Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Physiques Compared by Paul Ince

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince has predicted current club captain Wayne Rooney will struggle to keep his weight down once he retires from football, unlike Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The duo have formed a potent partnership at the point of the Red Devils attack this season, with United getting off to a perfect start under new manager Jose Mourinho. When asked about the players' lives away from the game, Ince suggested one will find it easier to stay in shape than the other.

“Wayne’s going to be one of these players—and he won’t mind me saying it—that when he finishes playing football, he’s going to lose his conditioning and go quite big,” he said, per Simon Rice of Metro. “He’s a big-boned lad, he was when he was a teenager bursting onto the scene. [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic however, is still in incredible shape.”

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Rooney has discussed his problems with staying trim in the past, and there were times earlier in his career he was subject to derogatory chants from supporters about his physique.

“Even if I don’t train for a week, I put on two or three [pounds], but when I get back to Carrington for the first day of work, I’m in for a shock,” he said in his book, My Decade in the Premier League, in 2012, per the Daily Mirror. “... I gain weight quite easily. It’s not a problem, though.”

While Rooney was once a blisteringly quick player with raw acceleration, as he’s aged he’s lost that physical edge that formerly made him such a handful for defenders. Ibrahimovic, by contrast, has matured with age like a fine wine.

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Granted, he’s never had pace that compares to a lot of elite forwards, but in terms of running power, strength on the ball and his reactions in the penalty area, Ibrahimovic was as sharp as he’s ever been last term.

These numbers from WhoScored.com are a testament to the work the 34-year-old has done to keep himself at peak fitness:

His new employers made no secrets of just how physically impressive Ibrahimovic was in his medical before joining too:

Rooney remains a key man for United despite being much maligned and is still one of the most industrious forwards in the Premier League. At a club like the Red Devils and under a manager like Mourinho, there is absolutely no way those standards will be relaxed.

To suggest he’ll automatically gain weight is presumptuous too. Rooney is a keen golfer, has three children who'll keep him busy and, as a professional sportsman, is someone who will no doubt be keen to remain active in retirement. Perhaps he'll pick up some tips from Zlatan too.