Jose Mourinho has revealed how he goaded Zlatan Ibrahimovic into joining Manchester United to fulfil one last career goal, writes David McDonnell in Shanghai.
Striker Ibrahimovic has won titles in Holland, Italy, Spain and France, but Mourinho said the chance to emulate him by adding the Premier League to that illustrious list convinced him to join United.
And the Special One, who worked with the maverick 34-year-old at Inter Milan, claimed Ibrahimovic still has the hunger to deliver at the highest level and said he had shown that by signing for United and rejecting several easier options.
“Let’s be honest, he’s very rich,” said Mourinho. “He’s made money all his career, he’s won a lot of things, so you only come to the most difficult championship in the world if you feel you can do it.
“If you don’t feel you can do it, you go to America, China — or stay in the French League for one more season.
"So the guy wanted this one more challenge and I expect he's going to be very good for us.
“When I told him I'd won in England, Spain and Italy and he hadn’t, that he’d done Spain, Italy and France, he thought, 'Ah, I want to go. I want to win every one'.
"So his motivation is high.
“I know him very well. I always think there's our age in ID terms but then there's our real age because, for me, the real age is not the age on your ID. That's just a date when you were born.
“The real age, the real ID, is your body, your brain, your attitude and this guy is young, his body is amazing.
“The way he grew up playing the sports he did before football, especially martial arts, he was prepared in terms of his muscles, and the mental point of view in a different way to the traditional football player, in his DNA, his motivation.”
Ibrahimovic has not joined United on this pre-season tour of China but will report for training on Monday, ahead of an expected debut against Galatasaray in Gothenburg in his homeland on July 30.
Although Mourinho confirmed Wayne Rooney will remain as United captain, he feels Ibrahimovic can perform the role of a leader within the dressing-room and inspire his younger team-mates.
“Sometimes people say the team has no leaders, it’s this, it’s that, but what we need is everybody with the same kind of mentality,” said Mourinho, speaking in Shanghai ahead of United's tour opener on Friday against Borussia Dortmund.
“I like communication and push them to communicate. I give a lot of instruction in training.
"It’s difficult for me to do the same in matches, so I need guys on the pitch to read the game, to understand what we want.
“Zlatan is going to be one of them and I feel already that we have guys to do the same. I don’t think we’re going to have a problem at that level. we have lots of quality.
“When I see our group in the attacking areas - Zlatan, Marcus Rashford, Rooney, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata, all the wingers we have. I think we have lots of quality in attack to produce good football and score goals.”
Mourinho has overseen 15 training sessions so far and is convinced he already has the players on side and willing to do what he demands of them as he plots United's route back to the top.
“I've been impressed with the way they've been working,” said Mourinho.
In pictures — United's Thursday training session in Shanghai:
“We've had training sessions where it’s very easy not to work well, it’s very easy to be affected by the weather or to be affected by the pitch, which is dry and slow.
“It’s very easy to say ‘I’ve got jet lag, I didn’t sleep very well’ and the day we arrived, we had lunch, had some commercial duties, but the training in the first session was fantastic.
“So the attitude is very good, the appetite is very good, they want to work, they want to improve and they need to work a lot really, because the most difficult thing in football that I’ve found during my career is when I go to a new club and I need the change the dynamic, the way of thinking, things that players do automatically.
“They must be very focused, but the players are giving all of this. Step by step we are going to do the puzzle but it’s easy to feel that they want it and that’s very important.”
Mourinho has been in charge of United for less than two months, but already feels a connection with the club, the players and the fans, whom he claimed always treated him with respect – even when he was in charge of fierce rivals Chelsea.
“I have the feeling – of course not everyone – that the majority of the supporters trust me, they believe I can help the club,” said Mourinho.
“I also have the feeling the players want me. I’m not saying they didn’t want Louis van Gaal, I’m saying that since I arrived I feel that they're very fine with me, my way of leading and my way of working.
"So let’s enjoy the season because a big season is waiting for us.”