Zlatan Ibrahimović reportedly made United vice-captain

According to a report in the Sun this morning, Zlatan Ibrahimović has been made a Manchester United vice-captain by manager José Mourinho. The veteran striker will apparently become de facto captain if Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick aren’t on the pitch — if true, we can only hope he spends plenty of time wearing the armband in the coming campaign.

The report also includes a quote from an unnamed “United insider,” who says the following:

“Some of the other lads, especially the young ones, are in awe of Zlatan.

“He brings a presence to the place and people look up to him after everything that he has achieved through his career.

“He has experience at the highest level and is seen as an obvious captain when the other lads aren’t on the pitch.”

Though there’s clearly no way of verifying this quote, we wouldn’t be at all surprised if true. For all of the careful crafting of Zlatan’s maverick persona, he certainly comes across as a lot more calm and encouraging in spontaneous scenarios. One can only imagine how Marcus Rashford must’ve felt after being applauded by the Great Zlatan from the touchline in the pre-season encounter with Galatasaray: