FA Cup a Must-Win for Manchester United, Jose Mourinho, Says Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has hailed Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho as "the Special One" but said he needs to lead the Red Devils to glory in the FA Cup in order to save the club's 2017-18 campaign.

The Red Devils are second in the Premier League but could suffer the ignominy of seeing Manchester City claim the title if they lose to their local rivals at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

An abject last-16 defeat to Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League has left United with only the FA Cup left to fight for, and they face Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals on April 21.

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Ibrahimovic, 36, left United to join L.A. Galaxy in March after close to two seasons at Old Trafford. He backed Mourinho and urged him to go all the way in the FA Cup, per ESPN FC:

"I like Mourinho. He is the Special One. He likes to win. Wherever he went he won. He made me feel comfortable. He gave me a lot of responsibility. He said to me the only problem he had with me was when could he rest me.

"They've been doing it good. Let's hope, there's one last trophy to play for, and that's the FA Cup. So hopefully they win it. Last year we had a big success with the three trophies. With a new team like that—new coach, couple of new players—and hopefully that rings on, because as a top team, like United, you need to keep winning, because that is the status of the club. You need to win. And if you're not winning, you're not belonging to the top."

The decorated Swede played a key role for Mourinho last term, as the Portuguese manager guided United the EFL Cup, the UEFA Europa League and the Community Shield during his first season in charge at Old Trafford.

United re-signed Ibrahimovic in the summer after he made impressive progress in his recovery from a knee injury, but he was never able to force his way back into the first team.

A combination of his injury and the increase in competition for places—especially because of Romelu Lukaku's arrival—meant Ibrahimovic played only 103 minutes in the Premier League in 2017-18 before departing for MLS. 

The veteran forward has already made an impact for the Galaxy. He came off the bench to make his debut on Saturday against Los Angeles FC and scored twice in a remarkable comeback win from 3-0 down, per MLS:

"

A dream debut for #zLAtan.@Ibra_official is the @alcatelmobileus Player of the Week. https://t.co/RryiSHczPu

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 3, 2018"

The former Ajax, Juventus and Barcelona man is unlikely to be missed on the pitch for United, as Mourinho has a wealth of attacking talent to call on.

But as Ibrahimovic said, the Red Devils need to make their quality count by claiming the FA Cup this season.