Breaking: Zlatan Ibrahimovic announces retirement from professional football
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has announced his retirement from professional football after he bid farewell to AC Milan.
Ibrahimovic, 41, has decided to call time on his phenomenal playing career that has seen him play for some of Europe's top clubs. The Swede was left teary-eyed at the San Siro as fans revealed a display that read:
"GodBye."
Speculation grew over what decision the iconic forward would make over his next club but he has opted to retire. He ends his career having played for Milan, Barcelona, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Ajax. He scored 493 goals in 819 club career games.
It seemed as if Zlatan Ibrahimovic's footballing career would never end as he continued to play on into his forties. The forward showed no signs of stopping during his thirties, flourishing at PSG.
The legendary striker spoke after his Milan's 3-1 victory over Hellas Verona on Sunday (June 4). He stated in an emotional address to the San Siro faithful (via GOAL):
"The first time we arrived at Milan you gave me happiness, the second time you gave me love. From my heart I want to thank you fans. You welcomed me with open arms, you made me feel at home."
He then went on to officially announce his retirement from football:
"I will be a Milan fan for the whole It's time to say goodbye to football, not you."
The Swede ends his illustrious career having won five Serie A titles, four Ligue 1 titles, one La Liga title, and the Europa League. To perhaps put it best, Ibrahimovic hasn't retired from football, football has retired from Ibrahimovic.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's hilarious response to a TV report about him being a king
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will go down as one of the most flamboyant and cool forwards in the history of football. The Swede made several hilarious comments during his career as he asserted himself as being at the pinnacle of the sport.
However, one of his best quotes came in 2017. His former PSG teammate Benjamin Stambouli revealed that he comically found an issue with a TV report declaring him to be a king upon his return from injury.
Stambouli told Spox that the duo were in the physio's room at the time when the report hit the TV screen. He explained:
“Suddenly the headline 'Zlatan, the Return of the King' appeared on TV. He asked me to translate this for him. I am pretty sure he knew what it meant. I translated the sentence and he said 'Benji, what the hell is this? I'm not the king – I am God!' And we both laughed hard about this."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic sits atop the throne of Swedish football following a memorable international career. He scored 62 goals in 122 international caps, captaining the side for six years.