Marotta: Juve not interested in Ibrahimovic but hope to keep Morata

Juventus director Giuseppe Marotta dismissed the idea of Zlatan Ibrahimovic returning to the club as the Italian champions try to retain Alvaro Morata.

Ibrahimovic is out of contract the end of the season and the veteran Paris Saint-Germain striker has been linked with a host of European teams, but the 34-year-old will not be making his way back to Turin.

The Sweden captain spent three years at Juve from 2006-09, scoring 23 goals in 70 Serie A appearances, however Marotta and Co. are more interested in promoting youth.

“Ibrahimovic is a great player but we have a philosophy, and we determine our transfer strategy based on that,” Marotta told Mediaset Premium.

“We will continue to focus on young players. Ibrahimovic comes with a massive financial commitment, and no Italian club could support it.”

Morata falls under that bracket of youth but the Spain international’s future in Italy is far from certain due to Real Madrid’s buy-back option.

Madrid are reportedly ready to re-sign Morata, though Marotta remains hopeful of keeping the 23-year-old striker.

“I already described Morata’s situation as a Sword of Damocles hanging over us,” Marotta added.

“Morata expressed the desire to remain with us and we are aware that in our hands he’s not a promising player, but a reality.

“We want to build the future on these young players and we’ll try, but ultimately the final word rests with Real Madrid.”