Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the boastful Swede who scored more than 500 goals in a decorated career spanning 24 years and seven countries, announced his retirement Sunday.
The 41-year-old ends his career with AC Milan, whom he helped win the Serie A title last season. He had two spells with the Rossoneri, winning the title in 2010-11 before returning to the club in December 2019. He also represented Malmo, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, and the LA Galaxy.
“The time has come to say goodbye to football, but not to you,” Ibrahimovic told the crowd at San Siro following Milan’s season-ending 3-1 win over Hellas Verona.
A number of injuries, including a knee issue that required reconstructive surgery last summer, limited Ibrahimovic to just four appearances this season. He was unable to play in Sunday’s finale because of a calf injury he suffered in April.
Despite the lack of minutes, Ibrahimovic still left a mark on the season, becoming the oldest player to score in Serie A at 41 years and 166 days in Milan’s 3-1 loss to Udinese in March.
He began his career with hometown club Malmo in 1999 and scored in every year since, bringing his career haul to a stellar 573 goals. A towering striker with a black belt in taekwondo and a larger-than-life personality on and off the pitch, Ibrahimovic won 32 trophies, including league titles in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and France.
However, he couldn’t win the Champions League, joining the likes of Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, and Eric Cantona as greats of the game who missed out on Europe’s top prize. Ibrahimovic only managed to win the second-tier Europa League with Manchester United in May 2017.
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