Zlatan Calls France a Sh*t Country

Ibrahimovic was one angry man after the loss against Bordeaux on Sunday. As he was walking to the locker room he was caught on camera yelling at the referee (Video Below). You can hear him saying, “Wake up, wake up … we’re not amateurs. Fucking asshole. I’ve never seen this in my 15 years playing football. I’ve been playing for 15 years and I’ve never seen [good] refereeing in this shit country. They don’t even deserve PSG in this country.”

As a result Zlatan has been forced to apologize to I guess the entire country of France, but some don’t think that’s enough. French Politicians have publicly come out and asked Ibrahimovic to leave France if he doesn’t like it. From what little experience I have with France and French people, I know they are a proud and patriotic people, so I’m sure this will undoubtably lead to him being one of the most hated men in France.

What happens next?

I’m sure the transfer rumors are going to start soon, and I do believe this may be his last season in France. Where would Zlatan go is a very good question. There’s no way he would go to a team in Europe that doesn’t challenge for titles or have the funds to pay him handsomely. Would he return to Italy for a third time? I don’t know. Could Inter or Juventus pay him what he himself thinks he deserves? He’s 33 years old, which isn’t young, but he’s been getting paid very well at PSG. I’m pretty sure none of the Serie A teams could afford to pay a 33 year old even 70% of what he’s been getting.

I know this is coming soon, since the media love to link every player possible to a move to Old Trafford, but would Manchester United want another old striker? They already have one and it looks like LVG couldn’t handle a player with an equal size ego to his own. It’s no secret Mourinho and Zlatan admire each other from their time together at Inter, but would Zlatan be okay with sitting on the bench for Diego Costa? I doubt it.

Bundesliga might be an option. Zlatan joked with Klopp once about signing him to Dortmund, but I just can’t see it. I think Ibra wants his swan song to be massive. I don’t know if Real Madrid would be interested but I think the Swede would fancy that move. Challenging for titles and surrounded by players that can take a lot of weight off his shoulders in an organization that’s cash rich. What’s not to like?

Major League Soccer

The only other option I see for him is the MLS (unless Big Z wants some of that Arab or Russian money). In the MLS, Zlatan can be a big fish in a steadily growing pond. His marketability would guarantee him top dollar endorsement deals so I’m sure he could find a way to make tons of cash in America. But where would he play? The LA Galaxy already have 3 DPs (Designated Players who can be paid big money to play while everyone else earns under $350K/year). 3 DPs is the limit for each team.  LAFC, the other team in Los Angeles, won’t be playing until the 2017 season. I guess they could sign him and send him out on loan but then he wouldn’t be joining them until he’s 36 years old. NYCFC have only 2 DPs but another striker might not be what they want. Rumor is they’re trying to sign Xavi from Barcelona but who knows? Signing Zlatan this Summer might be too enticing to pass up. David Villa and Zlatan as a strike force with Lampard behind them might just be the scariest attack in the whole league.

Whichever way this goes, it’s sure to be exciting. I can’t wait to see where he ends up, Although who knows maybe Big Z has a change of heart about France and decides to stay. Not sure the French would be willing to easily forgive him though. Watch the video of his comments and judge for yourself.