Zlatan Ibrahimovic coy over Manchester United future

The forward was forced to watch from the sidelines as United beat Ajax 2-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday night

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's future at United remains unclear (Getty)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has refused to confirm whether he will remain at Manchester United next season, throwing his future at Old Trafford into further doubt.

The forward was forced to watch from the sidelines as United beat Ajax 2-0 in the Europa League final to claim their 42nd major title and book a place in next season’s Champions League.

This didn’t stop the 35-year-old from joining in with the celebrations at the Friends Arena, but Ibrahimovic refused to be drawn on his future at the club as he spoke to the press after the final whistle.

And although the former Barcelona man claimed that his rehabilitation is on course, he would not say where he will be playing next season.

“In a few weeks I'll be back in the field,” said Ibrahimovic. “Where? Let's see.”

Despite suffering serious knee ligament damage against Anderlecht month, the Swede has vowed to “come back even stronger” from his injury and ruled out any chance of retirement.

Ibrahimovic is expected to be missing for the next eight months, with United now in the market for a new and younger striker.

The Manchester club are thought to be targeting Romelu Lukaku and Antoine Griezmann as long-term options.

As for Wednesday night’s game, Ibrahimovic expressed his regret at not being able to take part in the game but insisted that the victory was the “most important thing”.

Ibrahimovic, who scored the winning goals at Wembley as United won the EFL Cup and Community Shield this season, said: “I had a different role. I supported the team, but what matters is that we won. That's the most important thing because this is a collective trophy.

“You win and lose together. Now we raised another trophy, which is the third this year of the five available.

“When you win, you are always good, you don't feel even more pain. I regret not being able to play this game. It is normal, I wanted to be on the pitch but the situation is this.”