Zlatan Ibrahimovic has hailed Manchester United’s supporters, calling them “amazing”.
The 37-year-old scored 29 goals in 53 appearances for the Red Devils between 2016 and 2018 and was a popular figure at Old Trafford.
The former Barcelona striker scored on his Premier League debut in a 3-1 win at Bournemouth and was shocked by United’s diehard away support.
Ibrahimovic told Utd Unscripted: “The United fans are amazing. I’m not just saying that because I played for United. I know now because I’ve been on their side and I know the feeling they give you.
“I don’t need to lick a**, but the fans were just amazing. I remember my first game in the Premier League at Bournemouth, I scored and the fans were singing my song for 45 minutes.
“After 20 minutes I was like, ‘guys, please, my game is not really on top right now. Wait until I’m on top, wait and see!’
“Inside, I was like, ‘f***, this is fantastic!’ They really appreciated what I did and they were thankful.
“That is the best credit a player can get because when you do something and you get that response from the fans, it’s amazing.
“They are 50 per cent of everything we do. Imagine if you played in an empty stadium, you would not play. In Old Trafford it was always full. Always. In every away game they always showed up, always supported.
“When you get that support, it makes you give more back to them. We owed that to them. That is what triggered me, the whole season, not only winning the trophies, although of course you want to win the trophies.”
Ibrahimovic scored the goal which won United the EFL Cup and featured heavily in their successful Europa League triumph in the 2016/17 campaign.
He continued: “That whole first season at United was fantastic. Everything was. I really enjoyed it. The family was happy, everybody was happy, the club took care of me and made it really easy for me. I just needed to turn up, put on my football boots and perform.
“When I was a boy, I had a vision of what I wanted in my life. You never know what will happen, but I had my dreams, I had my will and my life became what it became. A lot of things have proven that if you want it, you will make it. You will achieve it. It’s all up to you. If you don’t work for it, you will not reach your objective. It’s my mentality. I like that pressure because I like to say before that I’ll do it because I really believe in it. I know I can do it.
“When I came to United and I said I would conquer England, people were laughing at me. I wasn’t joking.”
After the £75million signing of Romelu Lukaku in July 2017 limited the Swede’s playing time at Old Trafford, Ibrahimovic left United for the MLS last March.
He has continued his goalscoring form for LA Galaxy, netting 22 times in 27 league games.