Manchester City eye Zlatan Ibrahimovic after he takes a fortnight to fall out with PSG's new coach
12 Jul 2013 22:32
Volatile superstar who has won the league 10 times in 12 years has nose put out of joint by French club's pursuit of Cavani
Hot gossip: City could bid for Ibrahimovic now he's been denied Real Madrid move
Michael Regan
New Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini is ready to launch a cut-price swoop for Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The volatile Ibrahimovic has ALREADY fallen out with Paris Saint-Germain boss Laurent Blanc - who was only appointed 18 days ago - and seems set to quit the French champions.
Ibrahimovic has refused to return a call from the former France manager, despite being given an extra 10 days off from pre-season training than the majority of the PSG squad.
The 31-year-old is understood to be unhappy at the imminent arrival of Uruguayan hitman Edinson Cavani, set to move in a £53million deal from Napoli, and there is a growing suspicion the Swede will refuse to turn up for training next Thursday.
Former Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona and AC Milan ace Ibrahimovic - who scored four sensational goals against England in a friendly last November, including a 30-yard overhead kick - has authorised his representative, super-agent Mino Raiola, to open negotiations with Real Madrid.
Ibrahimovic believed he would be available for 'just' £17m and was prepared to take a pay-cut - to 'a mere' £250,000 per week - to grease the wheels on a move to the Bernabeu.
But new Real boss Carlo Ancelotti spiked the move by informing Raiola that he made a "no poaching" agreement with his former club when he left PSG last month.
That has opened the door for talks with deposed Premier League champions City - who face a renewed fight from Juventus for £28m Fiorentina forward Stevan Jovetic, but do remain favourites to land the Montenegrin star.
Pellegrini needs attacking reinforcements this summer as predecessor Roberto Mancini - who tried to buy Ibrahimovic a year ago - sold Mario Balotelli in January without signing a replacement, while he allowed Carlos Tevez to join Juventus shortly after taking charge.
While City have yet to make a formal bid, Ibrahimovic is keen to prove himself in the Premier League after being angered by the dismissive tone taken towards him in England over much of the past decade.
The Swede is European football's great "lucky charm" having won the domestic title in 10 of the last 12 seasons across four countries.
* MANCHESTER CITY have unveiled plans to increase the Etihad Stadium's capacity from 47,500 to 60,000 - which would make it the third largest ground among England's league clubs.
