Zlatan Ibrahimovic is RETIRING from football with immediate effect. The 41-year-old Swedish legend scraps plans to continue playing as he bids an emotional farewell to AC Milan on the final day of the season
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic has retired from football with immediate effect
- He was due to leave AC Milan at the end of the season as his contract had expired
- After denying reports that he was quitting the sport, he has now announced his exit
Zlatan Ibrahimovic surprised the football world by announcing his retirement with immediate effect after AC Milan’s last game of the season on Sunday night.
Fans at San Siro bid their farewell to the Swedish striker ahead of his last game for the Swedish club and although he said he would not retire, it now seems the 41-year-old has changed his mind and embraced the beautiful sport has given up , who has made 988 professional appearances for club and country since 1999.
After the game, he told AC Milan fans: “I say goodbye to football, but not to you guys.”
Previous rumors had linked the football legend with a move to fellow Serie A teammates Monza, but Ibrahimovic has now opted to quit the sport altogether, having left AC Milan at the end of his contract.
The Sweden international became the oldest-ever goalscorer in Serie A when he scored against Udinese in March.
Footage on Twitter showed an extremely emotional man as he soaked up the atmosphere after announcing the end of his playing days.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has retired from football after retiring from AC Milan at the age of 41
Home fans said goodbye to the Swedish striker at the San Siro with a giant ‘GODbye’ sign
His professional career began in 1999 with Swedish club Malmö, he has also featured in a distinguished career for Ajax, Man United and both Milan clubs.
He helped AC Milan win the Serie A title in 2011 and joined the club in his second spell in 2020. This commitment lasted three years and reached its peak with the Scudetto last year.
Ibrahimovic is Sweden’s all-time top scorer with 62 goals in 121 games, despite leaving the national team in 2016 and returning five years later.
However, the star has been plagued by injuries in recent years and did not feature in the final game of the season, a 3-1 win over Hellas Verona.
Olivier Giroud fired a penalty just before half-time while two late goals from Rafael Leao secured the three points after Davide Faraoni equalized for Verona.
The visitors will now have a one-off play-off to decide whether they will play in Serie A next season after being level on points with Spezia, who lost their final game of the season 2-1 away at Europa League final losers Roma lost .
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