Football legend, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, has announced his retirement from the game on Sunday, June 4, after AC Milan’s final match of the Serie A season.
In the emotional farewell video, the 41-year-old professional footballer said: “It’s the moment to say goodbye to football, not just to you,”
The prolific Swedish striker is renowned for his acrobatic strikes and volleys, powerful long-range shots, and excellent technique and ball control.
He is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and is one of the most decorated active footballers in the world, [a] having won 34 trophies in his career.
He has scored over 570 career goals, over 500 club goals, and has scored in each of the last four decades.
Ibrahimović began his career at Malmö FF in 1999, and signed for Ajax two years later, where he gained a reputation as one of the most promising forwards in Europe.
He departed two years later to sign for Juventus before joining domestic rivals Inter Milan in 2006, where he won three consecutive Serie A titles.
In the summer of 2009, he moved to Barcelona in one of the world’s most expensive transfers.
After just one season, he returned to Italy having signed for Inter’s rival Milan. With them, he won the Serie A title in his debut season.
In 2012, Ibrahimović joined Paris Saint-Germain, leading them to their first Ligue 1 title in 19 years and soon establishing himself as a leading figure in their dominance of French football.
During his four-season stay in France, he won four consecutive Ligue 1 titles, was the top scorer in Ligue 1 for three seasons and became PSG’s all-time leading goalscorer at the time.
In 2016, he joined Manchester United on a free transfer and won his first European honour in his debut season. Ibrahimović joined American club LA Galaxy in 2018 and rejoined Milan in 2020, winning his fifth Serie A title in 2022.
Off the field, Ibrahimović is known for his brash persona and outspoken comments, in addition to referring to himself in the third person.
Watch his farewell video below:
Zlatan Ibrahimović:
“The time has arrived to say goodbye”.
We will miss you, forever and ❤️
Good luck in retirement pic.twitter.com/vF0w3kCKU9
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) June 4, 2023
