Zlatan Ibrahimović has been one of football’s greatest players over the past 20 years. The Swedish legend is a giant of the game with an enviable career playing for some of the biggest clubs in world football. Zlatan is pure box office, on and off the pitch, and at 39 years old the striker is aging like a fine wine.
As a new era of future stars in Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland break through to signal a changing of the guard, they still have a long way to go to match Zlatan’s stature and a goal scoring longevity that proves age is just a number. Although he is missing a Champions League trophy and a Ballon d’Or, his greatness cannot be measured by trophies alone. Zlatan is Zlatan.
Even his first name, Zlatan – meaning Golden in his parents’ native languages, Croatian and Bosnian – speaks for itself. Was the Golden Ibrahimović destined to be a football star? It does seem fitting but destiny alone would be doing him a disservice due to the sheer hard work and determination to succeed having grown up in a poor, dysfunctional family.
After his parents divorced when he was a child, Zlatan was sent to live with his father aged nine after his mother was deemed unfit to look after five children on her own. Growing up was not easy and food was scarce at his father’s where the fridge was stocked full of beer which led to him shop-lifting as a child.
His tough upbringing has enabled Zlatan to channel his anger and create an unbreakable inner-strength. As a warrior on the pitch, he prides himself on playing close to the edge and admits he needs ‘to be angry to play well’. No name is more fitting than what he identifies with: The Lion. The King of the jungle is symbolic of his strong, courageous spirit and is tattooed across his back as a permanent reminder of his inspiring story from a wounded childhood.
From his unforgettable quotes, goals, eccentricity, bigger-than-life personality to playing for the biggest teams in Holland, Italy, Spain, France, England and the United States. Zlatan’s impact on football is undeniable.
In a professional career that spans 22 years, his ravenous appetite for goals has bagged him more than 570, including over 500 club goals for nine different sides. After making his senior debut as an 18-year-old with Malmö FF in 1999, he went on to score his 300th career goal at 32 years and 242 days old and his goal for AC Milan against Cagliari in 2020 landed him the impressive feat of scoring across four different decades.
But his story isn’t quite over yet. At 39, his 14 goals in Serie A make him the joint-third highest scorer in the league alongside Ciro Immobile and Luis Muriel and behind Romelu Lukaku (17) and Cristiano Ronaldo (18). With 15 games still to play, it puts him in the mix to win his third Capocannoniere – the Serie A golden boot – which he won whilst at Inter Milan in 2008/09 and in his first permanent spell at current club AC Milan in 2011/12.
Zlatan might not be known for his club loyalty like Lionel Messi, who recently broke the goal scoring record at one club with his 644th goal for FC Barcelona, but after spells at Juventus, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and even bitter rivals Inter Milan, his return to the Rossoneri in 2020 felt like a homecoming. AC Milan are European giants and, if you had the pleasure to watch them thrive in the 2000s, you can truly understand the club’s reputation. They are a household name in world football – one of the longest and most successful clubs in history. The ideal Mount Olympus for a self-titled “God”.
Some might disagree but there is no denying the bond between Zlatan and AC Milan. His return to the Stadio Guiseppe Meazza has propelled a side who finished sixth in 2019/20 back to competing for the Scudetto once again. When asked why he prolonged his contract, he just simply said: “I have 25 boys here and they need me.”
It remains to be seen whether he can add more silverware to his trophy cabinet as he reaches 40. However, one thing is certain: Zlatan is one lion who cannot be tamed.