Zlatan Ibrahimovic Retires from Football
“God” is no more. The Swedish football legend, Zlatan Ibrahimovic officially announced his retirement from football on Sunday. This brought a 22-year career to an end. The news was first reported by Fabrizio Romano.
Following AC Milan’s final match of the Serie A season Ibrahimovic announced “The time has come to say goodbye to football” according to Sky Sports. This news came days after Ibrahimovic announced that he would be leaving AC Milan at the end of the season. This news brought an end to his second stint for AC Milan after he played there from 2010-2012. The AC Milan fans held up a tifo that read “GODBYE.”
The 41-year-old must have taken his poor season in 2022-23 as a sign to finally move on. This season he played in just four matches as a result of knee surgery and other injury complications. In his four matches, he scored a single goal which has now become his last.
Ibrahimovic’s 561st and final goal came from a penalty kick against Udinese in a 3-1 loss back in March 2023.
Over his career, Ibrahimovic played for some of the world’s biggest clubs. After starting his career with Malmo in Sweden, he moved upward and ultimately spent time playing for Ajax, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester United.
Sweden’s all-time leading goalscorer even had a stint in the U.S. playing for the LA Galaxy. In 56 matches for the Galaxy, Ibrahimovic scored a whopping 52 goals, nearly one goal per game.
Throughout his 22-year career, there was a lot of silverware that followed. He won virtually every trophy he was able to do at the club level with the exception of the UEFA Champions League. The Champions League trophy will forever be the one that got away from Ibrahimovic.
It was not just at the club level that the self-proclaimed “God” thrived but at the international level too. With 122 caps for Sweden, Ibrahimovic rose to legendary status. He was everywhere having played in the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups as well as four consecutive UEFA European Championships from 2004 to 2016. He finished his international career with a national record 62 goals.
However, as good as Ibrahimovic was on the pitch, it was his off-field personality that captured the amazement of fans around the world. Whether it was arrogance or extreme confidence Ibrahimovic never turned away from the spotlight.
Upon moving to the LA Galaxy in 2018, the star striker took out a full-page ad in the LA Times that said, “Dear Los Angeles, you’re welcome.” He had yet to even play a match in Los Angeles but was already a cult hero.
This is nothing compared to some of his more outrageous comments such as when LeBron James moved to the LA Lakers and he tweeted, “Now LA has a God and a King!” One of the most confident comments he made was after his engagement to his now ex-girlfriend when someone asked about his present for her, “What do you mean, ‘present?’ She got Zlatan.”
In his retirement speech, Ibrahimovic made one more incredible remark directed toward the booing Hellas Verona fans. “Keep booing. This is the biggest moment in your year seeing me.”
There will never be a player of Zlatan’s mentality and quality for a long time. What a career. Long live the self-proclaimed “God.”
*Sidenote it would not surprise anyone if we see Zlatan Ibrahimovic grace the pitch once again.*
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