(Caps Outsider)
Henrik Lundqvist, the Sedin twins, Nicklas Backstrom; none of them can hold a candle to the popularity of Sweden’s top footballer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Washington’s newest Swedish draft pick, knows that, too.
“He’s like a God, really. Although he got like a s—-y attitude, everyone loves him,” Jonsson-Fjallby said.
While the fifth-round selection practiced with his teammates on the third day of Development Camp, Ibrahimovic was busy finalizing a deal to join Manchester United of the Barclays Premier League, ending months of speculation. He will earn £220,000 a week.
The football star announced the move on his Instagram page with a picture of the club crest and the hashtag, #iamcoming.
Ibrahimovic cemented his fate with his old club, Paris Saint-Germain of French Ligue 1, when he said he would only return if they tore down the Eiffel Tower and erected a statue of him in its place.
From there, rumors swirled on where he would sign next. Man U seemed the front-runners from the start according to every sports page in the UK. Ibrahimovic waited until after Sweden’s disappointing exit at the EURO 2016 championships to announce to move.
“They could’ve done better,” Jonsson-Fjallby said. “Since it was his last tournament with the national team, it was pretty sad for the Swedish people that it ended so badly.”
As for the rest of EURO 2016, Jonsson-Fjallby is firmly in Iceland’s corner. The little-nation-that-could shocked the football world when they advanced past the group stage in their first major tournament, and then did the world one better by defeating a heavily-favored England squad to advance to the round of eight.
“Now that Sweden’s out of the tournament, it’s like all Swedes cheer for Iceland,” Jonsson-Fjallby said.
It helps that one of Iceland’s managers, Lars Lagerback, is Swedish.
