On or off the pitch, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has always been talked about, during a vast career that began in 1999 and ended on Sunday June 4, 2023. The 41-year-old striker, who has worked for the biggest clubs (Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris SG…), will leave the memory of an incredible scorer. But also a massive outspokenness, sometimes bordering on the correct, and an unfailing sense of humor. Selected pieces of the best punchlines of a colorful character.
In 1999, Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined the professional team of Malmö FF, the biggest club in his hometown. Barely of age, he is already steeped in talent and knows perfectly well where he wants to go. Exuberant, he arrives in the locker room of the “big ones” and shamelessly announces to anyone who will listen: “Remember my name and my face. My name is Zlatan Ibrahimovic and I’m going to be the best player in the world!” A certain assurance that has (more or less) been verified.
The summer of 2001 was the start for the Swede, who signed for Ajax Amsterdam. He favors the Dutch club over Arsenal, where Arsene Wenger made eyes at him. Problem: the French coach wanted to give him a tryout first. “No way. Zlatan does not audition, “said years later the player, who will discover England in 2016 with … Manchester United.
SEE ALSO – Ibrahimovic’s top 6 goals at PSG (2012-2016)
In the early 2000s, John Carew was talked about with the Spanish club Valencia and the Norwegian selection. But above all, don’t compare the former Lyonnais (2005-07) to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as an uninformed journalist did. “What he does with a ball, I do with an orange,” replied the Swede.
After the 2012 Ballon d’Or ceremony which crowned Lionel Messi for the fourth consecutive year, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (10th in the standings), a good prince, could not help but deliver a nasty tackle to the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo in the calling him a “privileged spectator, always in the front row to see Messi receive awards”. Passed by FC Barcelona during the 2009-10 season, the Swede has never had trouble recognizing the talent of the Argentine genius.
The summer of 2012 marks a turning point in the history of PSG QSI version. A flashy summer transfer window sees the arrival of renowned players like Thiago Silva, Ezequiel Lavezzi and especially Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Presented with great fanfare at the Trocadéro, the Swede immediately marked his territory with a memorable sentence: “I don’t know Ligue 1 well. But Ligue 1 knows who I am… […] I’m going to live in the Tower Eiffel and go to parachute training.”
In January 2015, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has cohabited for a year and a half in attack with Edinson Cavani. The agreement between the two men is not idyllic in Paris. But the Swede doesn’t like a journalist questioning that in the mixed zone. “Are you a journalist or a cameraman?” Ibrahimovic said after 40 seconds of discussion. “Journalist”, replies his interlocutor. “So why are you carrying a camera? You should have a cameraman”, resumes the Parisian, who teases him about his “small budget”.
In March 2015, Paris Saint-Germain lost on the lawn of the Girondins de Bordeaux (3-2) at the option, according to the Swedish striker, of a deplorable arbitration. As he returned to the locker room somewhat revitalized, the Parisian number 10 could not hold back and launched: “I have been playing football for fifteen years and I have never seen such a bad referee in this shitty country. This country does not deserve PSG. PSG shouldn’t even be in this country, we are too good for this country.”
A statement that will immediately cause controversy. “I want to apologize if people have been offended”, react the person concerned … who will assume his words six years later. “Marine Le Pen asked for my expulsion, he recalled in the columns of Corriera della Sera. The next day, I feared the reactions in the street. Instead the French approached me to congratulate me: ‘Ibra, you’re right, it’s really a shitty country.
November 2015. Zlatan Ibrahimovic begins his 4th and final season at Paris Saint-Germain. In the middle of the international break, he was asked at a press conference about his place in Swedish and French football. “I put Sweden on the world football map. I also did it for France. I am delighted, “he smiles, seventeen years after the victory of the Blues at the 1998 World Cup.
“I came like a king, I left as a legend” (“I came like a king, I leave like a legend” in VF). It is in these terms that Zlatan Ibrahimovic left PSG in the summer of 2016, four years after settling in the capital. A statement full of egotrip which befits its speaker, after 156 goals in 180 matches in the Parisian jersey.
In November 2019, Zlatan Ibrahimovic informed his followers that his American adventure with the Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) came to an end after two very successful seasons on an individual level (53 goals in 58 matches). To break the sad news to a country where football is not a major sport, it’s Zlatan in the text: “I came, I saw, I conquered. Thank you LA Galaxy for making me feel alive again. For Galaxy fans, you wanted Zlatan, I gave you Zlatan. It was nothing. The story continues… Now go back to watching baseball.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic stronger than the virus. The Swedish striker contracted Covid-19 in September 2020, a few months after the start of the pandemic. Perfect opportunity for a new theatrical statement. “I tested negative for Covid yesterday and positive today. I have no symptoms or anything. The Covid had the courage to challenge me. Bad idea, ”tweeted the AC Milan player, then 38 years old.
This Sunday evening against Hellas Verona (3-1), Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced to the tifosi of San Siro, the lair of AC Milan, that he was officially retiring. During his speech, a cloud of whistles came down from the visitor parking lot. They did not please the Swede and the latter allowed himself to reframe them: “Whistle, whistle! Watching me is the greatest moment of your year.” A laconic message for the supporters of the Verona club, who, at the end of the meeting, were relegated to Serie B.
