Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic has revealed his retirement from his football career at the age of 41, leaving Italy’s Serie A as the league’s oldest-ever goal scorer.
Ibrahimovic made the announcement after his team AC Milan’s season finale 3-1 victory over Hellas Verona on Sunday.
“It’s time to say goodbye to football, but not to you. The first time I arrived you gave me happiness, the second time, you gave me love. You welcomed me with open arms, you made me feel at home and I will be a Milanista my entire life,” Ibrahimovic told the Rossoneri fans at the San Siro stadium.
The club had previously announced it would hold a brief ceremony to bid farewell to the enigmatic star as his contract would not be renewed at the end of this month.
Ibrahimovic played for nine clubs during his 24-year career, scoring 561 goals for club and country, according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.
He retires as Sweden’s all-time leading goal scorer with 62 goals in 121 international matches. He retired from international football after Euro 2016 but returned for Sweden’s failed World Cup qualifying campaign in 2021.
Ibrahimovic told a news conference Sunday that he would rest a little before deciding what to do next.
“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,” he said.
