Which club could Zlatan Ibrahimovic be going to next?

On Wednesday evening, Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced on social media that he will be leaving LA Galaxy after spending 2 seasons with the MLS club.

“I came, I saw, I conquered. Thank you @lagalaxy for making me feel alive again. To the Galaxy fans - you wanted Zlatan, I gave you Zlatan. You are welcome. The story continues...Now go back to watch baseball.”

Ibrahimovic’s record in the MLS is fantastic, as the Swedish striker scored 52 goals and registered 17 assists in 56 games for LA galaxy. His record demonstrates that he is still capable of performing at the highest level, and with it being likely that he will return to Europe in January, we thought we’d look at the possible clubs that Ibrahimovic could be heading to.

AC Milan

As it stands, Italy, and particularly AC Milan, seems to be the Bookmakers favourite destination for Ibrahimovic as he is currently as short as 6/4 to return to his former club. Milan became the bookies favourite after the MLS Commissioner Don Garber stated:

“Zlatan is such an interesting guy. He is a 38-year-old guy who is now being recruited by AC Milan, one of the top clubs in the world.”

Considering that Garber doesn’t seem to have any personally allegiance for or against LA Galaxy, it seems unlikely that he would lie about any details regarding Ibrahimovic’s next club.

Bologna

By far the strangest rumoured destination for Ibrahimovic is Italian club Bologna who currently sit at 15th in Serie A, but there are several sources reporting that the club are a serious contender to sign Ibrahimovic. Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport claim that Bologna are the favourites to sign Ibrahimovic.

Napoli

A long with Bologna and AC Milan, Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport are reporting that Napoli are also interested in bringing Ibrahimovic back to Italy. However, there seems to be more sources claiming that AC Milan and Bologna are the most likely destinations for Ibrahimovic if he were to return to Italy.

Towards the end of October, a video emerged of Ibrahimovic declaring that he would be returning to Spain after the end of the MLS season.

“Hola Espana! Guess what? I’m coming back”, Ibrahimovic said.

Real Valladolid

Now this is a strange one indeed. Behind AC Milan, the bookies favourite for Ibrahimovic’s next club is Spanish side Real Valladolid who currently sit at 13th place in La Liga. The reason behind Ibrahimovic’s link with Valadolid is their majority owner, Ronaldo Nazario, who was a childhood idol of Ibrahimovic. A picture of Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo both holding and LA Galaxy shirt a few weeks ago shows that the 2 have been in contact, with Ronaldo possibly persuading Ibrahimovic to join Valladolid.

Real Madrid

Staying in Spain, another club who is rumoured to be the next destination for Ibrahimovic is Real Madrid. Considering that Ibrahimovic hasn’t been particularly loyal during his career seeing that he player for: Inter, AC Milan, and Juventus, it wouldn’t be a surprise to forget his allegiance to Barcelona and join their fierce rivals Real Real Madrid.

Atletico Madrid

Between Real Valladolid, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, it looks like Atletico is the least likely destination for Ibrahimovic as there aren’t many news sources reporting anything more than interest from Atletico. Atletico were reportedly interested in signing Ibrahimovic back when he was playing for Manchester United, so if those reports were true, Simeone could make a second attempt to bring Ibrahimovic to Atletico.