Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s long talks with AC Milan this fall never came close to getting the Italian team a new player. But it has gotten Ibrahimovic a new contract, one that will make him a designated player, paving the way for a substantial raise.
Days after AC Milan sporting director Leonardo said talks with his club regarding a winter loan had come to an end, an MLS source confirmed Tuesday that Ibrahimovic has a new deal with the league. The Galaxy declined comment but an official announcement is expected next week.
December is turning out to be a busy month for the Galaxy. Although it has long been known that Dennis Te Kloese, a former Chivas USA executive, will be the team’s new general manager, the Galaxy didn’t publicly announce his hiring until Tuesday. The team is also very close to concluding negotiations to make former Portland Timbers manager Caleb Porter its new coach and has been linked to former Galaxy midfielder Juninho about a return to Carson.
Talks with Porter and Juninho have been ongoing for weeks.
More moves will have to take place before Ibrahimovic can sign his deal since the Galaxy already have their full allotment of three DPs in Romain Alessandrini and brothers Gio and Jonathan dos Santos. But MLS owners are meeting Wednesday and the Board of Governors meets Thursday amid rumors that changes to the league’s salary structure are being discussed.
Ibrahimovic, who reportedly made more than $25 million a season in Europe, joined the Galaxy in March after signing a two-year deal that paid him $1.5 million for 2018. A year earlier the Galaxy had offered him a contract that would have paid him the highest salary in MLS history — more than $7.1 million a season — but that deal was pulled after Ibrahimovic suffered a gruesome knee injury playing for Manchester United.
It has long been assumed that Ibrahimovic’s contract included a verbal understanding the team would find a way to get him a raise for 2019 and the very public talks with Milan were likely part of a strategy to keep pressure on the Galaxy to do just that.
Leonardo appeared to confirm that Sunday.
“He gave his word to Galaxy that he would stay if they satisfied his conditions, and they did so,” he said.
In 27 appearances in his first MLS season, Ibrahimovic, 37, was second in the league with 22 goals and shared the team lead with 10 assists. A month ago he indicated his desire was getting a deal done with the Galaxy but said the team needed to make changes to its front office and coaching staff to prove it was sincere about winning.
The firing of Pete Vanegas as vice president of soccer operations and the hiring of Te Kloese and Porter appear to have convinced Ibrahimovic.
“I’m in talks with the Galaxy. I’m optimistic and I’m positive,” he said in early November. “But I want to feel my team can compete against other ones. The club knows all my wishes, all my demands. It’s up to them what they want but they are very positive. I have a very good relationship. Let’s say I’m not worried.”
Last week the Swedish newspaper Expressen Sport reported that a big factor in Ibrahimovic’s decision would be his family’s desire to stay in Southern California.
“I’m happy, my family, everybody’s happy,” he said in November. “We have a good time and a good life here.”
Te Kloese, who was director of national teams for the Mexican soccer federation, or FMF, will be in charge of all soccer-related decisions for the Galaxy. He has been working at the StubHub Center since last month although negotiations with the FMF delayed the formal announcement of his hiring until Tuesday.
Born in the Netherlands, Te Kloese, 44, played for Dutch age-group national teams and is well-regarded for his success in youth development, an important consideration for the Galaxy, who have invested heavily in their player development program. He first came to Mexico in 2003, where he worked first as scouting director for Chivas of Guadalajara. He was academy director for Tigres and briefly worked as sporting director for Chivas sandwiched around two stints with the Mexican federation.
He served now-defunct Chivas USA as both sporting president and soccer director in two separate stays in MLS.
Porter, the college roommate of Galaxy President Chris Klein, won an MLS Cup with Portland in 2015 but left the team after finishing atop the Western Conference standings a year ago. He has been a target of the Galaxy since the club fired Sigi Schmid with six games left in the 2018 season. Dominic Kinnear has been acting as the team’s caretaker coach since then.
The Galaxy said the club and Porter have not signed a contract but the coach sat courtside at Monday’s Lakers game with Klein, Te Kloese and Dan Beckerman, CEO of AEG, the Galaxy’s parent company, a pretty good indication that talks are going well.
Juninho, a 29-year-old Brazilian, was an important part of the Galaxy’s last team MLS Cup champions, starting at least 30 games each year before going to Mexico’s Liga MX. He played on loan with the Chicago Fire in 2017.
kevin.baxter@latimes.com | Twitter: @kbaxter11