Manchester United are believed to have decided against offering the Swede veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic a contract extension to his one-year contract at Old Trafford, which expires on 30th June, Metro UK reports that. This is despite scoring twenty-eight goals in his debut season with the club. Elsewhere, in England, Manchester City has finally acquired the services of Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson Moraes from Lisbon Benfica.
Zlatan leaves Man United
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is currently undergoing “rehabilitation” after a season-ending knee injury sustained in the Europa League quarterfinal clash against RSC Anderlecht in April. And with the 35-year-old recovery expected for an unspecified period of months to come, Manchester United have begun to seek for a possible replacement this summer. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the only first team player whose contract is due for renewal this summer. If the 35-year-old is indeed missing from Manchester United's roster for next season, the Guardian notes that it could perhaps leave the Swede veteran “contemplating” the end of his top level soccer career following successful spells with Malmo FK (1999-2001), Ajax Amsterdam (2001-2004), Juventus FC (2004-2006), Inter Milan (2006-2009), Barcelona (2009-2011), AC Milan (2011-2012), and Paris Saint-Germain (2012-2016).
The former Swedish international forward played a total of forty-nine matches under Jose Mourinho in the 2016/2017 season but knee ligament injury apparently ruled him out of the final ten games of the season, including the UEFA Europa League finals victory against his former team Ajax Amsterdam in Stockholm.
Moraes joins Manchester City
Ederson Moraes, who impressed with the Portuguese Primeira Liga champions Benfica throughout the 2016-2017 season, has been given the “green light” to join Manchester City on a six-year deal, the SofaScore reported. The Brazilian goalkeeper becomes City's fourth Brazilian signings alongside Fernando, Gabriel Jesus, and Fernandinho. Born Ederson Santana de Moraes, started his soccer career as a youth player with Brazilian club Sao Paulo, where he spent two years before joining second-tier Portuguese club Ribeirao in 2011 season.
The Brazilian youngster played a total of thirty matches before signing a professional contract with Primeira Liga outfit Rio Ave after a year. Ederson Moraes stayed at Rio Ave for three years, playing sixty-three matches in all competitions, and attracted several interests from Primeira Liga's “bigger” club sides including Lisbon Benfica who eventually bought the teenager in 2015 season. The young Brazilian goalkeeper played several matches for Benfica reserve team before becoming Benfica's first choice goalkeeper throughout last season as the Lisbon club won a League and Cup double to finish up the 2016-17 season.