Allegri admits to Ibrahimovic interest

ROME (AFP) – AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri admitted on Saturday that he is interested in signing Barcelona forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Swede has previously played for Milan’s two great rivals Juventus and Inter Milan, but that wouldn’t stop Allegri taking him on.

“Ibrahimovic has always been a winner, he’s shown that and he’s (still) showing that it would be important to have him in our squad, but I (only) talk about Milan players,” he told reporters on the eve of the Berlusconi Trophy, a friendly match between Milan and Juve.

“Right now there’s no sense in talking about Ibrahimovic’s arrival, I prefer sure things, we’ll talk about him if and when he arrives.”

Ibrahimovic is rumoured to be unhappy at Barcelona while his first team place will supposedly come under threat this season following the Catalans’ acquisition of World Cup winning forward David Villa from Valencia.

Milan are interested in the 28-year-old Swedish international but do not have the finances to fund a bid, as Milan official Ariedo Braida admitted: “If he’s given to us as a present we’ll take him, I like great players.”

There is one person who has also left Italian shores for those of Spain, though, who Allegri does not want to see returning to Italy: the controversial former Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho, now with Real Madrid.

“He came here and he won, but I don’t miss him, that’s for sure,” said Allegri, echoing similar sentiments expressed by AS Roma’s Claudio Ranieri a day earlier.

“I could miss my daughter or a beautiful woman but it would be serious, a problem even, if I missed Mourinho.”