Zlatan Ibrahimovic admitted his future is uncertain and declined Friday to commit to another season with the LA Galaxy.
Ibrahimovic has had a remarkable debut season in MLS, scoring 17 goals in 22 games, and is under contract for next year, but the 36-year-old told reporters he’s not ready to make a decision about spending a second year in Southern California.
“I don’t know. This I have to discuss,” he said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “This is not the moment to talk about that. It’s something I’ll discuss with the club. What they want, what I want. So let’s see.”
The Swedish striker is coming off a major knee injury he suffered with Manchester United a year ago, but he said he would be fine as the season winds down with the Galaxy chasing a Western Conference playoff spot.
“I have five games,” he said. “I’m happy. Physically I feel strong, I feel good. I’m producing. So I just need to win games and then everything is perfect.”
Ibrahimovic has previously voiced frustration with the fortunes of the Galaxy, who are in the midst of a seven-game winless streak and sacked coach Sigi Schmid earlier this month, and said it was a new experience to play for a struggling club.
“It’s a different challenge,” he said. “The team I played for [before], I had that feeling like we were unbeatable. Nobody can destroy us. We will destroy everybody.”
His wages may also be an issue, as he is making just $1.5 million this year –the fourth-highest paid player on the Galaxy — in part because of the uncertainty over his knee.
Meanwhile, Giovani dos Santos is making $6m, the fifth-highest compensation in MLS, but the Mexico international has been criticized during an injury-plagued season in which he has scored just three goals in 13 games.
Ibrahimovic’s pocketbook was made a little lighter earlier on Friday as MLS fined him an undisclosed amount for the second time in a month for putting his hands on an opponent’s head.