Icons: Zlatan Ibrahimović
Zlatan Ibrahimović is a former professional footballer who recently played as a striker for Serie A club AC Milan and the Sweden national team.
He is widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time. Ibrahimović is one of the most decorated active footballers in the world, having won 31 trophies in his career.
He has scored over 570 career goals, including more than 500 club goals, and has scored in each of the last four decades. Let's take a look at his career.
The start of a decorated career
Ibrahimović began his career at Malmö FF in 1999, and signed for Ajax two years later. At Ajax, he gained a reputation as one of the most promising forwards in Europe, and departed two years later to sign for Juventus.
Shining in Italy
He excelled in Serie A in a strike partnership with David Trezeguet, before joining domestic rivals Inter Milan in 2006, where he won was Serie A top scorer in 2008–09 and won three consecutive Serie A titles.
An interesting season at Barcelona
In the summer of 2009, he moved to Barcelona in one of the world's most expensive transfers. During his time at Barca, he scored 22 goals in 46 appearances but there was debate about whether he ever fitted in with their style of play. Throughout the summer of 2010, there was constant debate about his long-term future. His last competitive game was the Supercopa de España. Zlatan was going back to Italy
Returning to Italy
He then joined AC Milan. With them, he won another Serie A title in the 2010–11 season. During his two years at Milan, he scored 56 goals in 85 appearances. He would soon be on the move again.
Becoming a legend in Paris
During his four-season stay in France, Ibrahimović won a number of trophies including four consecutive Ligue 1 titles, and was the top scorer in Ligue 1 for three seasons. In October 2015, he became PSG's all time leading goalscorer at the time.
Success with Manchester United
In 2016, he joined Manchester United on a free transfer and won the FA Community Shield, Football League Cup and UEFA Europa League in his first season. United fans immediately took to him and the forward seemed to enjoy his time at Old Trafford. His last goal came in a 2017 League Cup match against Bristol City. Next up was a chance to crack America.
Time in the MLS
Ibrahimović joined the American club LA Galaxy in 2018. His time in LA was wonderful and he scored 53 goals in 58 appearances. After two enjoyable seasons, he wanted one final chance in a European league.
Back to AC Milan
Despite being at the end of his career, Zlatan has impressed in his second spell at AC Milan. The Swedish legend has already managed 33 goals in 57 matches.
International career
He is one of eleven players to have made 100 or more appearances for the Swedish national team, over a 20-year international career. Zlatan is the country's all-time leading goalscorer with 62 goals. He has represented his country at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, as well as the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 European Championships. The video above contains one of his best ever goals.
