Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic needs to be given "zero" motivation and has not chased after the riches of China or the United States, according to manager Jose Mourinho.
On Saturday, Ibrahimovic will have a chance to go up against Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola when their clubs meet in the derby at Old Trafford.
The Swede fell out with Guardiola while they worked together at Barcelona and the 34-year-old arrived in the Premier League with the aim of turning United into serial winners again.
Discussing Ibrahimovic in his news conference on Friday, Mourinho said: "Zlatan is a phenomenal player, who arrives at 34 and still wants more for his career.
"He didn't want the Chinese money or the American U.S. dollars; he wanted the most difficult place to play and win.
"Zlatan is more about him than us. Our contribution to him, in motivational terms, is zero. This is just his nature."
United's out-of-favour midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger expressed interest in moving to the United States last month when he said on Aug. 24 that he would not play for another club in Europe, then added on Aug. 30 that "America is naturally an option."
Mourinho isn't the only one to tout Ibrahimovic's ability to motivate himself, as his former teammate Thierry Henry believes "he will score goals no matter what."
"Zlatan was born for these types of games, he demands these types of games, and he usually performs," Henry said in his position as a pundit for Sky Sports.
"Zlatan obviously has a bit of an edge on him now, he's not the young player he used to be, but there is something, he usually backs it up when he talks.
"He maybe hasn't controlled games yet, but it doesn't matter for Zlatan, he has scored, and that's the impact you want. That is something I like about him, he brings a winning mentality.
"He doesn't like second-best, wherever he went he won the league. He will score you goals. You will see this year. I tipped him to be top scorer, and I know people think I'm crazy, but he will score goals no matter what."