Zlatan Ibrahimović (born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Ibrahimović is known for his acrobatic strikes and volleys, technique, ball control, and physical dominance. He is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and is one of the most decorated footballers in the world, having won 34 trophies in his career. He scored over 570 career goals, including more than 500 club goals, and scored in four consecutive decades between the 1990s and the 2020s.
Ibrahimović began his career at Malmö FF in 1999, and signed for Ajax two years later, where he won two Eredivisie titles and gained a reputation as one of the most promising forwards in Europe. He departed three years later to sign for Juventus before joining domestic rivals Inter Milan in 2006. At Inter Milan, he won three consecutive Serie A titles and saw his popularity soar. In the summer of 2009, he moved to Barcelona in one of the world's most expensive transfers. After just one season, he returned to Italy, signing for Inter's rival AC Milan. Back in Milan, he won the Serie A title in his debut season. In 2012, Ibrahimović joined Paris Saint-Germain, leading them to their first Ligue 1 title in 19 years while establishing himself as a leading figure in their dominance of French football. During his four-season stay in France, he won four consecutive Ligue 1 titles, numerous domestic cups, was the top scorer in Ligue 1 for three seasons and became PSG's all-time leading goalscorer by the time of his departure. In 2016, he joined Manchester United on a free transfer, re-uniting with José Mourinho and winning the EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League in his first season. A serious knee injury in 2017 prevented him from playing for United regularly, after recovering Ibrahimović joined MLS club LA Galaxy in 2018. In January 2020, he returned to AC Milan and played a key role in reviving the Italian club, winning his fifth Serie A title in 2022. He announced his retirement at the end of the 2022–23 season.
Ibrahimović is one of eleven players to have made 100 or more appearances for the Sweden national team, over a 20-year international career. He is the country's all-time leading goalscorer with 62 goals. He represented Sweden at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 UEFA European Championships. He has been awarded Guldbollen (the Golden Ball), given to the Swedish player of the year, a record 12 times, including 10 consecutive from 2007 to 2016. Ibrahimović's 35-yard bicycle kick goal for Sweden against England won the 2013 FIFA Puskás Award and is considered one of the best goals of all time. He has scored other memorable goals, most notably in the European Championships.
Ibrahimović was named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI in 2013 and the UEFA Team of the Year in 2007, 2009, 2013, and 2014. He finished at a peak of fourth for the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2013. In 2015, UEFA included him as one of the best players that have not won the UEFA Champions League, while in 2019, FourFourTwo magazine named him the third-greatest player never to win the competition. In December 2014, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter ranked him the second-greatest Swedish sportsperson ever, after tennis player Björn Borg. Off the field, Ibrahimović is known for his brash persona and outspoken comments, which often involve talking about himself in the third person. He has attained cult status among football fans, in equal parts due to his generational talent and charisma.
Early life
Ibrahimović was born in Malmö, Sweden, on 3 October 1981. He was born to a Muslim Bosniak father, Šefik Ibrahimović, who emigrated to Sweden in 1977, and a Catholic Croat mother, Jurka Gravić, who also emigrated to Sweden where the couple first met. He began playing football at the age of six, after receiving a pair of football boots. He alternated between FBK Balkan, a Malmö club founded by Yugoslav immigrants, Malmö BI and briefly BK Flagg football clubs.
As a child, his mother sometimes hit him on the head with a wooden spoon, which would often break. After she was arrested for handling stolen goods, social services intervened. Concerned with his divorced mother's ability to cope with five children, one of whom, Ibrahimović's half-sister, had a drug problem, at age nine he was sent to live with his father. As a boy, his hero was Brazilian forward Ronaldo. An avid viewer of Italian football, another player he admired was prolific striker Gabriel Batistuta – a player with similar characteristics to himself.
Club career
Malmö FF
Ibrahimović signed his first contract with Malmö in 1996, and moved up to the senior side for the 1999 season of Allsvenskan, Sweden's top-flight league. That season, Malmö finished 13th in the league and were relegated to the second division, but returned to the top flight the next season. Arsène Wenger unsuccessfully tried to persuade Ibrahimović to join Arsenal, while Leo Beenhakker (the technical director of Ajax) also expressed interest in the player after watching him in a friendly against Norwegian side Moss FK. On 22 March 2001, a deal between Ajax and Malmö regarding Ibrahimović's transfer to Amsterdam was announced, and in July, Ibrahimović officially joined Ajax for 80 million Swedish kronor (€8.7 million).
Ajax
Ibrahimović received little playing time under manager Co Adriaanse, but when Adriaanse was sacked on 29 November 2001, new coach Ronald Koeman inserted Ibrahimović into the starting lineup as Ajax won the 2001–02 Eredivisie title. The next season, Ibrahimović scored twice in a 2–1 victory over French champions Lyon in his Champions League debut on 17 September 2002. He scored five Champions League goals overall as Ajax fell to Milan in the quarter-finals.
Ibrahimović's profile rose when he scored an individual goal against NAC Breda on 22 August 2004 – a slaloming run past five opposition players which the commentator compared with Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane – that was eventually voted the Goal of the Year by Eurosport viewers. On 18 August 2004, during an international match against the Netherlands, Ibrahimović injured Ajax teammate Rafael van der Vaart, who later accused Ibrahimović of hurting him intentionally.
Juventus
Ibrahimović moved from Ajax to Juventus for €16 million. He was promptly inserted into the starting eleven due in part to top scorer David Trezeguet's injury problems, and scored 16 goals. The club finished top of the Serie A, and in the Champions League they reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by eventual champions Liverpool. Near the end of the season, Juventus reportedly rejected a €70 million bid for him from Real Madrid, which was later revealed to be a publicity stunt initiated by Ibrahimović's agent, Mino Raiola, in order to increase his market value.
The following season was poor compared to his first season; his role in Juventus' attack changed, as he became less of a goalscorer and moved more to the sidelines, taking much part in the build-up play, especially as a target player, and his assist numbers increased. In the 2005–06 season, Juventus fans often got frustrated with him due to his anonymous presence in certain important games such as the Champions League defeat to Arsenal. Juventus were stripped of their last two Scudetti as part of the verdict from the Calciopoli scandal, and were relegated to Serie B. The new staff tried to persuade Ibrahimović and other top players to stay with Juventus, but the player and his agent were adamant to move on, with Raiola threatening legal action in order to extricate Ibrahimović from his contract.
Inter Milan
thumb|upright|Ibrahimović playing for Inter Milan in 2007
On 10 August 2006, Ibrahimović completed a €24.8 million move to Inter Milan, signing a four-year deal. Ibrahimović said that he had supported Inter when he was young.
Ibrahimović made his debut for Inter on 26 August 2006 against Roma in the 2006 Supercoppa Italiana, playing the full 90 minutes as Inter won after extra time. He scored in his Serie A debut against Fiorentina on 9 September as Inter commenced the league with a 3–2 win at Stadio Artemio Franchi. Three days later, in his first Champions League appearance for Inter, Ibrahimović was not able to avoid the 1–0 away defeat to Sporting CP as Inter began their European campaign in the wrong way. Later, on 28 October, in his first "Derby della Madonnina" match against cross-town rivals Milan, Ibrahimović scored the third Inter goal of the match and also his third league goal of the season in a 4–3 thriller win. In his first season at the club, Ibrahimović top scored for Inter in Serie A with 15 goals, as the team won the Scudetto with a record 97 points.
Ibrahimović played his 100th Serie A match on 16 September 2007 at the San Siro against Catania, where he appeared as a second-half substitute for Hernán Crespo in an eventual 2–0 win. In 2007, he signed a new contract until June 2013; it was reported that this contract had made him the world's highest paid footballer. On 18 May 2008, Ibrahimović scored both goals in a 2–0 defeat of Parma on the final day of the 2007–08 Serie A season to give Inter a second consecutive Scudetto. Overall, he scored 17 goals in 26 league matches, and was named both Serie A Footballer of the Year and Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year. He scored his team's only goal in the 2008–09 Serie A opening match against Sampdoria, which finished in a 1–1 draw. On 4 October, during the match against Bologna at home which Inter won 2–1, Ibrahimović scored a sensational goal, stunning Francesco Antonioli with an irresistible backheeled shot from Adriano's left-wing cross. The goal was later voted Goal of the Year in Serie A. On 19 October 2008, Ibrahimović continued with his solid performances by scoring twice in an impressive 4–0 win at Roma, taking his tally up to five league goals. He then scored another double in the Matchday 12 win against Palermo to help Inter take the lead in the Serie A table by one point. In the next fixture, Ibrahimović provided the assist on the only goal in the Derby d'Italia match against Juventus at home, helping Inter to extend their league lead.
Ibrahimović ended the 2008–09 Serie A season as the league's top goalscorer with 25 goals, helping Inter to another league title. He was also named both Footballer of the Year and Foreign Footballer of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Barcelona
2009–10: La Liga title and relationship with Pep Guardiola
After Inter teammate Maxwell completed his transfer to Barcelona, Barça president Joan Laporta confirmed that there was an agreement in principle between Barcelona and Inter for Ibrahimović to join the club in exchange for striker Samuel Eto'o, plus a reported fee of £40 million. Ibrahimović left Inter during their United States summer tour in the World Football Challenge on 23 July 2009 for negotiations with Barcelona, with his last match for Inter being against Chelsea. After Inter agreed terms with Eto'o and Barcelona with Ibrahimović, Barcelona announced Ibrahimović would arrive on 26 July 2009 and undergo a medical test on 27 July 2009.
thumb|left|upright|Ibrahimović playing for Barcelona in a match against [[Sporting de Gijón|Sporting Gijón in 2009]]
Ibrahimović passed his medical and was presented to a crowd of over 60,000 at Camp Nou. He signed a five-year contract, for €46 million As per the Inter book, the fee was €69.5 million, but part of the Inter fee (max 5% according to FIFA regulation) were deducted and distributed by Barcelona to youth and young professional clubs of Ibrahimović: Malmö FF and AFC Ajax as solidarity contribution. In his third appearance, he scored his first goal in Barcelona's La Liga season opener against Sporting Gijón in a 3–0 win. Ibrahimović scored in his next four games, thus setting a team record by becoming the only player ever to score in his first five league matches.
On 20 October, he scored his first Champions League goal for Barcelona in a group stage match against Rubin Kazan. Five days later, he scored twice in a 6–1 thrashing of Real Zaragoza, giving him a league-leading seven goals in seven league matches while sending Barcelona to the top of the table. On 7 November, however, he suffered a thigh injury that kept him out for three weeks. He returned to action in week 12 of the season against Real Madrid as a second-half substitute for Thierry Henry, and scored his eighth goal of the campaign. He finished with 11 goals and 4 assists in Barcelona's first 15 league matches. Barcelona capped off 2009 by winning the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup against Estudiantes on 19 December 2009.
thumb|left|Ibrahimović signing autographs for fans in 2010
Ibrahimović scored Barcelona's only goal in the 2009–10 Copa del Rey first leg match of the round of 16 in a 2–1 loss to Sevilla on 5 January 2010. On 20 January, he was selected in the 2009 UEFA Team of the Year. His first goal of 2010 came on 14 February against Atlético Madrid. In his next appearance, Ibrahimović scored against Stuttgart in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout stage fixture. He was sent off on 6 March in a league match against Almería, which Barcelona appealed to no avail, and he was suspended for one game. A calf strain during warmups before the next La Liga match following his return from suspension against Athletic Bilbao ruled Ibrahimović out of the second leg 4–1 victory over Arsenal, in which he scored two goals away from home, the return leg of El Clásico against Madrid (which Barcelona won 2–0), and the next league match against Deportivo de La Coruña. He made his return as a substitute in the 82nd minute in a 0–0 away draw against Espanyol on 17 April.
Following Barcelona's semi-final defeat to Inter Milan in the Champions League, Ibrahimović spoke of how he confronted his coach Pep Guardiola in the changing room. "I yelled: 'You haven't got any balls!' and worse than that I added: 'You can go to hell!' I completely lost it, and you might have expected Guardiola to say a few words in response, but he's a spineless coward. He just [...] left, never to mention it again, not a word." In his autobiography I Am Zlatan, he states, "'It started well but then Messi started to talk. He wanted to play in the middle, not on the wing, so the system changed from 4–3–3 to 4–5–1. I was sacrificed and no longer had the freedom on the pitch I need to succeed." He signed a four-year deal immediately after successfully passing the medical examinations. Upon signing, Ibrahimović said, "This move gives me more adrenaline. I have moved here to win the Champions League with Milan. I want to win the double." and scored his first goals for the club when Milan defeated Auxerre in their first Champions League match of the season on 15 September. On 14 November, Ibrahimović scored in a 1–0 victory against his former club Inter in the Derby della Madonnina. On 20 November, he scored his seventh goal against Fiorentina in the 45th minute with an over-the-head bicycle kick, passing Alexandre Pato as the team's top goalscorer for the season. On 4 December 2010, in a game against Brescia, he assisted Kevin-Prince Boateng to give Milan an early lead and then scored the third goal by a powerful shot near the edge of the penalty box to give Milan a 3–0 win. On 12 December 2010, history repeated itself in the game against Bologna after he assisted Boateng to give Milan an early lead once again and scoring later that match to make it 3–0, leading him to 13 goals with 8 assists in 21 matches in all competitions. Within days of the match, he was compared to Milan legend Marco van Basten by both the media and Van Basten himself.
Ibrahimović received a three-match ban after being shown a red card in a 1–1 home draw against Bari in March 2011 for punching Bari defender Marco Rossi in the stomach. An additional three-match ban was given to Ibrahimović in February 2012 in a 2–1 home defeat against Fiorentina for swearing at an assistant referee. Ibrahimović stated in his defence that he was talking to himself in frustration. He won his first Scudetto with Milan after a draw against Roma. All agreements between Milan and Barcelona were confirmed on 18 June 2011.
AC Milan
thumb|upright|Ibrahimović during a Milan game in December 2011
Ibrahimović started the new season on 6 August in the 2011 Supercoppa Italiana against city rivals Inter, where he scored the first goal of a 2–1 comeback victory to clinch the first trophy of the season. In the opening league match of the 2011–12 season, Ibrahimović scored Milan's first goal of a 2–2 home draw against Lazio. He scored his first Champions League goal of the season on 28 September in a 2–0 home win against Viktoria Plzeň, which was followed by another one on 19 October against BATE Borisov in another 2–0 home win. He continued with his solid performances as he scored in a 4–1 home win against Parma and a brace in the team's 3–2 away victory over Roma, ending a successful month of October.
November saw him score in consecutive games against BATE, in the Champions League, and Catania, in the league. Later in the month against Barcelona in another Champions League tie, Ibrahimović scored against his old club to equalise the game at 1–1. Barça eventually pulled away however with Xavi scoring the winning goal to make it 3–2 at the San Siro. He ended November with a brace against Chievo, the first of those tallies brought his Serie A career total to 100 goals. In December, Ibrahimović scored a goal in each of five Serie A games. As 2012 started, he scored against Atalanta converting a penalty kick. He was the top goalscorer of Serie A, with 14 goals in 16 appearances following a brace against Novara, of which the second goal came from a backheel. On 5 February 2012 in a match against Napoli, he was shown a red card for slapping Salvatore Aronica in an off-the-ball incident, and was given yet another three-match ban from Serie A games.
On 15 February, in the first leg of the Champions League's round of 16, Ibrahimović set up both of Robinho's goals and also scored by a spot kick, thus helping Milan win 4–0 over Arsenal. On 3 March, during the 4–0 away win against Palermo, Ibrahimović took the lead of the goalscorers table as he scored a first-half hat-trick to take his tally up to 17 goals. He finished the season as Serie A top scorer with 28 goals in 32 matches.
Paris Saint-Germain
2012–13: First Ligue 1 title in 19 years
thumb|left|Ibrahimović unveiled by Paris Saint-Germain sporting director [[Leonardo Araújo (right) and President Nasser Al-Khelaifi (left)|alt=]]
On 17 July 2012, Paris Saint-Germain confirmed that they had reached an agreement to acquire the sporting and economic rights of Ibrahimović from Milan, having already agreed personal terms with the striker, for a transfer fee of €20 million. Valued at €180 million, these combined fees eclipsed those commanded by Nicolas Anelka. His three-year contract would see him receive a net annual salary of €14 million including bonuses (which would be €2 million more than what he was earning per year just before he left Milan), and make him the second best paid footballer in the world behind Samuel Eto'o.
thumb|upright|Ibrahimović greets PSG fans on the day he signed for the club in July 2012.
The following day, Ibrahimović signed the contract and made the following statement during the press conference: "It is a big step in my career and another dream come true. I am very happy because it is a project that I want to be involved in. I want to be part of the history of the club. I am here to win and nothing else." Ibrahimović scored twice in the second half for PSG to help them rally from 2–0 down at half-time to salvage a 2–2 home draw with Lorient in their opening 2012–13 Ligue 1 match. He scored two goals in the first half to help PSG to a 2–1 win over Lille which was PSG's first Ligue 1 win after three successive draws in the first three league matches of the 2012–13 season.