Jose Mourinho sums up Zlatan Ibrahimovic with three words as he defends forward against criticsm

The United boss was dismissing claims against the forward's arrogance

Zlatan Ibrahimovic signs his Manchester United contract (Getty)

Jose Mourinho has summed up Manchester United's new-signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic in just three words: "goalscorer, winner and funny."

The Portuguese boss had leapt to Ibrahimovic's defence to dismiss claims against the player’s arrogance.

After enjoying a stint together at Inter Milan back in the 2009/10 season, the pair have been reunited at Old Trafford as Mourinho looks to transform the United outfit into a Premier League-winning side.

The 34-year-old Swede moved to United on a free transfer after playing for some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Juventus, Barcelona, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.

Throughout his time, the former Sweden international has acquired a reputation for his arrogance and egotistical demeanour. After announcing his departure from Paris Saint-Germain two months ago, the player quipped: “I came like a king, left like a legend.”

But Mourinho has dismissed this portrayal in an interview he gave to Adidias Front Row.

“Zlatan, three words - he’s a winner, he’s a goalscorer and he’s funny - he’s a funny guy,” he said.

“You need to understand him. He’s a funny guy and if you don’t know him, maybe you think with some quotes he’s a bit arrogant.

Zlatan broke the club's power records when undertaking his medical test with United (Getty)

“But he’s just a funny guy. So, I would just say that. Funny, winner and goalscorer. I was so happy to get him, and obviously, he’s happy to work for me now.”

Ibrahimovic scored 113 goals from 122 appearances for PSG and Mourinho is confident he knows what it takes to get the best out of the striker.

The manager has handed the Swede an extended break, however, as the player recovers from Euro 2016. This means Zlatan won’t be joining United on their pre-season tour to China which gets underway next week.