What Impact Could Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Exit Have on Inter and Serie A?

Not long ago certain quarters of the English press called Serie A a retirement ground. Although that is far from the truth there is no denying that the Italian top flight has lost a great deal of its flair and appeal over the past decade.

The present day’s Serie A boasts names such as Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, along with rising young stars such as Sebastiano Giovinco, Mario Balotelli, Pato and Davide Santon.

The biggest of the bunch is, with all due respect to “royalties” such as icons Del Piero and Totti, Sweden international Ibrahimovic. The gangly Inter Milan forward is without a doubt one of the biggest reasons to Calcio’s popularity around the world.

Ibrahimovic’s sometimes otherworldly technical skills combined with his impressive stature and ability to single handedly decide games have made him one of the greatest players in the world and the biggest representative of Serie A.

After Inter Milan’s exit in the first knock out round to Manchester United, Ibrahimovic has refused to commit his future to the Nerazzurri.

The forward has clearly expressed his desire to leave the Italian fashion capital and despite the £80m price tag Inter president Massimo Moratti has slammed on his prized asset, Ibrahimovic has already been linked to a hoard of European top clubs such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Ibrahimovic’s personal request was to join Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona who he deems play attractive and futuristic football. Although things seem to have come to a stall with the Blaugrana due to the price tag and the player’s wage demands, the summer is still far from over.

La Liga giants Real Madrid has been splurging big money on the transfer market and with the £60m deal for Kaká along with the record breaking £80m bid for Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo. W

ith the negotiations over David Villa breaking down there are reports that the capital club has rekindled their interest in Inter Milan’s Swedish superstar, Ibrahimovic–thus completing their dreamy trident.

With AC Milan’s Brazilian ace Ricardo Kaká already shipped off to La Liga land and city rivals Inter Milan facing a possible Zlatan Ibrahimovic exit, one starts to wonder what a departure of this grandeur could have on the Italian top flight as the other leagues would receive an even bigger attraction boost–not to mention the financial boost.

The duo has without a doubt been the poster names for Serie A during the past couple of seasons and while the loss of the first one already is a major blow for the league the popularity for Calcio could only decline if Ibrahimovic follows suit.

In spite of AC Milan releasing their brightest star and with it a big part of the club’s fire power and identity, owner Silvio Berlusconi has put his foot down as he simply refuses to have the club in debt. But just imagine the prestigious Derby della Madonnina without two of its biggest names while at the same time El Clasico gains another two major characters.

If Ibrahimovic’s potential departure would have a great impact on Serie A, there is no telling how big the blow could come to be on inter that has over the years showcased how overly reliant they are on their Swedish superstar’s good performance. On top of that he’s been absolutely pivotal in the past three season’s Scudetti triumphs.

The Swede has been the creative force and the fundamental part in a side that has looked void of ideas on one too many occasions leading the team to adopt a philosophy of passing the ball to Ibrahimovic and wait for the forward to wave his magic wand.

However, despite his unquestionable dominance in Serie A things haven’t passed as smoothly in the Champions League where Ibrahimovic has yet to leave his mark.

The Inter forward has his name to 25 of the 70 goals that the team scored during their domestic campaign—winning him the Capocannoniere crown—along with numerous assists. The second highest goalscorer in the club is young starlet Mario Balotelli boasting with eight goals.

Although the money received from a potential sale could spring Inter’s activity on the transfer market even further and even bring in a replacement, one has to question how long Moratti is willing to splurge out cash in order to clean up at his beloved club season after season.

While the departure of Serie A’s main representative is sure to result in the decline of Calcio popularity Italy coach Marcello Lippi added that there are some perks to be had. Instead of shipping in foreigners to attract the general public to the Italian top flight their departure could see the emergence of home grown talent that could come to represent the country’s league football.

That same philosophy could be implemented at Inter where Balotelli is sure to be given a wider berth in the absence of Ibrahimovic and thus learn to take more responsibilities and develop even further as a player.

Although there are some perks to be had with the departure of foreign superstars they sound more like positive hopefuls rather than real arguments.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is perhaps the player with most attraction force with Kaká only second to the Swede. In other words, this means that a possible exit would result in a negative outcome for Italian football in general.

The weakened Milan clubs would survive and so would a declining Serie A but the departure of the superstars will result in a league with less attractive force and provide another reason for that special quarter to continue on with their arguments.