Zlatan Ibrahimovic said the LA Galaxy “will win” a title in his second year with the club.
Speaking to ESPN FC during the annual MLS media days in Los Angeles, the Swedish striker said he had opportunities to go elsewhere following a campaign when he scored 22 goals and added 10 assists, but felt he had unfinished business with the Galaxy, especially given that LA missed the playoffs for the second year running.
After weeks of speculation as to where Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be playing next year, the 37-year-old has signed a new contract with LA Galaxy for the 2019 MLS season as a Designated Player.
“We are very pleased to sign Zlatan to a new contract that will see him return for the 2019 season,” said LA Galaxy General Manager Dennis te Kloese.
“He showed his value last season and we look forward to him representing our club next year. With Zlatan returning, we will continue to improve our team in advance of the season.”
Ibrahimovic’s return to Los Angeles had been widely expected.
Atlanta United won the MLS Cup in only their second season in the competition with a 2-0 win over Portland Timbers.
MLS Most Valuable Player Josef Martinez opened the scoring on 39 minutes with his 35th goal of the season and Franco Escobar added a second after the break.
It was Atlanta boss Gerardo Martino’s final game in charge before he becomes head coach of Mexico.
“We won it, it feels good,” he said. “If I had to choose a way to leave somewhere, this is the best way.”
David Beckham’s hopes of building a new stadium for his Inter Miami franchise in the MLS moved a step closer to being realized after a vote by residents.
About 60% of the city’s voters opted to allow the club to negotiate to build on a 73-acre site that is currently a council-owned golf course.
The complex would house a stadium, shopping mall, hotel and public park.
Beckham’s group now has to get the backing of four of the city’s five commissioners. That is not guaranteed as two of them, Willy Gort and Manolo Reyes, have voiced opposition to the plans.
D.C. United striker Wayne Rooney isn’t interested in a return to Europe on loan this winter, saying he’s committed to D.C. United and that playing for another side would only serve as a distraction from his latest project.
Rooney has been brilliant for D.C. since joining the club from Everton in mid-summer, helping to lift the team from the bottom of the Eastern Conference table into the playoffs.
United have picked up 39 points and won 12 times since Rooney’s arrival, with the former Manchester United and England captain scoring 12 goals in the process.
The whispers have grown a little louder in recent days and it appears that there is a real chance that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will rejoin Manchester United on loan in January.
When we last saw Ibra in a Manchester United shirt, he was returning from a cruciate ligament injury and look like a shadow of the man who had led United to two trophies in his first season with the club.
But the 37-yuear-old striker has regained his fitness and scoring touch in Major League Soccer with 21 goals in 25 games for the LA Galaxy this season.
Josef Martinez thrilled another record crowd in Atlanta by scoring in the MLS All-Star Game, but Italian champions Juventus prevailed on penalties after a 1-1 draw on Wednesday night.
Juventus scored all five of their spot kicks in front of a 72,317-strong crowd, winning when Mattia De Sciglio drilled one into the upper-left corner past Columbus goalkeeper Zack Steffen.
New York Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, who recently scored his 100th goal in the States, was the villain as his shot cannoned back off the post.
Former Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney is expected to complete a move to D.C. United in early July.
Rooney currently has one year left on his contract at Everton, but the Premier League side will not stand in the way of Rooney moving to Major League Soccer.
Manchester United and England’s record goalscorer agreed a deal in principle last month but he cannot sign for DC United until the US mid-season transfer window opens on 10 July.
Provided there are no unexpected developments, Rooney will make his debut on 14 July, the day before the World Cup final, when DC United open their new 20,000-capacity Audi Field stadium against Vancouver.
Former Barcelona and New York Red Bulls defender Rafael Marquez is among 22 people sanctioned for alleged ties to a drug trafficking organization, the United States Treasury announced on Wednesday.
The Treasury said in a statement that it will also sanction 43 entities in Mexico, including a football team and casino. The sanctions freeze all US assets of the people and entities named and forbid US citizens from doing business with them.
Bastian Schweinsteiger says he is struggling to adapt to the ‘huge’ step down in quality in Major League Soccer, saying he sometimes finds himself frustrated by his new team-mates.
Winning titles and World Cups with Bayern Munich and Germany for the majority of his career, Schweinsteiger grew used to sharing a field with world-class players.
He continued to test himself against the world’s best by moving to Manchester United, but took a big step down by joining Chicago Fire, who finished bottom of their division last season.