Commentary
Ibra, out of MLS's league for now
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, May 23, 2016
Mourinho is set to join United following the firing of Louis van Gaal, and multiple reports suggest that the signing of Ibra on a one-year contract with an option for a second year was imminent. (Ibra's last of three seasons at Inter Milan in 2008-09 was Mourinho's first of two seasons with the Italian club.) The Independent added that the offer includes an option for Ibrahimovic become a United assistant coach after he quits playing.
Ibrahimovic played his final game for Paris St. Germain on Saturday as it beat Marseille, 2-1, for the French Cup title. He finished with 156 goals in 180 games for PSG, winner of four straight Ligue 1 titles and all four French trophies in 2015-16.
Only recently, Ibra was linked by ESPN FC with a move to MLS, more specifically a move to the LA Galaxy. Then, ESPN's Taylor Twellman reported that if the big Swede moved to MLS it would not be to the Galaxy.
No information on Ibra's salary was available, but the Daily Telegraph reported that Ibrahimovic wanted the equivalent of what he was making at Paris St. Germain, which was more than $22 million after taxes.
The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf had reported that Ibra had turned down a 50 million euro ($56 million) deal from an unnamed Chinese club to sign with United.
Whatever Ibrahimovic's salary is, it will dwarf what he could ever make from an MLS club. The highest-paid player in MLS this season is Orlando City's Kaka at guaranteed compensation of $7,167,500. Doubling that would still have gotten an MLS team to only slightly more than $14 million -- nowhere near what Ibra could command elsewhere.
Offering Ibra the money he'd want would have also thrown any MLS pay scale for foreign stars out the window, just as clubs are wrestling with trying to determine the impact, on the field and off, of the big signings of the last two years.
Ibra would be a star in the MLS now, or several years in the future...excellent technical skills, top notch soccer IQ, physically imposing. None of these qualities match a single MLS player.