Manchester United have gained as many as eight MILLION fans in Sweden since the summer, taking them off European heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain, and it's all because of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. At least, that is the opinion of Swedish ex-United winger Jesper Blomqvist.
Blomqvist, who was an important part of the club's treble winning squad in 1998/99 before injury cruelly cut short his career, has worked with travel companies in his homeland in the last few years and has noticed a significant shift in people wanting to visit Manchester.
"He is one of the biggest personalities in Sweden," Blomqvist said tothe Sun of hisfellow countryman.
"He has launched his own perfume, Volvo cars and his own sports clothing range. He is his own brand. He is everywhere even though he has stopped playing for the national team. I work a lot with travel companies in Sweden coming over to Manchester. The interest is just triple," he added.
"Zlatan is so big in Sweden. I think PSG have lost eight million supporters in Sweden and now they are all Manchester United. Not all but it is like that."
Sweden as a whole only has a population of just under 10 million people. So while Blomqvist's estimation may be an exaggeration, the sentiment behind it is certainly justified based on what he haspersonally witnessed.
"More planes come over, they sell a lot more tickets to the United games," he said. "I have done it every now and then for a couple of years. Now there are 10 times more calls from companies who want me to come over with the supporters."
Ibrahimovic, who played his last game for the national team at Euro 2016 after announcing his decision to step down from international duty, has made and destroyed clubs' popularity in Sweden before - Milan actually had to cancel a planned friendly in the country because interest plummeted when Zlatan was sold to PSG shortly before the game in 2012.
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