Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has vowed to retire from football when his level of performance begins to drop.
The 35-year-old has shown no signs of his advancing years during his debut campaign in English football so far, scoring 26 goals in all competitions including a match-winning brace to fire United to EFL Cup glory at the expense of Southampton on Sunday.
Speculation over whether the Swede will stay at Old Trafford for another year has rumbled on throughout the campaign, but Ibrahimovic insists that he will stay at the top of the game until he can no longer cut it.
Asked whether the only way was down if he left Old Trafford, Ibrahimovic told reporters: "For me, or the club? I will stop on top. I will not play one game by being Ibrahimovic and for what I did before. If I don't perform, if I don't bring results, I will not play. I will not be like other players, playing because they make a great career and name and they are still playing because they are who they are.
"I will play as long as I can bring results. People always say I'm difficult to handle and that I have a different character, but still I won wherever I went. I look good. I know I look good. I feel fresh. I feel good. I feel like an animal. I feel like a lion. I feel in good shape. I train hard.
"People who know me from the locker room know that I train very hard. I have an objective every season I go into. And to reach that objective I need to train hard and I need to suffer when I train - that is how I achieve what I achieve. I'm from the old school where they work hard and get what they get from doing the hard work, not like the new school where it is easy to get what you want."
Ibrahimovic has so far refused to confirm whether or not he will stay at the club for a second season.
Barney Corkhill
