Manchester United have been dealt a huge blow in their pursuit of the Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Swedish forward had revealed earlier this season that he will leave for a new club at the end of the season and the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal were all linked with him.

It has also been reported that Jose Mourinho wants to bring the Swedish striker to Old Trafford this summer. Mourinho is expected to manage Manchester United next season.

However, the Premier League giants have been dealt a major blow by the Chinese Super League, who are keen acquire the services of the world class striker.

The Swedish and Italian media are reporting that the Chinese government is looking to offer a salary of around £59.2million a season to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Chinese are determined to pull off a major signing this summer and are willing to make Ibrahimovic the highest paid footballer on the planet.

Although it is still unclear as to which franchise the PSG star will play for, it is certain that the player is wanted by the Chinese vps Super League. It is understood that the offer for the Swedish superstar comes directly from the government.

The ruling Communist Party and its secretary Xi Jinping are thought to be orchestrating the move.

Despite his age, Ibrahimovic has been sensational for PSG this season and he already confirmed that he is great physical server condition to play in another top European league. Ibrahimovic has scored 27 goals in 25 appearances in Ligue 1 this season.

After having led Paris Saint-Germain to their fourth league title in a row, Zlatan is thought to be looking for a new challenge and was tipped to make a move to the Premier League. Now it seems that he could well be on his way to China.

Recently his former teammate Ezequiel Lavezzi also joined the Chinese Super League, where he earns around £400,000-a-week with Hebei Fortune.

If Zlatan completes the move to China, he will be pocketing around 83 million dollars per season, which puts him third in the list ofhighest earning sportspersons in the world, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Zlatan’s earning will only be surpassed by boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.