Zlatan Ibrahimovic has retired from football with immediate effect following his departure from AC Milan
Zlatan Ibrahimovic TO WITHDRAW from football with immediate effect, with the 41-year-old Swedish legend scrapping plans to continue playing as he bids emotional farewell to AC Milan on the final day of the season
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic immediately retires from football
- He would leave AC Milan at the end of the season as his contract was up
- After denying reports that he would retire from the sport, he has now announced his departure
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has surprised the football world by announcing his retirement with immediate effect following AC Milan’s last game of the season on Sunday evening.
Fans in San Siro bid farewell to the Swedish striker ahead of his last game for the club, and although he said he would not retire, it now appears the 41-year-old has changed his mind and is back on the fine game gave up. , since 1999 988 professional appearances for club and country.
After the game, he told AC Milan fans: “I’m saying goodbye to football, but not you.”
Previous rumors had linked the football legend with a move to fellow Serie A side Monza, but Ibrahimovic has now decided to leave the sport entirely after leaving 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.
Images on Twitter show an extremely emotional man as he soaked up the atmosphere after announcing the end of his playing days.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has retired from football at the age of 41 after the end of his time at AC Milan
Home fans bid farewell to the Swedish striker with a huge ‘GODbye’ sign at the San Siro
His professional career started with Swedish club Malmö in 1999, and he also played for Ajax, Man United and both Milan clubs in a great career.
He helped AC Milan clinch the Serie A title in 2011, joining them for his second stint with the club in 2020. This stint lasted three years, culminating with last year’s Scudetto.
Ibrahimovic is Sweden’s all-time top scorer with 62 goals in 121 games, despite leaving the national side in 2016, only to return five years later.
But the star’s last years were stricken with injury and he did not play in the last game of the season, a 3-1 win over Hellas Verona.
Olivier Giroud scored a penalty just before half-time, while two late goals from Rafael Leao sealed the three points after Davide Faraoni equalized for Verona.
The visitors now enter a one-off playoff match to decide whether to play Serie A football next season after finishing on points with Spezia, who lost their final game of the season 2-1 at the Europa League final losers Roma.
More to follow…