Highlights:
- At the age of 41, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has officially declared his retirement from football.
- In front of the San Siro fans, Ibrahimovic was in tears as he said goodbye.
- Throughout his illustrious club career, spanning numerous teams, Ibrahimovic amassed an impressive tally of 493 goals in 819 matches.
After a trophy-laden career at some of Europe’s biggest teams, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan announced on Sunday that he had taken the decision to retire at the age of 41. After an injury-riddled season that compelled him to conclude a glittering career, Zlatan’s contract expires at the end of June and will not be renewed.
San Siro's final tribute to ?????? ???????????́ ?#SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/9XTYZ0QtNt
— AC Milan (@acmilan) June 5, 2023
Early in 2020, Ibrahimovic began a second stint with Milan after helping them win the Scudetto in 2011 and again the previous year. He made the remark while being applauded by the San Siro crowd during Milan’s 3-1 season-ending victory over Hellas Verona. “I say goodbye to football but not to you,” he said.
Zlatan started his professional career in 1999 with Malmo FF and then played for Ajax Amsterdam, Manchester United, Inter Milan, and Milan. After helping Milan win the Scudetto with them in 2011 and again last season, Ibrahimovic made his way back to Milan in early 2020 for a second tenure.
Ibrahimovic is Sweden’s all-time leading scorer with 62 goals in 121 matches. After Euro 2016, he left the national team, but he later joined them again in 2021 for their disastrous World Cup qualifying campaign.
In an emotional press conference, Ibrahimovic expressed his gratitude to journalists for their patience and stated that they would now have less work without him. He announced his retirement, declaring himself a free man from the world of football.
Ibrahimovic dodged questions about his retirement plans and refused to give any details.
“For the moment, I just want to take some time and enjoy what I’ve done. It’s not right to make decisions in a hurry, there’s too much emotion right now. I want to take the summer off, reflect and then we’ll see.”
He gave a clear answer when questioned about Ibrahimovic’s potential successor.
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“Impossible, there is only one Zlatan! They used to compare me to Marco van Basten, a former Netherlands striker, but he is who he is, and I am who I am. ” “There might be similarities, but I don’t think comparisons are right. I doubt we’d find another Zlatan with my ego…”