
Zlatan
Ibrahimović (Bosnian pronunciation:; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish
footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Milan and the
Swedish national team for which he is captain.
Ibrahimović started his career at Malmö FF in the late 1990s under
Roland Andersson. He was signed by Ajax, and made a name for himself
under Ronald Koeman. Years later, he signed with Juventus for €16
million. Ibrahimović gained fame in Serie A, benefiting from his strike
partnership with David Trézéguet. In 2006, he signed with league rival
Internazionale, where he won individual awards such as the Oscar del
Calcio, the Guldbollen, and was named in the 2007 and 2009 UEFA Team of
the Year, in addition to finishing as the league's highest scorer in
2008–09 while winning three straight Scudetti. In the summer of 2009,
he transferred to Barcelona for €69 million, the second highest
transfer fee in football history. His time at Barcelona was short lived
however; moving back to AC Milan the following season, in a deal which
made him one of the highest paid footballers in the world.

Ibrahimović
was born in Sweden to a Bosnian father that immigrated to Sweden in
1977, Šefik Ibrahimović, and a Croatian mother, Jurka Gravić, who
emigrated to Sweden, where they first met. Ibrahimović grew up in
Rosengård, a Malmö neighbourhood known for its immigrant communities,
along with his three sisters and two brothers. After receiving a pair of
football boots, Ibrahimović began playing football at the age of six,
alternating between local junior clubs Malmö BI and FBK Balkan.He has
stated in an interview that while his team was down 4–0 during halftime,
he came on as a substitute for his Balkan youth team and dramatically
scored eight goals. While in his early teens, he was a regular for his
hometown club Malmö FF. At the age of 15, Ibrahimović was close to
quitting his football career, in favour of working at the docks in
Malmö, but his manager convinced him to continue playing. Ibrahimović
successfully completed junior high school in the ninth grade. Though he
was admitted to Borgarskolan and had above average grades, he soon
dropped out of high school to focus on his football career.

Ibrahimović
signed his first contract with Malmö in 1996, and moved up to the
senior side for the 1999 season of Allsvenskan, Sweden's top-flight
league. That season, Malmö finished 13th in the league and were
relegated to the second division, but returned to the top flight the
next season. Arsène Wenger unsuccessfully tried to persuade Ibrahimović
to join Arsenal, while Leo Beenhakker also expressed interest in the
player after watching him in a training match against Norwegian side
Moss FK. On 22 March 2001, a deal between Ajax and Malmö regarding
Ibrahimović's transfer to Amsterdam was announced, and in July,
Ibrahimović officially joined Ajax for 80 million Swedish kronor.

Ibrahimović
received little playing time under manager Co Adriaanse, but when
Adriaanse was sacked on 29 November 2001, new coach Ronald Koeman
inserted Ibrahimović into the starting lineup as Ajax won the 2001–02
Eredivisie title. The next season, Ibrahimović scored twice in a 2–1
victory over French champions Lyon in his Champions League debut on 17
September 2002. He scored four Champions League goals overall as Ajax
fell to Milan in the quarter-finals. In his final season with Ajax,
Ibrahimović's profile rose when he scored a breathtaking goal against
NAC on 22 August 2004, a goal that was eventually voted the "Goal of the
Year" by Eurosport viewers. He netted only once in the 2003–04
Champions League (against Celta Vigo on 22 October) as Ajax were
eliminated in the group stage.
On 18 August 2004, Ibrahimović injured fellow Ajax teammate Rafael van
der Vaart during an international match against the Netherlands, which
led to accusations from van der Vaart that Ibrahimović had hurt him
intentionally. This led to Ibrahimović's sudden sale to Juventus on 31
August.

Ibrahimović
moved from Ajax to Juventus for €16 million. He was promptly inserted
into the starting eleven due in part to top scorer David Trezeguet's
injury problems, and scored sixteen goals. Near the end of the season,
Juventus reportedly rejected a €70 million bid for him from Real Madrid,
which was later revealed to be a publicity stunt initiated by
Ibrahimović's agent, Mino Raiola, in order to increase his market value
On 14 November 2005, he was awarded the Guldbollen, a prize awarded to
the best Swedish footballer of the year.
The following season was poor compared to his first season; his role in
Juventus' attack changed, as he became less of a goalscorer and moved
more to the sidelines, taking much part in the build-up play,
especially as a target player, and his assist numbers increased. In the
2005–06 season, Juventus fans often got frustrated with him due to his
anonymous presence in certain important games such as the Champions
League defeat to Arsenal. Juventus were stripped of their last two
Scudetti as part of the verdict from the Calciopoli scandal, and were
relegated to Serie B. The new staff tried to persuade Ibrahimović and
other top players to stay with Juventus, but the player and his agent
were adamant to move on, with Raiola threatening legal action in order
to extricate Ibrahimović from his contract.

On
10 August 2006, Ibrahimović completed a €24.8 million move to
Internazionale, signing a four-year-deal,this coming only a few days
after Patrick Vieira had completed his transfer. Zlatan revealed that he
had supported Internazionale when he was young. He started his spell
at the club by scoring one goal and assisting another in a league match
against Fiorentina and ended his first season as Inter's top
goalscorer with 15 goals. Inter won the league for the first time in 17
years. They finished the league with 97 points, a league record, a
feat Ibrahimovic would go on to repeat at F.C Barcelona. During the
season Inter also broke the European Big Five League Record for most
consecutive wins, 17. The record still stands.

Ibrahimović
played his 100th Serie A match on 16 September 2007. His contract was
renewed in 2007, it was due to expire in June 2013.He was estimated as
the top of footballer wages.He scored two Champions League goals in the
group stage against PSV on 2 October, which marked his first European
goals since December 2005 and his first goals overall in an Inter
jersey, and finished with five goals in seven Champions League matches.
Against Parma in the final league matchday on 18 May 2008, he returned
from a chronic knee injury and scored both goals as Inter won 2–0,
clinching their third straight Scudetto.
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