5 facts about Zlatan Ibrahimovic that you should know

Having played in Sweden with Malmo, in Italy with both Inter Milan and AC Milan, Spain with Barcelona and currently in France with PSG, with just his name being said, Zlatan evokes various footballing memories for his fans.Considered as one of the most exciting players in the world, not a day would go by without remembering a Zlatan moment and at the age of 32, Ibrahimovic has now become an iconic figure in the Parisian outfit.Being that one player about whom people want to know everything, here, in this slideshow, we bring you such five rare facts about Zlatan.

#1 He nearly joined Southampton and Manchester City

Following the 2000-01 season with Malmo, Ibrahimovic joined the Eredivisie runner-up Ajax for a fee of €8.7 million. He didn't seem to enjoy his first season with the Dutch giants, often finding himself in the Ajax dugout under the then Head Coach of Co Adriaanse.

In an interview in 2013, Zlatan unfolded the secret of how close he was in joining the struggling Premier League side Southampton on a loan deal.

This was what the striker said – “They wanted to take me from Ajax after I had a difficult first year. My manager said: 'You go to Southampton.' I said: 'Is that the only option I have?' I had confidence problems and I had a big ego also.”

“At that time, I thought of Ajax as the top. I had to go somewhere even more at the top. In my mind, I felt that to go from Ajax to Southampton, with all respect to Southampton, I would be taking a step-down,” he added.

“I had the patience and continued to train hard. The second year was better, the third year was even better and then Juventus came. I thought 'now we're talking.”

With 24 appearances in his first season at the Amsterdam Arena, Ibrahimovic scored six goals. This remained as the lowest tally of goals, scored by the Swedish striker after having played for a minimum of 10 games for any club. 

Ibrahimovic also indicated that City showed their part of interest in him too when he had left Barcelona back in 2011, revealing: "When I was forced to leave Barcelona by Pep Guardiola in 2011, sure I knew all about the incredible things that had happened at Manchester City and all the money that seemed to be there since the crew from the UAE had taken over.”

“City could surely become big within a few years. But I’d soon turn 29. I didn’t have time for long-term plans and money was never a big thing. I wanted to go to a club that could be good now and there was no club with a history like AC Milan,” he recalled.