Zlatan Ibrahimovic Says He Turned Haters to Fans During Manchester United Spell

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has said he turned haters into fans during his spell at Manchester United.

The mercurial Swede finally moved to the Premier League in the summer of 2016, signing for the Red Devils under Jose Mourinho. Having excelled across European football, there was huge excitement to see how he would fare in the English game; in his debut campaign, he netted 17 times in 28 league appearances.

Speaking to the United website about his spell at Old Trafford, Ibrahimovic said he was delighted to win over some doubters with his displays in English football's top flight:

"My challenge was, at the age I was, coming to England, where I had years of everybody was saying I wasn’t good enough and all this bulls--t.

"I like those things because they trigger me. They give me adrenaline. After three months, all of them were eating their own words. I needed new haters because all the old ones became my new fans!"

The club's Twitter account posted the following snap of Ibrahimovic to accompany the feature:

The veteran striker also had praise for the United supporters and spoke about how delighted he was with the reception he received on his debut against Bournemouth, when he made a goalscoring start to life at the club.

"I remember my first game in the Premier League at Bournemouth, I scored and the fans were singing my song for 45 minutes," he said. "After 20 minutes I was like: guys, please, my game is not really on top right now. ... Inside, I was like: f--k, this is fantastic!"

In the end, the forward's career with the Red Devils came to a disappointing conclusion. Towards the end of the 2016-17 season, Ibrahimovic suffered a serious knee injury, meaning he was ruled out for the run-in and the UEFA Europa League final success. 

Earlier in the campaign, the striker did enjoy a memorable day at Wembley Stadium, as his two goals helped United to a dramatic 3-2 win over Southampton in the final of the Carabao Cup.

Overall, his goalscoring pedigree came at a perfect time for United, with the team struggling for a consistent goalscorer:

After his contract expired at United at the conclusion of that term, the club brought him back on a one-year deal, although the veteran struggled to find his best again following the layoff and was released in 2018.

Ibrahimovic has been able to continue his career elsewhere and was a huge success in his debut campaign at Los Angeles Galaxy. He scored 22 times in 27 appearances in Major League Soccer, and after agreeing to play for the team again in 2019, more great things are expected of the striker in the twilight of his career.