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Today we have some devastating news to report. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has officially been withdrawn from the MLS All-Star Game. The news was confirmed by MLS late Sunday night.
Late-night news from MLS HQ:
— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) July 30, 2018
“Major League Soccer has been informed by the LA Galaxy that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not participate in the MLS All-Star Game ... Per MLS policy, Ibrahimovic will miss the Galaxy’s match that immediately follows the All-Star Game, which is Aug. 4.”
While this match has little significance, this was set to be the first chance for fans of Atlanta to get to see the Swedish superstar in person since his arrival to the league. Unfortunately, it is not to be.
Zlatan has 15 total goals this season after notching a hat trick against Orlando City on Sunday. It would have been a treat to get to see one of the greatest strikers to ever live possibly play alongside Josef Martinez.
If you do have a desire to see Ibrahimovic play live, the LA Galaxy will likely be slated to come back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2019 after hosting Atlanta United this season. Assuming he’s still playing by then, perhaps we could see him then. However, if the reason for his absence is the fact that the game is being played on turf, then maybe not.
Nevertheless, Zlatan is not coming. We must find the strength to go on. At least he embarrassed Orlando City, so we can’t be too mad at him...