Zlatan Ibrahimović Has decided to retire from football at age 14
“I say goodbye to football but not to you,” the Swede told AC Milan’s fans after being serenaded by the San Siro crowd following Sunday’s final game of the season against Hellas Verona. He said
Ibrahimovic had already announced he would leave the Italian club, with his contract expiring this month.
He scored 511 career goals and won league titles in four countries.
Ibrahimovic arrived in Milan for his second spell with the club in early 2020, having won the Scudetto with them in 2011, and helped them win the title again last season.
But he played only four times and started one match for the Serie A side this term – and scored one goal – following a series of injuries.
The striker also retires as Sweden’s all-time top scorer with 62 goals in 121 matches.
He quit the national side after Euro 2016 but returned in 2021 for their unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign.
Ibrahimovic started his professional career with hometown side Malmo FF in 1999 before moving to Ajax in 2001 for a three-year spell in which he won three league titles.
A move to Italy followed in 2004 with Juventus, where he won two league titles, both of which were later stripped from the club as a result of the Calciopoli scandal.
However, the Swede won three more Serie A titles with his next club, Inter Milan, before a move to Barcelona in 2009.
Ibrahimovic spent only one season at the Catalan club, winning a La Liga title, before being loaned to AC Milan, a move which was made permanent in 2011.
A year later, however, and Ibrahimovic was on the move again, signing for Paris St-Germain, where he scored 113 goals in 122 league appearances and won four Ligue 1 trophies.
In July 2016, he signed for Manchester United for a two-year spell with the Premier League club that saw him win the League Cup and his first European title – the 2016/2017 Europa League.
Ibrahimovic signed for MLS side LA Galaxy in 2018, spending two seasons there before making his return to AC Milan.
By Rachael Shieley
