'I want to be the god': Zlatan recalls conversation with 'King of Manchester' Eric Cantona

Former Manchester United and current AC Milan striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic revealed that he once challenged the United legend, Eric Cantona during his time with the club. The striker, on being told by Cantona that he can never replace him as the ‘king’ of United, replied Cantona by saying that ‘he would be the God of Manchester United. Ibrahimovic played for the United from 2016 to 2018, before moving to LA Galaxy and then to Serie A club AC Milan. During his time with the United, the Swedish footballer, Ibrahimovic became a sensation by helping the team to clinch a domestic treble.

Meanwhile, Cantona is regarded as one of the best players to play for the United, as he won four Premier League titles in five seasons, from 1992 to 1997. However, Ibrahimovic during a conversation with Italian broadcaster Le Lene, revealed that he was told by Cantona that he would never overtake him, as the ‘King’ of Manchester United. As reported by Goal, Ibrahimovic said, “One day Cantona said to me: ‘You cannot be the king of Manchester, you will have to be content with being the prince’. And I replied: ‘But I’m not interested in becoming king, I want to be the god of Manchester’."

Eric Cantona played for the United from 1992 to 1997 and scored 82 goals in 185 matches. Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic played for the club from 2016 to 2018 and scored 29 goals, while appearing in 53 games. However, his second season at the club was disrupted because of a serious knee injury. He helped the team secure the Europa League, League Cup, and Community Shield titles. The thing to be noticed is that Cantona scored at an average of 0.44 goals per game for United, while Ibrahimovic scored at an average of 0.55 goals per game.

Ibrahimovic currently plays for the Serie A club Milan, which is his third stint with the club. He moved to Milan from Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy in January 2020. However, he is currently out of action, citing an Achilles problem. He has appeared for Milan, only once in the current season. On September 12, he helped the club win their match against Lazio by scoring a goal at the 66th minute and secured a 2-0 win.

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