As per a Croatian public broadcaster HRT report, Mario Mandzukic has been offered a playing role by ATK Mohun Bagan. The 35-year-old is without a club at the moment after his six-month contract at AC Milan came to an end today.
The report further claims that the player is excited by the offer and is looking forward to playing in India. Should the deal be completed, he will join an already exciting front line, which contains ISL 2020/21 top scorer Roy Krishna and newly-signed Liston Colaco, who the club made the most expensive Indian player of all time.
ATK Mohun Bagan came agonizingly close to winning the ISL last season but were beaten by Mumbai City FC in the playoff final. It was the club’s debut season in the competition, following the merger between Kolkata-based teams ATK and Mohun Bagan. ATKMB also narrowly missed out on qualification to the 2021 AFC Champions League after finishing behind Mumbai during the regular season as well.
The club will hope that the addition of Mandzukic pushes them over the line this time around, should the deal be completed. The forward will bring plenty to the table in terms of top European experience. The Croat was a key player for the likes of Bayern Munich and Juventus in the past and won the UEFA Champions League with the former. Meanwhile, he also accomplished the rare feat of scoring in both the UCL and the FIFA World Cup final. He scored the second goal in Croatia’s 4-2 defeat in the trophy clash against France after initially scoring an own goal in the first half.
Mandzukic has recent experience playing in Asia. He represented Qatar-based Al Duhail between January 2019 and January 2020, after which he returned to Italy.
