Zlatan Ibrahimović

Zlatan Ibrahimović was born on 3 October 1981 in Malmö, Sweden, to a Bosnian Muslim father, Šefik Ibrahimović, and a Croatian Catholic mother, Jurka Gravić. Raised in the Rosengård district, he began playing youth football with local clubs FBK Balkan and FC Rosengård before joining Malmö FF. He made his senior Malmö debut in 1999 and helped the club win promotion to Sweden’s top division in 2001. His performances led Ajax to sign him later that year. At Ajax, Ibrahimović won two Eredivisie titles and became known internationally for a solo goal against NAC Breda in 2004, in which he dribbled past multiple opponents. He moved to Juventus in 2004, then Internazionale in 2006 after Juventus were relegated following the Calciopoli scandal. Under coach Roberto Mancini, he won three consecutive Serie A titles with Inter from 2006–07 through 2008–09 and was named Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2008 and 2009. Barcelona bought him in 2009 in a deal involving Samuel Eto’o and a major transfer fee. Although he scored 21 goals in all competitions during his only season there and won La Liga, his relationship with coach Pep Guardiola deteriorated. He joined AC Milan on loan in 2010, helped them win Serie A in 2010–11, and made the move permanent. A 2012 transfer to Paris Saint-Germain began a four-season spell in which he won Ligue 1 every year, became PSG’s all-time leading scorer at the time, and scored 156 goals in 180 competitive appearances. Ibrahimović signed for Manchester United in 2016. He scored 28 goals in his first season, including both goals in the 2017 EFL Cup final against Southampton, and also won the UEFA Europa League, though a knee injury kept him out of the final. In 2018 he joined LA Galaxy, scoring 53 MLS regular-season goals in 58 matches. He returned to Milan in January 2020 and contributed to their 2021–22 Serie A title, becoming the oldest player to score in Serie A at 41 years and 166 days. For Sweden, Ibrahimović debuted in 2001 and played at multiple European Championships and World Cups. He retired from international football after Euro 2016, returned in 2021, and ended with 62 goals in 122 caps, Sweden’s men’s record. He announced his retirement from professional football in June 2023. In 2024 Milan announced he had returned to the club as senior adviser to RedBird Capital Partners, its ownership group.