Background

Ethnicity: Zlatan Ibrahimovic was born to a Bosniak father and a Croat mother of partial Albanian descent.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was born on October 3, 1981 in Malmö, Sweden. He is the son of Šefik Ibrahimovic, who emigrated to Sweden in 1977, and Jurka Gravić, who also emigrated to Sweden. His parents divorced when Ibrahimovic was 2, and he spent a difficult childhood in the immigrant-populated district of Rosengård along with his three sisters and two brothers.

Education

Zlatan Ibrahimovic delved into playing football when he first received a pair of soccer boots at the age of 6. As a youngster, he had no permanent team. He played for FBK Balkan, Malmö BI and Bk Flagg. He became a starter for his hometown club Malmö FF in the early teenage years.

By 15, young Zlatan had come really close to ending his footballing career, but his manager persuaded him to not stop playing. His decision to drop out of school after the 9th grade and pursue a professional career was risky but proved to be a smart one.

Career

Ibrahimovic made his professional debut for Malmö FF in 1999. The team relegated that season but returned in the following season.

On March 22, 2001, Ajax successfully signed Ibrahimovic for €8.7million. At first, he was met with little playing time under then Ajax manager Co Andriaanse. But in November 2001, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was quickly inserted to the starting lineup and helped them win the 2001-2002 Eredivisie title.

On August 22, 2004, he brought the attention of football to himself when he scored a magnificent solo goal against NAC Breda, making his way past five of their players. The goal was voted the goal of the year by Eurosport viewers.

On August 31, 2004, Zlatan was sold to Juventus for €16million. There he immediately got into the starting lineup and scored 16 goals, which helped them top Serie A. At the end of the season, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was named Serie A foreign footballer of the year.

In his second season, Ibrahimovic started playing more to the wing and then racking up assists much more than goals. In the subsequent season, fans got frustrated with him, and then came the Sanction that forced the team to Serie B, making him force a move.

On August 10, 2006, Ibrahimovic completed a €24.8 million move to Inter Milan, signing a four-year deal.

Zlatan made his premiere for Inter against AS Roma in a super coppa Italiana on August 26, 2006. The team went ahead to win the match after extra time. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in his first Serie A debut match, which was held against Fiorentina on September 9 the same year. He went ahead to be the top scorer for the team in Serie A. The next season, he scored the goal of the year with a backheeled shot. In the 2008-2009 season, Ibrahimovic was the league top scorer with 25 goals helping Inter to another league title.

In the summer of the 2009 season, Zlatan Ibrahimovic signed a 5-year contract and moved to Barcelona. He became the very first player ever to score in his first five league matches. He was also selected to be part of the 2009 UEFA team of the year.

Zlatan butted heads with manager Pep Guardiola and was loaned out to A.C. Milan on August 28, 2010 with a purchase clause, which Milan would go to activate when the loan period was over. He signed a 4-year deal hoping to win the champions league. In 2011, Ibrahimovic won the league with Milan, helped A.C. Milan win the Supercopa Italiana against his former team, Inter Milan, by scoring the first goal in a 2-1 win in the finals, scored another backheel goal against Novara, and picked up another 3-match ban on January 5, 2012 in a match against Napoli. He finished that season with 28 goals in 32 matches.

On July 17, 2012, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) confirmed that they had reached an agreement to acquire the sporting and economic rights of Ibrahimovic for a transfer fee of €20 million. The following day, Ibrahimovic signed a 3-year deal that made him the 2nd highest-paid player in the world after Samuel Eto'o.

On September 18, 2012, Zlatan scored during a Champions League game against Dynamo Kyiv. He helped PSG win the Ligue 1 in 2013, ending their 2 long Ligue 1 drought being the top scorer in Ligue 1 that season. On September 24, 2013, it was announced that his contract has been extended to 2016. In May 2013, PSG won the Ligue 1 and Ibrahimovic became the top scorer and Ligue 1 best player for the second consecutive season with 26 league goals.

In August 2014, Ibrahimovic scored two goals against Guingamp and helped PSG secure the Trophée des Champions.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored two goals against Marseille. He became Paris Saint-Germain all-time leading goal scorer with 110 goals in the entire competitions. On March 9, 2016, he scored a goal against Chelsea FC. He scored 4 goals against Ligue 1 struggling side, Troyes, while scoring a hat-trick by the 9th minute making it the fastest hat-trick in Ligue 1. The third one made his 100th goal in the French Ligue 1 division.

In his final league game for PSG, he netted twice in the 4-0 win. On May 21, 2016, he netted two goals against Marseille in a Coupe de France final match, bringing his total tally for Paris Saint Germain to 156 goals - the match ended 4-2 in favor of PSG.

On July 1, 2016, Ibrahimovic signed as a free agent for Manchester United on a one-year contract, which had the option of being extended. His salary was £200,000 per week. He was ascribed the number 9 jersey. On August 7, 2016, Zlatan scored the second goal in a win for Manchester United in the community shield final against Leicester City. One week later, he scored a long ranger in his Premier League debut in a 3-1 win against Bournemouth. He scored premier league's 25,000th goal against Swansea in a 3-1 away win.

In 2017, Ibrahimovic got a three-match ban after elbowing Bournemouth's Tyrone Mings in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. On April 20, he got an injury in the knee of his right leg at Europa quarterfinal match against RSC Anderlecht, which injury put him on the sidelines until the end of the season.

On August 24, 2017, it was announced that Ibrahimovic had signed a new one-year contract with Manchester United. On November 18, he secured game time to play for the club after coming on in second half substitution for Anthony Martial in a 4-1 victory over Newcastle United.

On March 22, the Premier League team announced that Zlatan Ibrahimovic had assented to the abortion of his contract. On March 23, 2018, Ibrahimovic signed for Major League Soccer (MLS) club LA Galaxy. He made his debut on March 31, in the inaugural El Tráfico derby, where he scored twice. Zlatan also scored twice for the Galaxy in a 3-2 defeat to FC Dallas on May 30. On September 15, he scored the 500th goal in his professional career for club and country with an acrobatic style.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was selected as the club captain as they prepared for the 2019 season. On March 31, he put the ball past the Portland Timbers goalkeeper twice in the match with penalties. The match ended in a 2-1 victory.

On December 27, 2019, Ibrahimovic returned to Milan on a free transfer on a six-month contract until the end of the season, with an option to extend his contract until the end of the 2020-2021 season, subject to certain conditions. He made his first appearance in a home draw against Sampdoria in Serie A. Ibrahimovic scored his first goal for Milan since returning on January 11, in a 2-0 win against Cagliari.

On July 15, Zlatan made his 100th appearance for the club in a 3-1 home win over Parma, in Serie A. On August 31, 2020, Ibrahimovic extended his contract until the summer of 2021.

On September 17, Ibrahimovic scored the first goal of the 2020-2021 season in a 2-0 away win over Shamrock Rovers. On September 21, he scored a brace in Milan's opening match of the Serie A season.

Zlatan's International career was a long one as well. He was present at the 2002 world cup. During a Euro 2004 match, he scored a backheel goal in the 85th minute of a 1-1 draw match against Italy. In the first match of the tournament in Euro 2012, Ibrahimovic scored a volley in a 2-0 win against France. On November 14, 2012, he netted all the goals in a 4-2 match win against England. Ibrahimovic netted his 50th national team career goal in a 2-0 friendly match win over Estonia on September 4, 2014.

On September 8, Zlatan made his 100th advent for the Swedish national team in a qualification match against Austria. On September 21, 2016, he announced that he had retired from international football immediately after Sweden's last match at the 2016 Euro.

Currently, Ibrahimovic is also under contract with Nike and features in their television advertising where he has appeared alongside other players in the Nike stable including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Wayne Rooney.

Achievements

• 

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most decorated active footballers in the world. In his career, Zlatan won 31 trophies, scored over 550 career goals, and made 100 or more appearances for the Swedish national team. He is the country's all-time leading goalscorer with 62 goals.
  
  Zlatan has been awarded Guldbollen 11 times. His bicycle kick goal for Sweden against England won the 2013 FIFA Puskás Award. Ibrahimovic was named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI in 2013 and the UEFA Team of the Year in 2007, 2009, 2013 and 2014.
  
  In 2014, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter ranked him the second-greatest Swedish sportsperson ever, after tennis player Björn Borg. In 2015, UEFA ranked Zlatan as the best player ever not to have won the UEFA Champions League. Four years later, FourFourTwo magazine named him the third-greatest player never to win the competition.

Works

More photos

• book

  • I Am Zlatan: My Story On and Off the Field

    (Told as only the man himself could tell it, featuring sto...)

    2011
  • I Am Football: Zlatan Ibrahimovic 2018

• movie

  • Becoming Zlatan

    (A documentary of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.)

    2015

Religion

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was born to a Muslim father and a Catholic mother. He had a Catholic Christian upbringing. Zlatan described himself as "very Catholic" and has a tattoo across his left side that reads, in English, "Only God Can Judge Me."

Politics

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is non-political, but gets dragged into debates about immigration and taxes.

Views

In 2007, Zlatan Ibrahimovic self-funded Zlatan Court in Malmö. He provided a playing mat, goalposts, lighting and a modern fence. The next year, he donated new Nike kits to his youth club, FBK Balkan.

In 2014, Zlatan paid US $51,000 to send the Swedish national football team for the intellectually disabled to the INAS World Football Championships in Brazil. On February 14, 2015, he took off his shirt after scoring a goal to unveil the removable tattooed names of 50 people suffering from hunger around the world, in a gesture to raise awareness for famine in accordance with the United Nations World Food Programme.

Quotations: "I do not need a trophy to tell me I am the best."

"The older I get, the better I get, like red wine."

"Anything that happens in your life was meant to happen. It is your destiny. It was my destiny to have the life I have now, and I can't have any regrets."

"I think I am difficult to satisfy, because when I win something, I'm already thinking about the next step, and that is maybe a problem for me. I'm not enjoying the moment. I'm already on the mission to win the next trophy."

"Nothing is written in stone, as a career is an unpredictable journey."

"I can't help but laugh at how perfect I am."

"When people criticize me, instead of putting my head down, it gives me energy to do even more."

"I came like a king, I left like a legend."

"We are looking for an apartment; if we do not find anything, then we will buy a hotel."

"Give them a bicycle with my autograph and that will be enough."

"I decide my future. I decide what I want to do. Nobody else."

"I can play in the eleven positions because a good player can play anywhere."

"I have a big heart."

"When you buy me, you are buying a Ferrari."

"I always want to become better. If never being satisfied is a problem, then I have it."

"I didn't injure you on purpose and you know that. If you accuse me again I'll break both your legs, and that time it will be on purpose."

"Onyewu resembled a heavyweight boxer. He was nearly 6-foot-5 and weighed over 15 stone, but he couldn't handle me."

"Some things are made by destiny, yes, other things by hard work, but quality you don't learn. Quality you are born with."

"If you are too nice, you will just get eaten alive."

"We usually say that you cannot become a legend before death. But I am a living legend."

Personality

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a reputation for his outspokenness and confident attitude. He has certainly been unafraid to let the world know how he is feeling. Zlatan is, by nature, given to braggadocio, to hyperbole, perhaps to exaggeration.

Ibrahimovic is fluent in five languages - Swedish, Bosnian, English, Spanish and Italian. He often refers to himself in the third person.

Al Pacino is among Zlatan's favorite actors.

Physical Characteristics: Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) tall and weighs 95 kg (209 lbs). He does not drink alcohol.

On September 24, 2020, Ibrahimovic tested positive for COVID-19. By October 9, he had recovered from the disease.

Quotes from others about the person

• Jean-Pierre Papin: "We haven't had a goalscorer like him in France for a long time. He is on a different planet to anyone else."
  
  Ryan Giggs: "He's someone who, as a player, you see him walk into the dressing room and you see a winner, you see a character and you're seeing a bit of class. As a teammate it lifts you. These are the signings that will lift the Manchester United team and that's what you want."
  
  Eden Hazard: "Zlatan has always played at the top level. He never had a low point in his career. Perhaps he had some bad games now and then, but that's all. He has gained the respect of all his teammates and all his rivals. He is an example for every footballer."
  
  Adrian Mutu: "We used to sleep in the same room before games. One night, he woke up. Ibra told me, 'Adi, wake up! I had a nightmare. I dreamed Ronaldo was better than me!' He only went back to sleep after I told him, 'No, Zlatan, no! You are the best in the world! Calm down!"
  
  Carlo Ancelotti: "The thing about Ibra is this is a guy who always wants to win. Trust me, this guy would chase the last pass in the last minute of a training session in July if he thought he could get the goal that won the eight-a-side. When he says that he is getting better, he means it. He's certainly better than any 34-year-old footballer I know."
  
  Jose Mourinho: "I don't understand when people say he is a difficult guy to work with or a difficult personality. When you have somebody that is a winner and wants to win all the time, I think he is very, very easy. I only coached him for a year but it was a good year, a good experience and I rate him as one of the best players I have ever coached."
  
  Roy Keane: "He looks a good character. You'd be happy to play with him. As a player? Really, really good. Talented boy. Looks a bit of a character."
  
  Thierry Henry: "He is an amazing player, someone really special who has marked an era. He has won league titles wherever he went. Of course, he can be quite temperamental. He says what he thinks, but that has never bothered me. There are not a lot of players with his character."
  
  John Guidetti: "He is a world-class player and is a world-class person. Any team that gets him should be very grateful. He is fantastic - the way he speaks with the younger players, the way he demands quality. It is a true pleasure to play with him. There'll never be another Zlatan - he's a one-off. The way he talked and behaved has inspired me."
  
  John Steen Olsen: "I could see immediately that he had something special but I did not think he would become such a big star. He was big, good technically and could read the game. Zlatan is fantastic and, honestly, I get angry when people say bad things about him. He is an intelligent and pleasant guy. For me there are three players: Pele, Johan Cruyff and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They are the three best players ever."

Interests

• music, video games, movies

• Sport & Clubs

  taekwondo, football

• Athletes

  Muhammad Ali, Diego Maradona, Ronaldo, Gabriel Batistuta

• Music & Bands

  reggae, Bob Marley

Connections

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a longtime partner - Helena Seger, with whom he has two sons: Maximilian and Vincent.

Father:

Šefik Ibrahimovic

(born August 23, 1951)

Mother:

Jurka Gravić

(born April 16, 1951)

Son:

Maximilian Ibrahimovic

(born September 22, 2006)

Son:

Vincent Ibrahimovic

(born March 6, 2008)

Partner:

Helena Seger

(born August 25, 1970)

References

• Zlatan Ibrahimović's Instagram
• Zlatan Ibrahimović's Twitter
• Zlatan Ibrahimović's Facebook
• Zlatan Ibrahimović's Official Website