Manchester United can cover the cash loss of missing the Champions League with the signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Sweden striker, who is out of contract after four years at Paris St-Germain, could follow former manager Jose Mourinho to Old Trafford.

Football finance expert Rob Wilson says the 34-year-old would be United's most marketable player since Cristiano Ronaldo, and linking up with the three-time European champions would be a "match made in heaven".

"It would not surprise me if Zlatan sold more shirts than Ronaldo or Lionel Messi," Wilson, a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, told BBC Sport.

"The cost of missing out on the Champions league is £30-50m. Zlatan will help plug that gap significantly with the number of shirts shifted by United.

"It is a match made in heaven. The football club is commercially so aware who will exploit every commercial opportunity.

"To them, they are signing a player who understands commercial endorsements and behaves in a way that allows him to maximise them.

"Put that together and you get the holy grail stakes of shirt sales, and stacks of corporate sponsorship.

"Zlatan is also the sort of player who brings ad hoc ticket buyers to a match, even if it is the Europa League or League Cup.

"It is matching the world's biggest sporting brands with one of the most marketable players, who has cult following, plus it is his career swansong.

"If you marry that with Manchester United, he will probably shift more shirts in the next year than any player in the squad because of the superstar status that he has."