Ranking Zlatan Ibrahimovic's top 5 stints in club football
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the man (ahem, sorry, 'God') with 570 career goals including over 500 club goals, 31 trophies including 11 league titles in 4 different European leagues, a Puskas award, a Golden Foot award and 11 Ballon d'Or nominations is, without a doubt, one of the most decorated players of all time. The 6-and-a-half foot giant, who turns 40 this October, is still going strong in Serie A. He scored 15 goals in 19 matches for AC Milan last season and is showing no sign of slowing down.
The Swede is known for conquering every league he plays in. Here, we rank the top 5 stints of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in club football.
(Ratings are relative, with 5 being an average performance)
Paris Saint-Germain (2012-16)
Come on now, was there even a choice? Be it in terms of output or in terms of impact, only a few have had a stint as impressive as Ibrahimovic's at Qatari backed PSG from 2012 to 2016. The former Malmo player propelled Les Parisians to further rungs of success, making them one of the elite clubs in football.
In his first game for PSG, he scored twice to help PSG salvage a 2-2 draw after being 2-0 down at half-time against Lorient. He proved just how quickly he can make a colossal impact on the team. The 3-time Ligue 1 Player of the Season scored 156 goals in just 180 games and undeniably finished as the top scorer on three occasions.
With Ibra in their team, PSG finished atop of Ligue 1 every season, won the Coupe de France on two occasions, the Coupe de la Ligue on three and the Trophée des Champions on three as well. His most notable feat for PSG, however, came in the 2015-16 season. The talismanic forward scored an astonishing 38 goals in just 31 games, the second-highest tally ever recorded in Ligue 1.
Indisputably, he made it to the PSG Hall of Fame, a list of members which includes the likes of Pauleta, Ronaldinho and Weah. Known for his outrageous quotes, the striker only missed out on the Champions League whilst at PSG, a trophy which has eluded him throughout his career.
Rating: 10/10
Inter Milan (2006-09)
Inter won the race to sign the latest hot-property in 2006 from Serie A rivals Juventus. The Old Lady, at the time, were relegated from the league due to their involvement in the Calciopoli scandal.
In his first season at the San Siro, Ibrahimovic top-scored for Inter in the league, guiding them to the Serie A title with a record 97 points. In 38 matches, they collected 30 wins, 7 draws and just 1 defeat. The €25 million striker reportedly signed a new 6-year contract in 2007 that made him the world's highest paid footballer.
Ibrahimovic won the league in all three seasons he played for Inter, with the 2008-09 season being his most fruitful campaign. He scored an impressive 25 goals in the league. Although Inter were knocked out of the Champions League in the Round of 16 in all three seasons, a young and hungry Ibrahimovic tore Serie A apart.
He was rewarded with the Serie A Footballer of the Year as well as the Foreign Footballer of the Year award twice in succession for his exploits in the league. Along with 3 Scudettos, Ibrahimovic also won the Supercoppa Italiana twice. With 66 goals and 30 assists in 117 appearances under Manchini and Mourinho, Ibra had three incredible seasons for La Beneamata.
Rating: 9/10
AC Milan (2010-2012 and Dec 2019-present)
After a forgettable year-long stay at FC Barcelona, the Catalan club loaned out Ibrahimovic to AC Milan in 2010, a deal that was made permanent the following year. The move, later on, made Zlatan the only player in history to score at least 10 goals for three of Serie A's best clubs: Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan.
During his first stint for the Rossoneri, which lasted two years, Ibrahimovic won yet another Scudetto as well as the Supercoppa Italiana. His plaudits earned him his third Serie A Player of the Year accolade (a feat only equalled by Andrea Pirlo) in 2011 and the Capocannoniere award in the 2011-12 season. He was the top scorer for AC Milan in both campaigns, notching 56 goals in 85 matches in two stellar seasons.