AC Milan and Inter Milan are set to battle it out for their former player Zlatan Ibrahimovic this summer. Milan have taken the first step, with their general manager Adriano Galliani reported to have spoken with Paris Saint-Germain about the Swedish star earlier this week.
The Rossoneri are also reported to have sounded out his agent Mino Raiola. If they do put a bid to PSG, they may face competition from their city rivals, whose coach Roberto Mancini admitted he would also be interested in the Swedish forward.
“Ibra’s still a player who can make the difference. I would definitely bring him back [to Inter],” Mancini told Sky Sport Italia.
The 33-year-old made 117 appearances for Inter, scoring 66 goals. After a spell with Barcelona, he then joined AC Milan, for whom he played 85 times, scoring 56 goals prior to his move to PSG in 2012.
Ibrahimovic is just one of a number of targets for the Nerazzurri, although Mancini revised an earlier statement that he plans to overhaul his entire squad. ”
I haven’t asked for eight or nine new players, that was just a way of saying — I could have said 10,” added the former Manchester City manager.
With Ibra and one or two other astute signings, Mancini has no doubt about his side’s target for next season.
“We want to challenge for the Scudetto,” he said. “We would do that even if we were to go into the season with the same squad we’ve got now. I’m convinced that this side has improved a lot and can improve even more in preseason.
“I think things have been improving constantly. Unfortunately the results didn’t arrive. We made mistakes and that compromised the work we had done. If only we’d beaten Juve, as we would have deserved to, or won at Genoa, where a bit of everything happened, then we could have got more points from the final 12 matches.
“I, as the coach, am happy with the work my team did. Next year, we’ve got to combine this with results.”
The issue with Ibra is is wages, which is why Milan sold him to PSG in the first place. He is reportedly on €15 million a year in Paris and he would realistically have to take around a two third pay cut if he wanted to return to Serie A. I am not convinced that Ibra or his agent Mino Raiola are willing to go that far to make a deal happen.
