Juan Mata has revealed how Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced himself to the Manchester United squad upon his arrival at the club.
Ibrahimovic is known for his strong self-belief and was full of confidence when he arrived at United in 2016.
By that stage in his career Ibrahimovic had already played for many major clubs, including Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.
It was a major summer for United in the transfer window, with United also re-signing Paul Pogba from Juventus for £89million.
Mata recalled how Ibrahimovic made an instant impact in the dressing room at Carrington with his first words to the squad.
Juan Mata recalled how Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced himself to the United dressing room
Ibrahimovic signed for United in the summer of 2016, when they also brought in Paul Pogba
Mata told Four Four Two: ‘They were two players with a lot of charisma. I had more of a relationship with Paul because we spent more time together, but Zlatan was fun.
‘When he first arrived in the Carrington dressing room, there were a few players around and the first thing he said was, ‘God has arrived’.’
While some players were initially shocked by Ibrahimovic’s actions, laughter soon followed.
Mata continued: ‘People were freaking out, but after 10 seconds he started laughing and it was just a joke. It may sound arrogant, but that’s the way he is.’
While at United, Ibrahimovic scored 29 goals for the club in 53 appearances.
United won the Europa League and the League Cup in Ibrahimovic’s first season at the club. He scored twice against Southampton in the League Cup final and was also name in the Europa League squad of the season.
Mata described Ibrahimovic as ‘fun’ and added that the striker has a lot of charisma
After leaving United in March 2018, Ibrahimovic signed for LA Galaxy and then returned to AC Milan before retiring last year.
Pogba, meanwhile, remained at United until 2022 and scored 39 goals in 226 games during his second spell at the club. However, he fell out of favour towards the end of his time at United.
The 31-year-old rejoined Juventus but is currently serving a four-year ban after failing a drugs test.
