Ibrahimovic wants to increase United assists

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be looking to increase the number of assists he makes for his Manchester United teammates in the New Year.

The Swedish striker is the club’s leading marksman this season with his goal against Sunderland on Boxing Day his 17th of the season in all competitions following his arrival in the summer.

But the 35-year-old insisted that football is a team game and he wants to improve the opportunities he provides for his fellow Red Devils – like his Boxing Day assist for Henrikh Mkhitaryan at Old Trafford.

“When I scored [against Sunderland] it was 50 [goals in 2016] but that is not one of my objectives because if a player starts to focus only on scoring goals it means he’s focusing only on himself,” he said.

(Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images)

“Like I said, I’m not here to focus on myself because I’m here to help my team-mates win.

“The goals come in the second wave – the first wave is my team, the collective part that I want to win with them. If the collective does well, the individual will do well and I prefer to have it that way.

“If you know the way I play my game, I’m the one who scores or tries to help my team-mates score.”