoke to him about England retirement before his announcement 

Ian Whittell
Friday 25 August 2017 14:18 BST
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Mourinho sees Ibrahimovic as an extra man for the second half of the season
Mourinho sees Ibrahimovic as an extra man for the second half of the season

Jose Mourinho insists Zlatan Ibrahimovic will play no part in Manchester United’s Champions League group phase and claims he does not even know when he will be fit to play, after he re-joined the Premier League club this week.

The 35-year-old Swede announced that he had signed a one-season contract with the Reds this week, just four months after undergoing career-saving knee ligament surgery.

The United manager is clearly delighted for both parties after Ibrahimovic recovered from a knee ligament injury that required surgery and put his future at the highest level in serious jeopardy.

But he also said he has no thoughts of being able to call upon the talismanic striker, who scored 28 goals last season, until the new year.

“He will not be ready for the group phase of the Champions League, I don't think there is any chance of that,” said Mourinho.

“I’m not thinking Zlatan to play any part of the group phase hopefully he can play in the knockout phase but for that we need to finish top two.

“I don't want to think about it, I don't even ask, speak about it or with the medical team about it.

“He will be an extra man for us in the second part of the season. When I say second part, we say January after Christmas, when the transfer window reopens but I have no idea at all.

“It shows two things for me, it shows me the dimension of the player and the club.

Premier League transfer round-up: Ibrahimovic returns to Man United

“The player, it would be very easy for him to say goodbye. He had success at Man United, goodbye. He doesn't do that, he wants to follow his other dreams and play football at the highest level.

“And a club like Man United in my opinion has to show how big it is in details and this is a big detail of a player that gets injured with the Man United shirt, fighting for Man United. The club has to be there for him and I'm really happy with club and player.”

Mourinho also paid tribute to his former United captain Wayne Rooney who announced his retirement from the England team this week and the manager revealed that he spoke with the striker on the eve of his announcement.

“He told me the night before,” said Mourinho. “I am nobody to agree, don't agree. I just listen to his reasons and I understand his reasons.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was unveiled as a Manchester United player for the second time on Thursday

“He does it for Everton, for his family, so I have no complaints. I just realise like many other people when he retires, you realise how many matches he played, goals he scored, the football he represents in this country and many congratulations for his career with the Lions.”

Mourinho also reacted to the Champions League draw that saw his team pulled out of the hat along with Benfica, CSKA Moscow and FC Basel.

And the United manager insists the group is not as easy as some pundits seem to think.

He said: “My reaction is of somebody who played 120 matches in the Champions League and it's a completely different reaction than the reactions I listen to.

“I think when you think about qualifying, it's better to have two top teams and two weak teams and let's see if we can finish second or first but we are qualified.

“In this kind of group, everyone can win, lose, draw, and we are going to share the points in between teams. You are not going to see a 4 or 5-0, a team with 13, 14, 16 points, another with zero or one.

“So I think it's a dangerous group and if you go to the recent history of Man United, they lost to Basel and could not beat Benfica in two matches and CSKA Moscow.”

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