Ibrahimovic has scored 17 times for Manchester United since joining from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer. The 35-year-old brought his total to 50 for the calendar year with a composed finish against Sunderland on Boxing Day. He looked to have moved level with Barcelona's Lionel Messi after finding the net against Middlesbrough on New Year's Eve. However, the goal was controversially chalked off - meaning he missed out on the chance to draw level with Messi as 2016's top scorer.
GETTY Zlatan Ibrahimovic was disappointed at missing out on a 51st goal of 2016
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's disallowed goal in pictures Sat, December 31, 2016 Click through the gallery for the best snaps of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's disallowed goal for Man Utd against Middlesbrough Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 8 Click through the gallery for the best snaps of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's disallowed goal against Middlesbrough
GETTY Zlatan Ibrahimovic looked to have equalised against Middlesbrough
And the former Sweden international has criticised referee Lee Mason, insisting he did not protest in fear of picking up a yellow card. "We were losing 1-0 and we should have had a goal that I scored," he told the club's official website. "Why he [the referee] whistled I don’t know because at first he gave the goal and after thirty seconds he did not. "I don’t know why he changed his mind and I couldn’t speak to him because I would have got a yellow card. "We kept playing and we conceded a goal, but we worked hard and managed to get level and then lead within one minute."
GETTY Lionel Messi struck 51 goals across all competitions last year