Manchester United today confirmed their list of players being released ahead of the new season, although it wasn't much of a list with only the name of Zlatan Ibrahimovic being submitted.
The news broke last night that it would be happening, and Man Utd fans have been thanking him and praising him for his contribution despite playing just one season... But that's the thing, his Man Utd career is not officially over.
Ibrahimovic was offered a new deal back in December, but chose to wait and see how the season ended. That decision seems to have backfired, as there was no way the club was going to offer him another season knowing that he would be unavailable to play for half of it. With the wages he is on, it would make no sense.
After the severity of his injury became clear, United took the decision to not extend his contract, but he will be doing his rehabilitation with the club, something that was also confirmed today.
I understand Ibra will complete recovery @ManUtd. No guarantees given over him getting contract when fit but it can't be ruled out either.
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) June 9, 2017
So what next? At the moment there are two options that stand out, although both of them are difficult considering his injury and his desire to still play at the top level.
Manchester United, and AC Milan.
What we know about Zlatan Ibrahimovic right now is that he likely won't play until December at best, he wants to stay in Europe, and he wants to play in one of the big leagues.
But in order for Manchester United to offer him a contract after he has rehabilitated his knee, you would have to imagine that something has to go wrong with the strikers that will be signed to replace him. If Mourinho's squad has thinned by the time he is ready to play again, we could see him offered a deal until the end of the season, or even if Morata or Belotti or whoever it is hasn't been firing.
AC Milan will also be monitoring his progress closely, as they are planning a massive summer of signings to help get them back where they want to be in Serie A, and playing in Europe.
Again, his unavailability for the first half of the season will be an issue, but there could well be a return to Milan on the cards if he can prove his fitness eventually.
There's also the possibility of something out of left-field, but with Zlatan's insistence that he wants to stay in Europe for now, there are not that many clubs that could afford his wages.
It's going to be interesting to see what happens. In the short term, it will be good for Man Utd to have him around the training ground as he has proven to be very popular with the players and staff, but long-term, Zlatan Ibrahimovic wants to keep playing at the top level.
