Zlatan Ibrahimovic open to working with Louis van Gaal

The Sweden striker, who admits he is not on good terms with the 63-year-old manager, still caused speculation that he could make a surprise move to United as a result of his comments.

Ibrahimovic said he would be willing to put aside any personal issues for the sake of his professional career, and that has fuelled rumours that he could arrive at Old Trafford this summer.

“At the end, I think he [Van Gaal] is professional and I am professional,” Ibrahimovic told Sports Illustrated.

“Whoever I work with, I never had this kind of problem, because at the end I need to do my job, he needs to do his job.

“And I think a lot of fights would happen, but that’s something I like.

“No, that’s not good [their relationship]. He was a director in Ajax, and the way he is working is not the way I work.”

Ibrahimovic famously hit out at Van Gaal in his autobiography 'I am Zlatan', calling the Dutchman "a pompous a***".

The United boss has already announced this summer that he will make a surprise signing regarding a striker.

If Ibrahimovic moved to United it would be a sensational story, but it is very, very unlikely to happen. The Swede has never seen eye-to-eye with the United boss and Van Gaal is not renowned for being a coach who happily looks past character clashes. While he would be a huge success from a marketing perspective - something which would delight Ed Woodward - there is little chance that Van Gaal would welcome a personality as big as Zlatan's into a squad which he is trying to bring together. Besides, these quotes do not amount to much besides Zlatan simply stating that he is professional.