Zlatan: Six of the best
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has retired. MTAG looks at some of the Swede's highlights.
“I’ll see you around… if you are lucky,” Ibrahimovic told the Milan faithful at San Siro.
The 41-year-old’s farewell speech was a fitting end to his storied career, throughout which his self-confidence was backed up by an extraordinary ability to do the unexpected.
Having won league titles with six clubs, received 11 Ballon d’Or nominations and hit over 500 goals in a career spanning almost 25 years, Ibrahimovic will go down as a modern-day great.
Like him or loath him (for Pep Guardiola, it was the latter), Ibrahimovic has entrenched himself in football folklore countless times.
As the irrepressible Swede signs off, More Than A Game reflects on six career highlights.
‘Zlatan doesn’t do auditions’
A sublime double on his Champions League debut for Ajax, in a win over Lyon in September 2002, propelled Ibrahimovic to stardom.
At 17, Ibrahimovic had all the cocksureness that he would carry with him for the rest of his career.
“Zlatan doesn’t do auditions,” he answered when asked if reports he had turned down Arsenal were true.
Red Devils revival
When Ibrahimovic finally graced the Premier League, joining Manchester United as a free agent in July 2016, many wondered whether the then-34-year-old was up to the task.
A fine first campaign in England proved doubters wrong, Ibrahimovic hitting 28 goals in all competitions upon his reunion with former Inter boss Jose Mourinho, including a decisive double in the 2017 EFL Cup final against Southampton.
United finished that season with two pieces of silverware after adding the Europa League, and subsequently went almost six years without lifting another major trophy.
Frankie Ibra goes to Hollywood
Moves to MLS are often seen as the beginning of the end for elite players, but Ibrahimovic dispelled that notion when he swapped Manchester for California in 2018.
Ibrahimovic announced his LA Galaxy arrival by taking out a full-page advert in the Los Angeles Times, which read: “Dear Los Angeles, you’re welcome.”
By the time Ibrahimovic departed in 2019, having scored 52 goals and added 17 assists in 56 regular-season games, Galaxy fans were certainly grateful for his decision to head stateside.
Ibrahimovic's finest contribution in MLS was his first, a sensational 40-yard volley on his debut against rivals Los Angeles FC.
Seven heaven in Serie A
While Ibrahimovic claimed silverware in the Netherlands, Spain, France and England, he is most associated with Serie A, a division he won seven times with Juventus, Inter and Milan – though his Bianconeri triumphs were revoked after the Calciopoli scandal.
No non-Italian player has bettered his tally of 156 goals since his Serie A debut in 2004, while he won the Capocannoniere (Serie A’s Golden Boot) with both Inter (in 2008-09) and Milan (2011-12).
Ibrahimovic netted a spectacular, title-clinching goal for Inter in their triumphant 2007-08 season in Serie A, and netted 57 league goals for the Nerazzurri across 88 appearances over three seasons.
Injuries limited Ibrahimovic to 11 league starts for Milan in the 2021-22 season, his tally of eight goals was only bettered by Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud (both 11) among Rossoneri players as they clinched the Scudetto, which he memorably celebrated with cigars and champagne on the pitch. Given he had seemingly been put out to pasture when he headed to MLS, Zlatan had proved there was still plenty of life in this particular dog.
Personal Jesus
Marco Verratti tells a story that perhaps best encapsulates Ibrahimovic’s time at Paris Saint-Germain.
Speaking to FourFourTwo, Verratti said:
Before winning the 2012-13 league title, we were getting ready to play against Lyon. Carlo Ancelotti was a bit tense, so Ibra approached him and asked him if he believed in Jesus. Ancelotti said yes, so Ibra told him: ‘Good, so you believe in me. You can relax!’ Zlatan is like this – he has a lot of self-confidence. This helps him to be a great player.
Kylian Mbappe became PSG’s all-time leading scorer by overtaking Edinson Cavani’s tally of 200 goals for the club in March.
Third on that list is Ibrahimovic, with his stunning total of 156 goals in 180 appearances for the French giants giving him a better goals-per-game ratio (0.87) than Mbappe (0.82, 212 in 260).
Ibrahimovic inspired PSG to 12 trophies in a triumphant four-year period at the Parc des Princes, becoming the first genuine superstar to grace the Parc des Princes after Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) acquired the club in 2011.
The striker saved his best form for his final season in Paris, hitting 50 goals – including 38 in 31 league matches – as PSG posted the highest points tally in Ligue 1 history (96).
That Puskas winner
While league titles and goal-laden seasons were commonplace for Ibrahimovic, he will be most remembered for his ability to produce jaw-dropping moments of inspiration, attempting things most players could hardly dream of.
The ultimate example came in November 2012, as Sweden hosted England in an international friendly.
Ibrahimovic had already helped himself to a hat-trick when his crowning moment arrived – a stunning overhead kick from 30 yards out which sailed over a stranded Joe Hart and into the net.
His sensational effort landed the 2013 FIFA Puskas Award, handed out for the “most beautiful” goal scored in any given year.
Ibrahimovic subsequently described the goal as the most enjoyable of his career, and most supporters would probably agree with that assessment.
By Harry Carr