The signs were there, in the glazed eyes of AC Milan team-mate Sandro Tonali. In the tributes from royalty and the corridors of power.
They were there in April, too, when Goodison Park was caught in a haze of green and white.
They have been in north London for more than a year, in the dazzling feet and ginger hair.
What is already plain: few players have left a greater imprint on European football than Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Few have concocted such an addictive blend of artistry and arrogance: the goals, the nicknames, the alter-ego.