Zlatan Ibrahimovic says he won’t stay at AC Milan unless the club makes changes

Zlatan Ibahimovic has admitted it is unlikely he will remain at AC Milan next season unless there are significant changes at the club.

The striker returned to the San Siro as a free agent in January after leaving LA Galaxy but he has had clashes with chief executive Ivan Gazidis over the direction of the Serie A side.

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport magazine Sportweek, which is released on Saturday, the 38-year-old outlined his frustrations.

‘Ibra plays to win something or he stays at home,’ he said when asked about his future.

‘They told me that retiring in America was too easy, so I came back to Milan. I am here purely for passion, because I’m basically playing for free. Then this COVID situation stopped everything and I thought, maybe there’s something trying to tell me that I should retire.

‘Fortunately, we got back on the pitch. My calf managed to get involved too, but after two days I was ready to come back into the team. Ibra is like that. But they told me to take it slow. 

‘Ibra was born to play football and is still the best at playing football. We’ll see how I feel in two months. We’ll also see what’s happening with the club. If this is the situation, to be honest, it’s unlikely you’ll see me at Milan next season.

‘Ibra is not a player for the Europa League and Milan are not a club who belong in the Europa League.’

Ibrahimovic clashed with Gazidis when the chief attended training to inform players of pay cuts. The striker was angry at the timing of his appearance with the team due to face Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi-final two days later. 

‘I spoke for me and for the team. I needed to have some explanations on the future, both mine and of Milan. I said that this is not the Grande Milan I once experienced, that is true, but we must do the best we can even in this situation. All the way to the end.

‘Ibra is here, Ibra takes care of it. I have to be here or you’ll lose the fans. I don’t know if there will be another club after Milan, I never like to close doors to opportunities.

‘I will only go somewhere I have some control, not where words are worth nothing. I still have too much passion for what I do.’

Former RB Leipzig manager Ralf Rangnick has been strongly linked with taking over at the club, either as manager or in a sporting director role. But Ibrahimovic did not seem impressed by the links, asking: ‘Who is Rangnick? I don’t even know who he is.’ 

The forward was on target as Milan beat Juventus on Tuesday night and after the game he claimed the club could have won the title had he been there all season.

‘If I was here from the beginning of the season, we would have won the Scudetto,’ he said after the 4-2 win over Maurizio Sarri’s side.

‘I am president, coach and player, but they only pay me as a footballer.’