Maldini hints Ibrahimovic will extend Milan stay
Milan technical director Paolo Maldini suggested Zlatan Ibrahimovic is in line to extend his contract with the Serie A leader.
Ibrahimovic has been a revelation since returning to Milan for a second spell in January last year, the evergreen 39-year-old spearheading the club's Scudetto charge this term.
The star forward passed 500 club goals in Milan's 4-0 Serie A rout of Crotone, increasing his tally to 501 with his sixth league brace of the season on Monday (AEDT).
Ibrahimovic is one of the two players, alongside Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, to have scored the most braces in the top five European leagues in 2020-2021, while the former Sweden international has netted 14 Serie A goals in 11 appearances this season - 16 across all competitions.
Out of contract at season's end, Maldini was asked about Ibrahimovic's future as Milan also look to re-sign stars Gianluigi Donnarumma and Hakan Calhanoglu.
"We are one of the youngest teams in Europe and we need a leader like Ibrahimovic," Maldini said.
"We tried to sign him in 2018 when he was playing for LA Galaxy.
"He's told us that the contract extension depends on his body, but if he carries on like this, I don't see why he shouldn't be continuing.
"We have three players with expiring contracts in 2022, we are working. There must be to parties happy to continue together, footballers are professional who only think about the pitch, we hope we are going to reach agreements soon."
Milan is two points clear of city rival Inter atop the table as it prepares to visit Spezia on Sunday (AEDT).
