Radrizzani: "He could have given us that decisive push but he decided to go to AC Milan. He has been very honest and transparent with me"
Wednesday 25 March 2020 10:46, UK
Zlatan Ibrahimovic held talks with Leeds before rejoining AC Milan in the January transfer window, the Championship club's owner has revealed.
The Swedish superstar signed up for a second spell at Milan after leaving LA Galaxy and demonstrated his enduring quality at 38 with three Serie A goals before the competition's suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic earlier this month.
Now Andrea Radrizzani has told Sky in Italy's Gianluca Di Marzio he tried to persuade Ibrahimovic to return to England, where the striker had a successful season with Leeds' rivals Manchester United in 2016/7.
Ibrahimovic and Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani were both targets as Leeds sought promotion to the Premier League, according to Radrizzani, who said: "I spoke with Zlatan Ibrahimovic more concretely.
"He could have given us that decisive push but he decided to go to AC Milan. He has been very honest and transparent with me.
"We need to be rational and coherent with the strategy of both coach and team. I did not even speak with (coach) Marcelo Bielsa about Cavani and Ibrahimovic because we never got to the stage that we could sit down and talk about them."
Leeds are top of the suspended Championship, with a seven-point cushion on the play-off places, and Radrizzani said he was "hopeful there can be a correct solution" when decisions about the season are eventually made.
