Zlatan Ibrahimović has ended his 24 years of footballing career, scooping all top-flight European titles but the UEFA Champions League, News About Nigeria understands.
The 41-year-old former AC Milan striker was all emotional when he made the announcement in front of the over 80,000 capacity San Siro stadium, after Milan’s 3-1 victory over Verona on Sunday.
Ibrahimović will be remembered for his many records in the round leather game but will leave with the pains of never winning the Champions League title, having played for top European clubs throughout his career.
The Swedish international is arguably among the very few players who maintained positive records playing across Europeans most exciting leagues, clinching no fewer than 34 trophies.
Zlatan, as fondly called sometimes, started his glittering career as a 19-year-old, playing for Dutch outfit Ajax in 2001, having spent some time with his local club Malmo in Sweden.
At Ajax, Ibrahimović won the league’s Eredivisie title in his first season. He would later score his evolutionary goal against NAC Breda in August 2004. A much talked about strike till date.
His impressive form for Ajax and Sweden in Euro 2004 earned him a move to Italian giants Juventus, where he finished top scorer in Serie A in his first season.
A year later, he moved to Inter Milan and helped them to three straight league titles as well as two Suppercoppa Italianas.
Ibrahimovic also won the La Liga with Barcelona, having joined in 2009. He moved ahead shortly, returning to AC Milan and helped them win the Serie A title and Suppercoppa Italiana in the 2010/11 season.
He also had a short spell with Manchester United in England, winning the League Cup and Europa League in his first season at Old Trafford.
He later joined America’s outfit MLS club LA Galaxy, though he failed to win a title with the club but proved his worth each time on the pitch, especially his first goal for the club where he put up a stunning strike 35 yards out.
After his time in the US, he returned to Milan the second time and won them another Scudetto title, their first in 11 years, in the 2021/22 season.
The Swedish icon has a total of 122 caps for his country (Sweden), scoring 62 goals.
He is one of the most decorated active footballers in the world, with over 570 career goals, including more than 500 club goals.
