Three years ago Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved to MLS
The Swedish international left a mark on the Los Angeles Galaxy and the entire MLS.
In the summer of 2018 Zlatan Ibrahimovic decided to continue his career in Major League Soccer and joined the Los Angeles Galaxy for the remainder of the season. The Swedish international had suffered a serious knee injury during his time at Manchester United that made the Premier League sided part ways with the veteran No 9.
Scored twice in his MLS debut
March 31 marked the three year anniversary of Zlatan arriving in the US league. After reaching full fitness, he made his debut against the city rivals Los Angeles FC at the Dignity Health Sports park.
The Los Angeles Galaxy was losing 3-1 in the second half and Ibrahimovic came on in the 71st minute, replacing Sebastian Lleget, who had scored the only game for the home team. Two minutes later Chris Pontious would shorten the gap and scored the second goal for the LA Galaxy to make 3-2.
Then in the 77th minute came the brilliance of Zlatan, who equalised with a right footed shot from more than 35 yards out. He scored a goal on his debut in Major League Soccer against their city rivals LAFC. But the Swedish international was not done there, because in stoppage time his header found the back of the next to give his team the 4-3 victory.
The rest is history, because in two seasons Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored 52 goals and provided 17 assists in 56 appearances. Thanks to his performances, the LA Galaxy returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. After the end of the 2019 season, the 39-year-old decided to return to Europe and sign with AC Milan. According to his agent Mino Raiola, Ibrahimovic wasted his time playing in MLS, but to the league and the fans he is considered one of the best players to have played in the US.