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Zlatan: I’m returning to MLS to lift Galaxy in standings

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) — Although Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s first season in Major League Soccer was a smashing individual success, his LA Galaxy were a serious disappointment in the standings.

The Galaxy’s failure to make the MLS playoffs is a major reason why the Swedish superstar is back for another season in California instead of taking big money to return to Europe.

“My priority No. 1 was to stay with the Galaxy, because I feel I have much more to give to Galaxy and the MLS, the fans,” Ibrahimovic said Saturday at a Los Angeles-area hotel during the league’s media day. “The way we ended last season was not a situation normal for me, because normally where I go, I win. And I didn’t succeed with that here, and that for me was not OK. I think the fans deserve more than what they got.”

The 37-year-old Ibrahimovic scored 22 goals in 27 games after joining the Galaxy in March. He added 10 assists and dazzled the North American league with his offensive skill, which hadn’t been diminished by his recent knee injury.

Although he led one of the most prolific goal-scoring teams in MLS, the Galaxy struggled defensively and in big games. They finished in seventh place in the Western Conference with a 13-12-9 record despite Zlatan’s steady scoring.

Ibrahimovic had little doubt he could score goals against MLS defenses, but victories weren’t as simple to acquire. After proving he is still a force up front, he wants to lift the Galaxy’s entire roster this year.

“For the upcoming season, I want to feel I have a challenge to win this thing,” Ibrahimovic said. “The first season was more about, ‘How do I feel?’ What level I am, especially after my injury. Didn’t play soccer for more than a year, but it took 10 minutes and I showed the world what I was. I showed them that I’m still there, that I’m still alive, and that was important for me.”

Ibrahimovic also got a new one-year contract paying him much more than last season, when he made a meager $1.5 million. Zlatan agreed to the smaller initial deal to fit into the strictures on the Galaxy’s payroll imposed by MLS’ salary cap, but his new deal is more commensurate with his abilities.

“From being the worst-paid (superstar) to best, for me, is the same situation, because I still have to perform,” Ibrahimovic said. “I performed under being the worst-paid, so imagine now how I will perform being the best-paid.”

Ibrahimovic said he could have signed a multiyear deal with the Galaxy, but declined.

“I’ll play as long as I can perform, and that’s why I probably could sign two years, three years, four years,” Ibrahimovic said. “That is how much the Galaxy believe in me. But I said, ‘One year at a time.’ For the moment, I feel good. I feel I can give back. I don’t want to put the club in a situation where I cannot perform and (still) have me (on the payroll), especially under these strict rules.”

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