Ibrahimovic keeps busy in Sweden, fuelling talk he will stay

While most of his AC Milan team-mates have had to sit idle because of the pandemic, Ibrahimovic was busy training in Sweden at Hammarby, a first-division club which he part owns.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has won multiple trophies across five countries.

AC Milan was on Friday awaiting the belated return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic from a protracted and productive coronavirus exile in Sweden that has fuelled speculation in his native country that its biggest star was coming home for good.

While most of his AC Milan team-mates have had to sit idle because of the pandemic, Ibrahimovic was busy training in Sweden with players at Hammarby, a first-division club which he part owns.

Unlike much of the rest of Europe, where containment has limited or prevented athletes training, in Sweden restrictions to contain Covid-19 have been more flexible.

The start of the Swedish league, scheduled for 4 April has been postponed, but training has continued as long as players avoid close contact, unlike Italy where individual training only resumed this week.

READ|

On Tuesday, only Ibrahimovic and Ivory Coast striker Franck Kessie were absent at the Milanello centre for medical tests AC Milan had asked players to take, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

But on Friday morning, the same newspaper reported that the Swede was expected later in the day.

In Sweden, reports on Ibrahimovic's immediate intentions are contradictory. There have been reports that he was waiting for a clearer picture of how training and Serie A will resume. On the other hand, some media say he is poised to leave for Italy, where Serie A hopes to resume in June.

READ|

“If we start on 4 May, I will return on 3 May. If we start on 9 May, I will arrive on 8 May,” the player was quoted by Swedish public television as saying in April.

The Italian government has not yet agreed to a plan for clubs to resume group training on May 18 and this week, Italian sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora warned that it was “impossible to set a definite date” for Serie A to restart.

In Stockholm, life has been almost normal for the former Swedish international, who returned home with his family after the break in the Italian championship.

His presence has fuelled the idea that the pandemic will precipitate Ibrahimovic's return to the Swedish league, where it all began for him 20 years ago in Malmo.

Ibrahimovic's contract, signed with Milan in December after a two-year stint in the USA with LA Galaxy, expires at the end of the season.