Zlatan Ibrahimovic has surprised the footballing world by announcing his retirement with immediate effect after AC Milan’s final match of the season on Sunday night.
Fans at the San Siro bid farewell to the Swedish striker ahead of his final game for the club, and while he said he was not going to retire, it now appears that the 41-year-old has changed his mind and quit the beautiful game, having made 988 professional appearances for club and country since 1999.
After the match, he told the AC Milan fans: ‘I say goodbye to football but not to you.’
Footage on Twitter revealed an extremely emotional man as he soaked up the atmosphere after announcing the end of his playing days – an announcement which came out of the blue.
The striker had recently reiterated his plans to continue in football, and previous rumours linked him with a move to fellow Serie A side Monza.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has retired from football aged 41 after the end of his time at AC Milan
Home supporters bid farwell to the Swedish striker with a huge ‘GODbye’ sign at the San Siro
Ibrahimovic told fans he was not saying goodbye to them as he stepped away from football
Instead, the 41-year-old Ibrahimovic has decided to quit entirely following the expiry of his AC Milan contract.
His professional career started with Swedish club Malmo in 1999, and he also played for Ajax, Man United, and both Milan clubs in a stellar career.
He helped AC Milan lift the Serie A title in 2011, and joined them for in his second spell with the club in 2020. This stint lasted three years, peaking with last year’s Scudetto.
The Sweden international became Serie A’s oldest ever goalscorer when he netted against Udinese in March, but it was his last professional goal.
Ibrahimovic is Sweden’s all-time top scorer with 62 goals in 121 matches, despite quitting the national side in 2016, only to return five years later.
The star’s recent injury setbacks meant he did not feature in AC Milan’s final game of the season, a 3-1 win over Hellas Verona, although he was watching on with his wife Helena Seger.
He had previously said that he was not planning to retire when his AC Milan contract expired
The Swedish striker returned to AC Milan in 2020, helping them to win the Serie A title in 2022
Injuries meant Ibrahimovic saw AC Milan’s last game of the season with his wife Helena Seger
Olivier Giroud scored a penalty just before half-time, while two late goals from Rafael Leao sealed the three points after Davide Faraoni had equalised for Verona.
The visitors now head into a one-off playoff game to decide if they will be playing Serie A football next season, after finishing equal on points with Spezia, who lost their final game of the season 2-1 away at Europa League final losers Roma.
Ibrahimovic previously said he was ‘not one to give up’, and vowed to keep playing.
But instead, he has decided to hang up his boots, bringing an end to one of the most impressive playing careers that football has seen.
