Zlatan Ibrahimovic Biography

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a Swedish professional footballer who has played in different clubs in different countries. Although his country of origin is not famous for football, Zlatan is mainly known as one of the best strikers of all time and also the most decorated active footballers in the world. During his professional life, he won 31 trophies in his career. let's move forward to have an in-depth look at the personal and professional life of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

All You Need to Know About Zlatan Ibrahimovic Biography

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was born on n 3 October 1981 in Malmö, Sweden. His father was a Muslim Bosniak immigrant and his mother is a Catholic Croat . Zlatan received a pair of football boots when he was only six years old and after that, he started his football. As his first club, he joined FBK Balkan which was a Malmö club founded by Yugoslav immigrants. During his childhood, he also played in Malmö BI and briefly BK Flagg football clubs. Stay tuned to know more about

Zlatan Ibrahimovic life Story.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic information

In the following part of Zlatan Ibrahimovic Biography, you can find some general information about him listed down here.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Bio

• Full Name:

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic

• Nickname:

  Ibra, zlatanera

• Profession:

  Professional Football Player

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Physical Stats

• Weight:

  95 Kilograms

• Height:

   1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)

• Eye Color:

  Dark brown

• Hair Color:

  Dark brown 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Football Information

• Position:

  Striker

• Jersey Number:

  11

• Professional Debut:

  1999

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth:

  3 October 1981 

• Birth Place:

  Malmö, Sweden

• Zodiac Sign:

  Libra

• Zlatan Ibrahimovic Nationality

  : Sweden

• Zlatan Ibrahimovic Religion

  : Catholic

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic Early Life

In this section of Zlatan Ibrahimovic Biography, we will have a glance at his early life. As mentioned earlier, he started his football at low-level clubs which were mostly local. As a passionate young boy, he managed to become a regular for his hometown club Malmö FF. Despite his early success, he was about to quit his football career at the age of 15 to work at the docks in Malmö but fortunately, his manager convinced him to continue football as he saw his golden future.

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 Zlatan Ibrahimovic Profile

In this division of

Zlatan Ibrahimovic biography

, we will review his professional career from his early days until now, that he is o one of the best strikers of all time. As a teenage boy, Zlatan admired the Brazilian forward Ronaldo and Gabriel Batistuta, these two icons were his role models. As his manager convinced him to stay a player, in 1996 he signed his first-ever contract with

and after four years he got promoted to the senior side. During his early seasons at the senior side, Arsen Wenger got interested in him but he could not make him sign a contract with Arsenal. Later on, on 22 March 2001, it was announced that Zlatan would join

, so in July Ibrahimovic officially joined Ajax for 80 million Swedish kronor (€8.7 million).

When he arrived at Ajax, Co Adriaanse was the manager. During Adriaanse time, Zlatan was not given so much chance to play, but as Adriaanse was fired on 29 November 2001 and the new manager, Ronald Koeman, showed up, Zlatan got fixed in the arrangement and soon became a key player. For three years, Zlatan played in Ajax, and later on, he joined the

side by a €16 million contract. Due to David Trezeguet's injury problems, he soon joined the starting lineup and at the end of his

debut, they won the title and in the Champions League they reached the quarter-finals but then they were defeated by

. His debut season was one of the best one, he was named Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year, and in November 2005, he was awarded the Guldbollen, a prize awarded to the best Swedish footballer of the year.

After two years, on 10 August 2006, he signed his  €24.8 million four-year-deal contract with

Twenty days after his contract, he made his debut in a match against

in the 2006 Supercoppa Italiana. He could score his Inter debut goal in a match against

on 9 September, it was Inter's first match of the league that they started the season with a 3–2 win at Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Zlatan experienced his first Derby Della Madonnina on 28 October and could score the third Inter goal of the match. Almost a year after his Inter debut, on 16 September 2007 he played his 100th Serie A match against

at the San Siro. Following his success and influences on the team, he signed an expansion that kept him until June 2013, later it was officiated that this contract had made him the world's highest-paid footballer. Even though he had to stay at Milan until 2013, at the end of 2009-10 season he left Inter as the league's top goalscorer with 25 goals.

As he left Inter, he joined

side in 2009-10 season in exchange for striker Samuel Eto'o, plus a reported fee of £59 million five-year contract. on 23 August 2009, he made his Barca debut and could assist Leo to score a goal, which led them to the Supercopa de España, beating 

 5–1 on aggregate. He scored his first Champions League goal for Barca on 20 October in a group stage match against 

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In the semi-final of the champion league, Barca defeated Inter, and after that Zlatan had a serious argument with his coach Pep Guardiola in the changing room. Following their struggle, on 25 August, he played his last match for the club against Milan and later on left Barca.Then, on 28 August 2010

officiated that they had signed Ibrahimovic for the 2010–11 season. In fact, he was loaned out to Milan for the season. 

Soon, Zlatan made his debut for Milan against

, on 11 September, which was not a good start, in that match, he lost a penalty. Four days later he could score his first Milan goal on 15 September against 

in their first Champions League match. Little by little he became a regular in the team's arrangement so that he was compared to Milan legend Marco van Basten by both the media and Van Basten himself.  Zlatan stayed in Milan until 2012 and finished his last season as Serie A top scorer with 28 goals in 32 matches.

Following his departure from Milan, on 17 July 2012, it was officiated by

that he would join them. So, he had signed his three-year with an elite yearly salary of €14 million including rewards. This contract made him the second best-paid footballer in the world after Samuel Eto'o. He soon could break into the arrangement and become one of the best players in France, on 20 May, he was named as Ligue 1's Player of the Year by the Union nationale des footballeurs professionnels.

As his contract with PSG finished, on 14 May 2016 he made his final Ligue 1 appearance for PSG against

, and as he scored two goals in their  4–0  win match, he became Paris Saint-Germain's top scorer in a single Ligue 1 season with 38 goals.

Later on, on 1 July 2016 Ibrahimović signed a one-year contract with

, his salary was reported to be £200,000 per week. Although it was said Zlatan would expand his contract, as his deadline arrived, he left Man United and join the

0n 23 March 2018. A week after his arrival, he made his debut as a substitute against 

 in the inaugural El Tráfico derby. During that match, he could score twice. In 2019, once again, Zlatan changed his club and returned to his former's. On 13 November 2019, Zlatan stated he was to leave LA Galaxy through his Twitter account, and after a month on 27 December 2019 he signed his six-month contract with AC Milan and as his first contract expired, on 31 August 2020, Ibrahimović extended his contract until the summer of 2021.

Stay tuned to read more about 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Biography

 and get to know him better.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Style of Play

Zlatan is widely known as a versatile and well-rounded footballer. He is a striker who can play anywhere along the front line as he is capable of creating and scoring goals for his team.  At times, he could perform in a more creative playmaking role and also in supporting forward or even as a number 10.  He is a right-footed soccer player, but from both inside or outside the penalty area, he could kick with either foot. He is also famous for his accuracy from penalties and dead-ball situations. He is also capable of scoring goals with his head as well as his feet. 

Reception

According to ESPN Zlatan Ibrahimović is " good in the air, quick, tall, strong and agile, he plays well with his back to goal and boasts some of the best finishing, vision, passing and ball control around". As some press stated he was a highly talented player in his youth thanks to his prolific goalscoring, consistency, and spectacular strikes. As stated by some expert in sports, Zlatan is one of the best players in the world during his prime, and also one of the greatest and most complete strikers of his generation.

However, he was also criticized in the media for being inconsistent in high-pressure situations, especially during his youth. But we can ignore that, as he grew he became a world-class player. Up to now, he could score goals in some important matches and tournaments such as Derby della Madonnina and the Derby d'Italia in Italy, El Clásico, El Otro Clásico, and the CatalanDerbi barceloní in Spain, Le Classique in France, De Klassieker and De Topper in the Netherland, and the Manchester Derby and North-West Derby in England. As a striker who is well-known for his strong mentality and leadership, he could earn him to be the only player to have scored for six different clubs in the Champions League. By his magnificent performances, he is compared to Dutchman Marco van Basten and also to the extraordinary French former footballer Eric Cantona who was once a player in Manchester United.

Zlatan Ibrahimović Goal celebration

Zlatan is indeed one of the greatest strikers of his generation. He has scored important goals in important matches, but he has not a significant goal celebration as his signature. Most of the time, as he scores a goal, he expands his hand and approaches the people sitting in the stadium. 

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic outside football

It is safe to say that, Zlatan is one of the world's most famous footballers, having played in Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester United in a long career. Ibrahimovic started his own company A-Z Sportswear in June 2016 to sell sportswear for men, women, and children. Their motto is " "to make sports accessible to everyone". He has also his perfume. As he was in PSG he lunched his Ibrahimovic Parfums, in contribution with Olivier Pescheux, a world-leading perfume maker from Givaudan in Paris, to create his signature scents for men and women. Besides, he has his own Android game, Zlatan Legends, which is a free-to-download game that offered in-app purchases. He has also invested in Hammarby IF, a Swedish top-flight club from Stockholm,on 27 November 2019 Zlatan bought 23.5 percent of its shares.

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic Personel life

Zlatan Ibrahimovic childhood

was full of ups and downs. He was born into a Muslim father and a Catholic mother. Both of them were immigrants and had met each other for the first time in Sweden.  Zlatan was born on  3 October 1981 and two years later his parents separated, so He spent a difficult childhood in the immigrant-populated district of Rosengard, Sweden, he often describes his neighborhood as a dangerous place, he calls it ‘a paradise’, but still he feels more at home there than the world’s most expensive hotels. As his parents got divorced, Zlatan lived with his mother which was not a good time for him. His mother once was arrested for some stolen goods, so social services showed up and as she was addicted to drugs, he was sent to live with his father.

The condition of his father was not any better, he used to drink and instead of food, his refrigerator was full of beer, so the young Zlatan had to go to her mother's or even worst he started stealing stuff, he shop-lifted and stole bikes. Once he said to reporters “When we needed something for ourselves, all we do was to go to the shop and steal. I had a particularly good relationship with bikes!"

His unlucky childhood was indeed his motivation to become an important person, somehow to get revenge from his past. David Lagercrantz the co-writer of the book I Am Zlatan, states: "The complex is the best word to describe Zlatan. On the one hand, he’s a strong, warrior type who knew he had to be very tough to survive. So he takes on fights all the time because he’s always had to. But another part of him is vulnerable. He’s a guy wounded by his upbringing, who uses all that to create a strength for himself. In his position, 99 guys out of 100 would have gone under, but he used his anger to make himself better. He told me, ‘David, I need to be angry to play well’. When he played with middle-class kids he felt inferior because he wore the wrong clothes and had no money, so he said to himself ‘One day I’ll show them!’ That became his motivation"

Family, Children, and Relationships

It has been years that Zlatan lives with his life-partner, Helena Seger. she is a successful model and businesswoman. The couple started dating in 2002 and four years later in 2006, she gave birth to a baby boy, Maximilian Ibrahimović. In 2008, Helena gave birth to their second son, Vincent Ibrahimovic.

Philanthropy

As one of the richest players, Zlatan is active in charity works. He has worked with the UN World Food Programme. As a member of this association, he promoted the campaigns to help increase awareness of the suffering of people across the world. He once stated regarding their charity campaign: "I have supporters all over the world. From now on I want this support to go to the people who suffer from hunger, they are the real champions. So whenever you hear my name, you will think of their names." Besides, Zlatan once paid for a team of disabled footballers from Sweden to go to the INAS World Football Championships.

Legal Issues

Being one of the most aggressive players in the world brought him so many troubles but not legal once. Regarding his legal issues, we can only refer to his problem with EA Sports. He had claimed that EA Sports had no authority to use his face in FIFA 21, even though, EA Sports had a deal with his team, Milan, to feature all their related players and facilities.

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic Career Statistics

Following Zlatan Ibrahimovic biography, in this part, we would have a rundown of his Career Statistics. 

Clubs

Since his professional debut in 1999 till present, Zlatan has played in different clubs. He started his football in Malmö FF in 1999 and after 3 years he left the club, during these years he made 40 appearances and scored 16 goals. Between 2001–2004, he played for Ajax and he made 74 appearances and scored 35 goals. His next destination was Juve, he could make 70 appearances and scored 23 goals between 2004-2006. He later joined Inter Milan and there between 2006-2009 he made 88 appearances and scored 57 goals.

He again returned to Italy to join AC Milan and since 2010 until 2012 made 61 appearances and scored 42 goals. Then, he moved to France to join PSG, between 2012-2106 he made 122 appearances and scored 133 goals. His next club was Man United where he stayed until 2018 and during his one-year stay, he made 33 appearances and scored 17 goals. He later joined LA Galaxy and in a year he made 56 appearances and scored 52 goals. Once again in 2020, he rejoined AC Milan and so far he has made 27 appearances and scored 22 goals.

International

Due to the origin of his parent, Zlatan was able to play for different national teams, but he chose Sweden over Bosnia and Herzegovina or Croatia. He made his international debut on 31 January 2001 during the 2000–01 Nordic Football Championship which was a friendly match against the Faroe Islands. After almost a year, On 7 October 2001, he made his first competitive match during the 2002 World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan and also scored his first international goal for his country. 

Before his retirement, On 4 September 2014, he could score his 50th international goal in a 2–0 friendly match victory over Estonia and so he was named the

national team's all-time leading goalscorer. Zlatan has proved himself as a key player of Sweden for fifteen years before 2016 that he officiated his retirement from the national team. On 11 May 2016, he made the final 23-man team as the captain for Sweden at Euro 2016, he played every minute of Sweden's three group matches, but did not score any goals. 

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic Honors

In recent years, Zlatan Ibrahimovic can be considered as one of the most successful players. He has won tons of awards both at the club and national level. Below, you would find some of his awards and achievements.

With Ajax, Ibrahimovic could win the Eredivisie title in 2001–02, 2003–04, the KNVB Cup in 2001–02 and, the Johan Cruyff Shield in 2002.  With Juve, he won the Serie A title in 2004–05, 2005–06. later on, as he joined Inter Milan he could achieve the Serie A in 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 and the Supercoppa Italiana in 2006, 2008.

In 2009 he joined Barcelona side and could win the La Liga in 2009–10, the Supercopa de España in 2009, 2010, the UEFA Super Cup in2009 and, FIFA Club World Cup in 2009.  After two years, he moved to Milan, and there he could win the Serie A in 2010-11 and the Supercoppa Italiana in 2011. Ibrahimović joined PSG in 2012 and as an important player won the Ligue 1 in 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 and Coupe de France in 2014–15, 2015–16 and the Coupe de la Ligue in 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 and Trophée des Champions in 2013, 2014, 2015.

His performances and skills as a striker brought him several valuable individual awards such as winning the Golden Foot in 2012, UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award in 2011, L'Équipe Journalists' Best XI Team of the Year in 2008, Juventus Player of the Year in 2004–05, Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year, Gazzetta Sports Awards Legend in 2020, Medal of the City of Paris in 2016, Swedish Football Personality of the Year in 2002, Swedish Goal of the Year in 2012, 2013.

Besides all of the above, he has gained several records as a professional player, such as The only player to score in the UEFA Champions League with six teams, All-time top goalscorer for Sweden with 62 goals, All-time top scorer in Le Classique with 11 goals, Only Paris Saint-Germain player to be top goalscorer in three Ligue 1 seasons, The only player to have won 11 championships in four leagues, Sweden's only player to score in three consecutive UEFA European Championship tournaments, The oldest player to reach 15 goals in a single season in the Premier League.

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