'Ibra' could return to AC Milan - agent

Paris Saint-Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic could consider a return to AC Milan in Serie A, according to the Sweden striker's agent in a report on Thursday.

Ibrahimovic is set to leave the French champion at the end of the season, with reports claiming the 34-goal striker could be headed for England's Premier League.

Ibrahimovic's agent Mino Raiola told men's magazine GQ Italia that the Swede could return to Italy where he also starred for Juventus and Inter Milan.

Extracts appear on gazzetta.it, which quoted Raiola as saying: "Ibra could return to Italy, to Milan".

In what is seen as a veiled reference to recent reports linking Ibrahimovic to a 75 million euros ($85 million) per-season deal in China, Raiola, in direct extracts from the magazine interview, said: "Ibra is a player who is capable of some amazing tricks. Even turning down many millions to go to AC Milan. He has still not decided."

Raiola also represents Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba and Liverpool's on-loan AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli.

He dismissed claims highly-rated Pogba would be tempted away from recently-crowned champion Juve by Chelsea this summer, but added: "At least not right now."

And he believes Balotelli, who has yet to resurrect his roller-coaster career at fallen Italian giant Milan, would have been a match for Barcelona icon Lionel Messi if he only had the same attitude to his career as Ibrahimovic.

Balotelli has only recently returned to competition amid an injury-hit campaign but although earning plaudits for a string of composed performances, the former World Cup striker is set to be excluded from Italy's Euro 2016 squad by coach Antonio Conte later this month.

"If he (Balotelli) had the same attitude as Ibrahimovic, Messi would have had a few less Ballon d'Or awards," he said.

Raiola's diverse portfolio of players means he is regarded as an authority by many watchers of the sport, while considered a pariah by several top coaches and managers - among whom is Sir Alex Ferguson, who has crossed verbal swords with the multilingual Dutch agent before the Scot's retirement from soccer.

And he rated the clubs in Italy's Serie A, the majority of whom do not own their own stadiums, as bottom of the class.

"In Italy, a club owner doesn't own anything. All he has is 60 salaries to pay. If the team wins, they're heroes and if they lose they're to be hung out to dry," said Raiola.

"It's the fans who run things."

Despite former run-ins with Ferguson, especially following Pogba's decision to walk away from Old Trafford to Juventus on a free transfer, Raiola paid tribute to the "managerial" and "strategic" skills of Manchester United's owners, the Glazer family.

"The Glazers at Manchester United didn't put one pound into the club, but they brought in managerial skills and strategy," he said.

"They inherited a team in the abyss and now they have their heads well above water."

(China Daily 05/07/2016 page12)