Much in the same vein as his former RTÉ colleague and old pal Eamon Dunphy blurted an "I was wrong" about Cristiano Ronaldo many moons ago, it seems John Giles has finally developed a fondness for Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Despite occasionally acknowledging his talents, Giles' lack of tolerance for Ibrahimovic - one of football's most flamboyant and successful mercenaries - has been unwavering.
Back in February, for example, Giles took to his Irish Independent column to preemptively slate the big Swede's move to the Premier League following Ibrahimovic's decision not to extend his contract at PSG.
Zlatan, said Giles, was a signing for the benefit of his new club's 'suits', and not for that of his prospective team:
By putting himself on the menu for cash-rich Premier League clubs in such a blatant way, he has perfectly illustrated the gap between football reality and the showbiz element he represents.
He will interest men in suits at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge who will do a number in their heads and try to work out how many shirts and other Zlatan merchandise they would need to sell to pay him £1m a month.
And the great man was on Ibrahimovic's case once more in late October, with United struggling and Ibrahimovic having failed to net in six consecutive fixtures.
Giles told Newstalk's Off The Ball that he believed the 35-year-old's slump and/or disinterest was always inevitable, and claimed Wayne Rooney's poor form - combined with the 'controversy' surrounding his decision to have a few drinks - was overshadowing more pressing concerns at United; the poor form of both of Mourinho's big signings, Paul Pogba and Ibrahimovic.
I think Ibrahimovic is a problem because if Ibrahimovic is not scoring a goal a game, he's not justifying his position.
Early on, he was scoring but he hasn't scored for six matches now and I'm not sure he's going to score that many goals for Manchester United.
In fairness to the RTÉ's former Senior Analyst, there were probably many who agreed with him. During the autumn, Ibrahimovic at times looked slow and old, that famous spark long since dissipated from his work.
There were consistent calls from United fans for the Swedish talisman to be dropped, with some - perhaps delirious due to United's freakish inability to win games despite dominating them - even coming full circle on Wayne Rooney.
But then, like all great forwards, Zlatan rediscovered his goalscoring touch. Since that odd slump, the former PSG striker has netted 11 goals in all competitions, and registered three assists. It brings his talley to 17 goals in 26 total appearances this season, and in his Indo column today, Giles - with minimal fuss - has extended an olive branch to the rangy Swede:
I feel Mourinho has a grip on the job now and his team is beginning to function with some sort of consistency.
I have to admit that I got the Wayne Rooney/Zlatan Ibrahimovic story completely wrong and I must tip my hat to the veteran striker, who is really having a fine season.
I thought he would get bored and that Rooney would be better.
In this form, Mourinho can live without Rooney very easily. The club captain’s form slump was so obvious that there was no decision to make.
Fair play.
Things must be very bad when it's actually refreshing to see a football pundit openly admit they miscalculated a situation, but Giles does it with consummate class.
How often do we hear co-commentators in particular rasp, "stone-wall pen," before brazenly running with their initial reaction as proof to the contrary is played back right before our eyes, rather than simply admit they got it wrong?
If 2016 has taught us anything, of course, it's that it's absolutely fine to be wrong; you simply must never, ever admit it. But then again, Giles has always been more of a traditionalist.
Or has he...
