While it does sound unlikely that Paris Saint-Germain will sell their best player to Monaco, who are turning out to be their biggest rivals next season in the French league, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is always up for a challenge, as long as he’s paid well.
According to Riviera-Cote d’Azul Zeitung (which sounds a bit made up), the club owned by Dmitry Rybolovlev is making the expected move (it had to happen at some point) for a PSG player, aiming at the highest target possible, offering €30 million for the player.
Monaco are hoping that the close connection between Mino Raiola (the player’s agent) and Rybolovlev will help convince Ibrahimovic, who scored 30 league goals last season for PSG, leading them to another league title while leading the league in scoring and winning the player of the year award, to take on yet another team in a career filled with short, yet successful tenures with Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Milan and PSG.
It’s hard to believe PSG would be willing to sell their best player to a team that might be their biggest rivals, but Ibrahimovic is turning 32 in three months, and selling a player at his age for this price is sometimes an opportunity that doesn’t repeat itself, especially if Ibrahimovic starts pushing for an exit.
Monaco have already Falcao, Joao Moutinho, James Rodriguez and Ricardo Carvalho this summer, and eventually stopped ignoring French talent by adding Anthony Martial from Lyon and Nicolas Isimat-Mirin from Valenciennes.
There’s no doubt they plan on becoming a team that challenges for the French title almost instantly, although it did take PSG one season of finishing second and a few more expensive signings to finally get their formula right.
One question that is worth asking is how Monaco intend on keeping in line with the FIFA fair play regulations, which will mean they won’t be playing in any European competition, although it’s hard not to see them finishing in the top 4 along with PSG, Marseille and Lyon. But one step at a time for Rybolovlev’s club, whose first mission is knocking PSG off their hold on the French Ligue, including in the matter of transfers. Europe? That comes later.