At the age of 41, Swedish icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced his retirement from an illustrious football career, becoming the oldest player to ever score in Serie A in Italy.
After Sunday’s season-ending 3-1 victory over Hellas Verona for his team AC Milan, the star striker made the statement. In front of the Rossoneri supporters at the San Siro stadium, an emotional Ibrahimovic said, “It’s time to say goodbye to football, but not to you.” The club had earlier declared that it would perform a little ceremony to bid farewell to the mysterious star because his contract would not be renewed at the end of this month. Ibrahimovic remarked that the first time he came, they gave him joy; the second time, they gave him love.
I shall be a Milanista for the rest of my life because you greeted me with open arms and made me feel at home. The International Federation of Football History and Statistics states that during Ibrahimovic’s 24-year career, he played for nine clubs and scored 561 goals for club and country. His 62 goals in 121 international games rank him first among all Swedish goal scorers. After Euro 2016, he gave up playing for his country, although he returned to play for Sweden in 2021 during their unsuccessful World Cup qualification run. At a press conference on Sunday, Ibrahimovic stated that he will take a day or two off before deciding what to do.
For the time being, he simply wanted to relax and take in his accomplishments. “There is too much emotion right now; it is wrong to make decisions quickly. I want to take the summer off, think about it, and then we’ll see. Before relocating to the Netherlands to play for Ajax two years later, the Swede made his professional debut with Malmö FF in his own country in 1999. In 2002, Ibrahimovic won the KNVB Cup as well as the Eredivisie twice. Ibrahimovic played for some of the top teams in Europe after his time at the Dutch club, including Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester United.
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