Attitude, Ambition and Drive are the key to longevity in any successful career. In football, most top Premier League football players earn enough money to set themselves up for life by their early twenties, and the key question a footballer has to ask themselves once they have earned the money is: what are they still in it for?

It happens in many walks of life, musicians have it when they have a successful album and earn huge amounts from touring; the same goes for bankers in the city as they move up the career ladder. Motivation can sap away fast when money is no longer an issue.

Marcus Rashford is set for a pay rise according to The Sun which will earn him a £1.3m year for the next four years. When Anthony Martial signed for Manchester United back in 2015, the 18 year old was put on a huge £3.5m a year contract that will make him more money that he has ever dreamed of. So it’s no surprise to some extent that both players are not excelling as much as they might do.

Don’t get me wrong here. There are many mitigating factors as to why both have struggled to maintain the form after making big impacts on their respective debuts. Neither has been picked to play in their favoured position through the middle very often, and it seems Jose Mourinho is not particularly keen on Martial, considering his omission from the match day squad on four occasions in the league this season without their being any apparent injury.

Part of Mourinho’s frustration with Martial I think is down to what he believes is a lack of drive and motivation to move his game to the next level. He’s got the talent but will he make the most of it? That drive to always want to improve, to be consistent, to keep on proving critics wrong is exemplified in Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Zlatan and Jose have always got along ever since their time together at Inter Milan. Ibra has fallen out with one or two people in the game over his career, most notably Pep Guardiola. His drive to succeed, his footballing skill and his larger than life character make him a special talent. You would think though that considering Mourinho’s own past clashes with players that there would be some sort of clash of egos. The Portuguese manager’s drive for perfection, and demand for 100% commitment could have clashed with Zlatan’s own. It never happened, simply because they both are similar in their relentless pursuit of success.

Ibrahimovic has scored 392 goals in 659 appearances to date. He has played in five different countries and won titles in three different leagues. At 34 he still decided to move to a new country to prove himself again, and he doesn’t stop until he is successful. This relentlessness is similar to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Despite scoring 500 goals, you can see Ronaldo’s frustration when he misses a chance or if a team mate doesn’t pass to him when playing for Real Madrid. The desire is still there; it is a constant.

Zlatan has made the most of his talents, and is arguably still at the height of his powers. Mourinho recognises that, and if Rashford and Martial are to come close to the Swedish legend’s achievements in the game; that motivation and drive to succeed has to be the same. The legendary players are relentless in the pursuit of success. They do everything they can to improve their game, and they don’t stop looking to learn. If Rashford and Martial model themselves on the great Swede, and take a few lessons from his own career then they will have gone a long way to fulfilling their undoubted potential.

There is not doubt that the two starlets could not have a better tutor to learn from who has been at the top of the international and European Club game for so long that Rashford and Martial should literally be hanging on every word coming out of the Swedish legend’s mouth as Zlatan has so many pearls of wisdom to pass along that the two young strikers will be much better players at the end of playing with the the mighty Zlatan for one season. If Jose can convince Zlatan to stick around for another campaign at Old Trafford then the time spent as understudies to the legendary Swede might set them up for life for what could be exceptional careers of their own hopefully delivering their very best for United for years and years to come.