Zlatan Ibrahimovic creates an impression wherever he goes – and his first day at Manchester United was no different. The self-confident Swede has made his presence felt at every club he has played for in a glittering career. And teammate Juan Mata has revealed it was no different at United following his arrival from Paris St Germain in the summer of 2016. The Spaniard has lifted the lid on the impression Ibrahimovic made, telling Four Two magazine he had the Carrington kit men quaking in their boots – before revealing his jokey side.
“The day he arrived, we were away on pre-season, so he was on his own with the kit men at the training ground,” Mata said. “They had never met him before and he’s the sort of guy that garners instant respect because of the way he carries himself. “Zlatan apparently looked the kit men up and down and said: ‘I hope you know God has arrived’. “The kit men were shaking and didn’t know what to think, and then he fell about laughing with them. He always does that.”
Mata also revealed his frustration at being taken off – after being sent on as a substitute – in one of Jose Mourinho’s first games as United boss in the 2016 Community Shield. He was withdrawn in the final minutes at Wembley after being sent on less than half an hour earlier as United saw out a win. It sparked renewed speculation there was friction between the pair after Mourinho had previously allowed Mata to leave Stamford Bridge to join United. “Yes, it did [frustrate me],” Mata said. “In that specific moment, for that specific change, you’ve got to know Mourinho to understand his reasons. “I’d come on after an hour, we were winning. There were six substitutions allowed and he had one left. He wanted to waste time and break the game up.
“He’s a pragmatist – he says so himself. So, his thinking is: ‘If they get the ball, they’re going to go long into the box. I’m going to take off the smallest guy’. That’s his reasoning. I understood it, because he’d told me what he was going to do before the change.” But Mata insists there is no issue between player and manager, adding: “Because of what happened at Chelsea, the media digs up the past. I was happy because we’d won.
“His reasons for making the change were what they were, and I wasn’t going to question them. There was, and isn’t, any problem with him.”
