Tipster profile image
Victor Petkov
twitter iconlikedin iconlikedin icon
Head of Content authorBadge
Last Updated:

8 min read

Ibrahimovic leaves a home he rebuilt with his own hands
google news logo Follow us
Add comment
The Swede is not Milan legend ... he is something different

On Sunday, June 4, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will officially put an end of his playing days as AC Milan player. The Swede is expected to be present for a short ceremony right after the final game of the season against Hellas Verona.

Unfortunately he won’t be able to play because of his calf injury he suffered in April. At 41 years and 7 months old Ibrahimovic is the oldest player to say goodbye to AC Milan as acting player. He is six months older than Alessandro Costacurta, who played his last game at San Siro age 41 and 1 month. Paolo Maldini was almost 40, on the verge of turning 41 at his last game.

The Swede genius played in the Rossoneri shirt at two spells. One between 2010-2012 and the second since January 2020. Even though he was at his prime in his first couple of years in Milan, his name will stay in the club’s history embedded in golden letters because of his last three seasons.

Before joining Milan Ibrahimovic just finished his MLS challenge with LA Galaxy, which seemed like his swan song. Boy, were we wrong?

When he arrived back in Milano almost no one believed he will be able to lift the team back to his previous glory, mainly because of his age (then 38).

But as Ibrahimovic himself say multiple times: “I feel alive on the pitch and feel as young as ever. I am Benjamin Button”.

A lot of people talk the talk, but that’s is. Ibra walked the walk with fashion. He scored important goals in the spring of 2020 and was on the verge of not signing another contract with Milan, but in his own words “I was missing my kids in Sweden, but they are two. I had 20 back in Milanello. I couldn’t let them down”.


Ibra stayed for the 2020/21 season and was fundamental for his team to reach top 4 finish for the first time in seven years. Just 12 months later he was celebrating the 19th Scudetto for AC Milan at Mapei Stadium in Sassuolo. He was 40. Injuries took his tow this season, but if Ibrahimovic was important on the pitch he was crucial outside of it. Zlatan proved to be an important base for coach Stefano Pioli to build upon. Ibrahimovic was able to make a winning group out of individuals. With his experience, sometimes harsh words in training, leading by example, shouting, screaming on top of his lungs during games either on the pitch or on the sidelines, the winning mentality was there. Everyone could hear and feel it. “AC Milan is always going for the win. We are either first or nothing”, he said in 2021.

Ibrahimovic can’t put his name next to players like Tassotti, Baresi, Maldini, Rivera, Shevchenko, Kaka, Inzaghi … He can’t be AC Milan legend. But he is something different. He was the man who brought back the hope when the fans were looking lost. He knew Milan is hurt and couldn’t just sit there and watch from a distance. Zlatan isn’t the best forward, number-wise, that wore the legendary jersey, neither is the most talented.

He will forever stay in the memory of those who suffered so many years like the giant who took their broken hearts into his big hands and showed them it’s going to be ok. Ibra brought Milan back to live. Something that no one else did before him. Zlatan played all around the world in 10 clubs overall, but if you ask anyone, they will tell you Milan is the only place he felt like home.

And now he leaves his home. He left it shining in 2012, came back to see someone broke into it and stole everything, but he made it his own once again. Please, don’t break his house again. He left everything on the pitch to put a smile on everyone’s face. For Zlatan’s sake, AC Milan, continue the road he paved. It’s worth it.