Man United forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic turned down a lucrative offer worth €100m from China to instead sign for the Red Devils, according to his agent.
The 34-year-old saw his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expire this past summer, and kept the media and his fans alike waiting for his decision during Euro 2016.
Ultimately, he decided to secure a reunion with Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford, and has made an immediate impact for United in the early stages of the campaign.
However, according to his agent, Mino Raiola, he opted to turn a big-money move to China as the financial aspect of the decision this summer wasn’t the priority.
“Ibrahimovic is the best. He turned down €100m net from the Chinese. He doesn’t want more money, he wants to win,” he told Il Giornale, as reported by ESPN.
“I’ve been lucky, I’ve always had champions. Zlatan, [Pavel] Nedved, Maxwell and now [Blaise] Matuidi and [Gianluigi] Donnarumma.”
Ibrahimovic has scored six goals in 10 appearances so far this season, with United currently sixth in the Premier League table with 12 points from their opening six outings.
Further, they bounced back in the Europa League in midweek with a win over Zorya, and while the eventual aim next May will be to book a place in the Champions League, both the former Swedish international and United will be desperate to win silverware this season first.
With so many European stars including the likes of Graziano Pelle and Alex Teixeira choosing to make the move to China with lucrative contracts on offer, it certainly says a lot about Ibrahimovic’s desire and belief that he can still offer a great deal for a side contending for honours in Europe’s biggest competitions.