Zlatan Ibrahimovic, back in Italy to sign a contract extension with AC Milan, said he intends to “help the club get back to where it deserves to be”, in a video released on Sunday.
The video, published on the AC Milan website titled “Iz Back”, started with a small plane that landed at the city’s Linate airport on Saturday night and then showed the 39-year-old Swede, who was wearing club equipment and declared he was happy to return. “where he feels at home”.
Ibrahimovic has not yet signed the extension, but according to Italian press reports, the star striker and Milan have agreed on an extra year contract.
He joined the club in December last year on a six-month deal from the Los Angeles Galaxy and made 11 appearances in 20 Serie A and Italian cup matches.
“As I said before, I’m not here to be a mascot, but to get results, to help the club, the team and the coach get back to where Milan deserves to be,” he said in Italian on video.
“We have done fantastic things in the last six months but we have not received anything. Now I have the chance to be there from the beginning, we must continue and do the same thing,” said the Swede.
The Italian season begins on September 19.
“Ibrahimovic is our priority,” said AC Milan chief technical officer Paolo Maldini last Tuesday, without ruling out a Plan B as negotiations with the Swedish giants dragged on.
“We know it will be a short pre-season, so we want to complete the deal in a very short time.” Maldini added.
AC Milan’s stated goal is to return to the Champions League, a competition that Rossoneri has won seven times but has not played since 2014.