AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic reacts after his final recreation for the membership on the finish of a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Hellas Verona on the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, on June 4, 2023.| Photo Credit: AP

AC Milan's Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic mentioned on June 4 he had determined to finish his taking part in profession on the age of 41 after a trophy-laden profession at a few of Europe's prime golf equipment.

The extrovert Swede's Milan contract expires on the finish of June and won't be renewed following a season affected by accidents, prompting him to finish a outstanding profession.

Ibrahimovic arrived in Milan for his second spell with the membership in early 2020, having received the Scudetto with them in 2011, and helped the membership win the title once more final season.

"I say goodbye to football but not to you," he mentioned after being feted by the San Siro crowd after Milan's 3-1 win over Hellas Verona of their season finale.

"The first time I arrived you gave me happiness, the second time you gave me love. I want to thank my family and those close to me for their patience."

The larger-than-life striker began his profession at Malmo FF in 1999 and left for Ajax Amsterdam in 2001 earlier than embarking on a journey that has included spells at Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris St Germain, Manchester United and Milan.

Ibrahimovic has received numerous home leagues and cups plus an extended listing of particular person honours however by no means acquired his arms on Europe's elite membership competitors trophy the Champions League.

Sweden's all-time prime scorer with 62 objectives in 121 matches, he stop the nationwide workforce after Euro 2016 however returned in 2021 for his or her unsuccessful World Cup qualifying marketing campaign.

Free man

"I thank the journalists for your patience, now you’ll have less work to do without me ... From tomorrow, I am a free man from this world of football," Ibrahimovic instructed reporters in a press convention after the announcement he was retiring.

"It was a long career, really long, thank you to everyone who gave me the strength, the adrenaline and the emotion to continue."

Ibrahimovic deflected questions concerning his plans for retirement, opting to not reveal any particulars.

"For the moment, I just want to take some time and enjoy what I’ve done. It’s not right to make decisions in a hurry, there’s too much emotion right now. I want to take the summer off, reflect and then we’ll see."

When requested about who might substitute Ibrahimovic, his reply was clear.

"Impossible, there is only one Zlatan! As a child, they compared me to (former Netherlands striker) Marco van Basten, but he is who he is and I am who I am.

"There is likely to be similarities, however I don’t assume comparisons are proper. I doubt we’d discover one other Zlatan with my ego..."

He concluded the press conference by admitting that the evening had been an emotional experience.

"I couldn't have dreamed of an evening like this. From the primary day, I felt at dwelling with Milan, the previous and the brand new model. When I depart right here, I'll miss it a terrific deal. Today, they dragged the true Ibrahimovic out.”