Manchester United blow as Bayern Munich make late swoop for Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Manchester United have been dealt a major blow in their pursuit of Zlatan Ibrahimovic with Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti having secretly initiated talks with the player. The Swede was top of Jose Mourinho's list for the summer but will now have to face competition from Bayern, who can offer him Champions League, an elusive trophy missing from the 34-year-old's list of honours.

German outlet SportBild suggests that Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski could be on his way to Real Madrid, which has forced the Bayern management to look at possible striking options in the market. United are still favourites to land the striker but do not have a clear path as they had before, something that Mourinho has to talk through with the Swede.

The former Chelsea manager has previously worked with Ibrahimovic in Inter Milan and share the same agent Jorge Mendes, which could turn the tide in their favour. The transfer is currently being held up by Ibrahimovic's desire to wait until 30 June, which will allow him to claim a loyalty bonus worth £1m ($1.43m) from Paris Saint-Germain. He is also pondering over whether to travel with the Sweden U-23 squad to the Olympics in Rio, as one of the three overage players qualified for the world's biggest sporting event.

Meanwhile, the striker has said that there has been no confirmation over his future thus far but a decision will be made soon. The former Barcelona man is currently in the Euros with Sweden where they drew 1- 1 against the Republic of Ireland, despite holding the upper hand in the contest for major parts of the game.

"For me, with Manchester [United], there is nothing to say. I feel happy for the moment," the reported United transfer target said. "What the future will be, you will know soon. But I enjoy football. Wherever I go I will be the same person and I will enjoy [myself]."