AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic has retired from football at the age of 41, ending one of the most glittering careers of the modern era.
“I say goodbye to football but not to you,” the Swede told the San Siro crowd after Sunday’s final game of the season.
Ibrahimovic had already announced his departure from the Italian club.
He scored 511 goals for clubs including Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and both AC and Inter Milan, winning league titles in four countries.
Ibrahimovic began his second spell with AC Milan at the start of 2020, winning the Scudetto with them in 2011 and helping them win the title again last season.
But he has played just four times and started one game – and scored one goal – for the Serie A side this term following a series of injuries, and his contract is due to expire this month.
“I have so many emotions right now. Forza Milan and goodbye,” said an emotional Ibrahimovic, fighting back tears.
“The first time I came here you gave me joy, the second time you gave me love.
“You welcomed me with open arms, you made me feel at home. I will be a Milanista for the rest of my life.”
Ibrahimovic won 34 trophies, including 14 league titles, and was nominated for the Ballon d’Or 11 times in a career that spanned the last century.
The Champions League is the one major club trophy that has eluded him, with his only European title with Manchester United in the shape of the 2017 Europa League.
The striker retired as Sweden’s all-time top scorer with 62 international goals in 122 appearances.
He left the national team after Euro 2016 but returned in 2021 for their unsuccessful World Cup qualification campaign.
“I was scared when journalists asked about my future, but now I accept it, I’m ready,” he told reporters after his announcement.
“I’ve been doing this all my life. Football has made me a man. It’s allowed me to know people I’d never know. I’m thanks to football. I’ve traveled the world. It’s thanks to football.”
A career is full of gold
Ibrahimovic began his professional career in 1999 with a three-year stint with Malmö FF before moving to Ajax, winning three league titles.
Moved to Italy in 2004 with Juventus, where he won two league titles, before being stripped of both by the club as a result of the Calciopoli scandal.
However, the Swede won three Serie A titles with his next club Inter Milan before moving to Barcelona in 2009.
Ibrahimovic spent just one season at the Catalan club, winning the La Liga title before being loaned to AC Milan, which was made permanent in 2011.
A year later, however, and Ibrahimovic signed for Paris Saint-Germain, where he scored 113 goals in 122 league appearances and won four Ligue 1 trophies.
In July 2016, he signed for Manchester United on a two-year deal with the Premier League club, winning the League Cup and Europa League.
Ibrahimovic signed for MLS side LA Galaxy in 2018, spending two seasons in California before returning to AC Milan.
