After two seasons stateside, the now 38-year-old star left the MLS and signed with AC Milan of the Serie A league in Italy where he now seems to be "alive again" the "BBC News" noted after his first goal. His impact was not minimal though, he said he would come to dominate the MLS and he did just that. At age 36 and coming off of a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury that can potentially derail careers, Ibrahimovic played a total of 56 regular-season games for the Galaxy.
In those 56 games, he scored an impressive 52 goals and added 17 assists as well, providing the lion's share of the offensive output for the team.
His tenure failed to capture an MLS Cup win, however, nor was he able to bring home an MLS MVP award. Furthermore, the Galaxy’s defense suffered immensely during Zlatan’s time with the team: allowing a ridiculous 64 goals over that span.
Salary space freed by Zlatan
With the salary space that Zlatan will free up, the Galaxy finds themselves in a position to shore up their defensive side. They have some glaring weaknesses on the backend including the offseason departure of their stalwart center-back Diego Polenta. Polenta did have his moments but otherwise, he was rock solid back there for the Galaxy after playing in 28 games last year, even chipping in with a goal and six assists.
The rest of the defensive core is young and unproven, which is why it needs so much retooling.
Giancarlo Gonzalez has to prove that he is capable of being a starter in this league and will have to shoulder even more of the load with the exit of Polenta. The Galaxy have a gaping hole at center back that will need to be filled before the start of the season or goalkeeper David Bingham could be in for another long season.
The removal of Zlatan from this lineup will surely allow the team to focus on their defensive play as a cohesive unit, but what about the offensive production? There have been many rumors in the Soccer world this offseason about other global superstars filling the void that Ibrahimovic left behind. The most commonly seen one is that of Italian superstar Mario Balotelli.
Long rumored to be making the jump to the MLS, Balotelli has battled racism from fans with his current club Brescia. The fit does seem like it would work well as it is widely known that Balotelli wishes to leave the controversy that surrounds him in Italy.
Paris St. Germain’s Edinson Cavani linked to the Galaxy
As with Balotelli, Cavani is a formidable striker and efficient goal scorer. They also both play better defense than Zlatan which would help out this team immensely. Either one of these superstars could fill the void left by Zlatan on the offensive side of the ball.
The outlook for the Los Angeles Galaxy heading into 2020 is one of uncertainty. There are always pros and cons to losing a superstar like Zlatan and the Galaxy has some spots to fill before the season starts.
The defense needs to be shored up which may once again be sacrificed if they choose to sign an international star like Balotelli or Cavani. The Galaxy does have the financial flexibility to spend big money in the offseason, but just as when Zlatan was here, scoring buckets of goals won’t get you far if you are letting in more goals on your end.
