Zlatan Ibrahimovic has always been a top goalscorer wherever he goes but that doesn't mean he thinks of himself as a number nine. In fact the Swede claims he should always get the number 10 shirt.
When Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved to Manchester United in the summer of 2016 it got a lot of people, no doubt including his new teammates, very excited. However one of his new colleagues, Anthony Martial wouldn't have been so happy with him.
The signing of the big Swede meant that Martial had to give up the number nine shirt that had been his since he signed for the Red Devils and it instead went to Ibrahimovic.
Zlatan had a great time in his first season in England. Image: PA
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It was pretty apt for Zlatan to have to main striker's number as he finished the season as the club's top scorer despite missing the end of the season with the injury that left him without a club.
Now Zlatan is back and with the number 10 shirt, with his old number not going back to Martial but switching to Romelu Lukaku, and the former PSG forward has claimed, in an interview with Volvo, that he should always be number 10, saying:
"To me, No 10 is the star. The one who makes the difference, gets noticed, wins the matches and is the leader. And I see myself in that position...
"When I come to a club, it should be in the contract that I will have No 10. At United it was Rooney, he's a legend and someone I respect. But now he has changed clubs."
Ibra- always wears 10 that lad...Images: PA
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However despite that typically Zlatan claim it seems that the 36 year-old has either not always felt that way or not always been allowed to dictate what number he has.
During his career he has only worn that number for PSG, where he was originally number 18 anyway. At Ajax, Juventus and Barcelona ha wore number nine, at Inter he wore eight and at Milan he wore 11.
Without Zlatan in the side Romelu Lukaku has taken over the goalscoring duties in the side but with the former Inter striker back it will be interesting to see if they can exist in the same line-up.
Topics: Manchester United, Zlatan Ibrahimovic