Zlatan Ibrahimović Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Zlatan Ibrahimović

• Zlatan Ibrahimovic is considered one of the greatest-ever Swedish players and one of the most successful and recognisable athletes in the world.

• He has played for some of the biggest and most prestigious clubs in Europe, including Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester United.

• He is known for a larger-than-life personality with a unique style, both on and off the pitch. He is also known for his confidence, outspokenness, and sense of humour.

• He is nicknamed Ibracadabra for his inventive, skillful playing style.

• Although he was born in Malmo, Sweden, he has Bosnian heritage from his father’s side and Croatian heritage from his mother’s side.

• His father moved to Sweden after his Bosnian village was ethnically cleansed.

• When Zlatan was two years old, his parents divorced.

• After his parent’s separation, Zlatan lived with his mother. However, he was later sent to live with his father as her mother was burdened with the upbringing of five children, including Zlatan’s half-sister who had a drug problem.
  

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s childhood photo while he was growing up in poverty

• His father was an alcoholic, and Zlatan would often remain hungry, so he would visit his mother for dinner.

• He was later raised in the multicultural neighbourhood of Rosengard.
  

  An underpass in his home town features a quotation from Zlatan Ibrahimovic

• He grew up in a council flat in the poorest suburb of the Swedish city of Malmö.

• While growing up in poverty, Zlatan did odd things and also shoplifted and stole bikes.

• In childhood, he learned Taekwondo at the Malmö Taekwondo club Enighet (“Unity”). He later received an honorary black belt in taekwondo.

• In his autobiography, I Am Zlatan, he mentioned that while growing up in Malmo, he started feeling that he was not fit for society. He wrote,
  

  I was a small guy. I had a big nose and I had a lisp and had speech therapy. A woman came to me in school and taught me how to pronounce the letter s and I thought it was humiliating and I guess I felt I had to prove myself.”

  

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s childhood photo

• On Zlatan’s tough upbringing, David Lagercrantz, the co-writer of Zlatan’s autobiography, I Am Zlatan, says,
  

  Complex is the best word to describe Zlatan. On the one hand he’s a strong, warrior type who knew he had to be very tough to survive. So he takes on fights all the time because he’s always had to. But another part of him is vulnerable. He’s a guy wounded by his upbringing, who uses all that to create strength for himself.”

• As an aspiring footballer, Zlatan idolised Brazilian striker Ronaldo and even had posters of Ronaldo in his room. While talking about Ronaldo, he once said,
  

  I put up photos of Ronaldo in my room. Ronaldo was the man. He was what I wanted to be, a guy who made a difference. Ronaldo was my hero and I studied him online and tried to take in his movements, and I thought I was getting to be an awesome player.”

  

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s childhood bedroom in Rosengard

• At the age of six, he received a pair of football boots and started playing the game.

• At the age of ten, Zlatan started playing for the local club Balkan, where he was called up for an under-12s game; however, he was not allowed to play in the first half as a punishment for misbehaving. When he was called for the second half, the team was 4-0 down, and they later won by 8-5, Zlatan scoring all eight goals.
  

  Ibrahimovic, third from the left back row, with his team-mates for an indoor tournament in 1989

• At the age of fifteen, he reportedly desired to quit football and start working at the docks in Malmö; however, he quit the idea after being convinced by his manager.

• In 1996, he signed his first contract with Malmö, alternating between FBK Balkan and Malmö BI.

• At the age of 17, he turned down Arsenal’s offer after its manager asked him to go for a trial. Zlatan says,
  

  Arsène Wenger asked me to have a trial with Arsenal when I was 17. I turned it down. Zlatan doesn’t do auditions.”

• In 1999, he made his debut for the Sweden U18 team and played four games.

• In 2001, he was included in the Sweden U21 team and played in the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying campaign.

• In July 2001, Zlatan joined Ajax for €8.7 million (Rs. 78 crore).

• While playing for Ajax, his teammate Mido threw a pair of scissors in his direction after both had an altercation in the dressing room; however, no one received any serious injury.

• After making his debut for Sweden’s national team in January 2001, he was included in Sweden’s squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He later appeared in the 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2022 editions of the FIFA World Cup; however, he couldn’t score any goal in them.

• On 22 August 2004, while playing for Ajax, his individual goal against NAC Breda made commentators compare him with Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane. The goal was later voted the Goal of the Year by Eurosport viewers.
  

  A photo of Zlatan Ibrahimovic from his Ajax days

• In the same year, he joined Juventus for €16 million (Rs. 144 crore).

• While he was playing for Juventus, it was reported that Zlatan had rejected a €70 million offer from Real Madrid; however, it was later found to be a publicity stunt created by his manager Mino Raiola to increase Zlatan’s market value.
  

  A photo of Zlatan Ibrahimovic from his Juventus days

• On 10 August 2006, he moved to Inter Milan after signing a four-year deal for €24.8 million.

• In 2007, he reportedly became the world’s highest-paid footballer after he signed a new deal with Inter Milan until June 2013; earning 750,000 euros per month (9,000,000 per annum).
  

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic in action while playing for Inter Milan

• In 2009, he joined Barcelona; however, his short-lived stint at the club is known for his troubled relationship with Guardiola. Zlatan often publicly criticised Guardiola’s tactics and playing style. While talking about his time with Guardiola, Zlatan once said,
  

  When you buy me, you are buying a Ferrari. If you drive a Ferrari, you put premium petrol in the tank, you hit the motorway and you step on the gas. Guardiola filled up with diesel and took a spin in the countryside. He should have bought a Fiat.”

  

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Pep Guardiola

• In August 2010, he was loaned to Milan and signed a four-year deal with the club.

• Ahead of the UEFA Euro 2012, Zlatan was named the captain of Sweden’s national team.

• In July 2012, he signed a three-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain with a net annual salary of €14 million. In September 2013, he extended his contract with the club until 2016.
  

  A photo of Zlatan Ibrahimovic from his Paris Saint-Germain days

• In March 2016, he announced his departure from Paris Saint-Germain and jokingly said that he would stay only if they replaced the Eiffel Tower with a statue of himself.

• On 21 June 2016, Zlatan announced his retirement from international football.

• In July 2016, Zlatan signed a one-year deal with Manchester United as a free agent with a reported salary of £200,000 per week. In August 2017, he extended the contract for one year until 2018.
  

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic in action while playing for Manchester United

• In March 2018, he joined LA Galaxy. Ahead of the 2019 season, he became the captain of the club.

• While winning the league in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and France, Zlatan scored some remarkable goals, such as the backheel flick against Italy, the 40-yard bicycle kick against England, and the pirouette-volley for LA Galaxy.
  

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic in action while playing for LA Galaxy

• In November 2019, he bought 23.5 percent of the shares in Hammarby IF, a Swedish football club. His Malmö FF fans later vandalised his statue in Malmö many times as they were not happy over his decision to invest in another club.

• In December 2019, he returned to AC Milan. In August 2020, he extended his contract with the club until 2021. In July 2022, he again extended the contract for one year with the club.

• He made is comeback to the national side when he was included in Sweden’s squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

• Zlatan retired from football after AC Milan’s final game of the Serie A season.

• In December 2023, he was appointed a senior adviser to AC Milan

• Off the pitch, Zlatan is known for his strong controversial, most of them wrong at times. During a debate in Sweden over why a male player had been given a car for breaking the all-time appearance record but the female equivalent had not, he said that there could be no comparison between men’s and women’s football, and female players could have “a bike with his autograph on it” instead.

• He has often been compared to Dutchman Marco van Basten as both have almost similar playing styles.

• Although Ibrahimović is right-footed, he has shown his skills with either foot. He once described his playing style and said,
  

  Swedish style? No. Yugoslavian style? Of course not. It has to be Zlatan-style.”
  

• During his career, Zlatan has often referred to himself as “God.”

• He once told LeBron James that he should stay out of politics.

• Zlatan loves mixed martial arts (MMA) and has even trained in MMA himself. He once called himself the Conor McGregor of football.

• He is fluent in five languages – Swedish, Bosnian, English, Spanish, and Italian.

• Between 2004 and 2014, Zlatan was an official Nike Mercurial Athlete.

• He has exclusive rights to his name which was trademarked in May 2003 at the Swedish Patent and Registration Office.

• He is known for his charity work. In 2014, he donated US $51,000 to dispatch the Swedish national football team for the intellectually disabled to the INAS World Football Championships in Brazil.

• He has promoted various campaigns by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to help increase awareness of the suffering of people across the world. At a press conference in February 2015, Zlatan said,
  

  Wherever I go people recognize me, call my name, cheer for me, but there are names no one cares to remember, that no one cheers for the 805 million people suffering from hunger in the world today.”

  

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic promoting a World Food Programme campaign

• In 2016-17, he had a boot sponsorship deal with Adidas; however, he returned to Nike in 2017. He has also promoted various brands including Vitamin Well sports drinks, Microsoft Xbox, and Nivea.

• He has appeared in television commercials for various brands including Visa cards and Volvo cars.

• While playing at PSG, he launched Ibrahimovic Parfums with Olivier Pescheux, a world-leading perfume maker from Givaudan in Paris.

• In June 2016, he started a company named A-Z Sportswear, selling sportswear for men, women, and children. The clothing line closed down after two years due to a loss of $18 million.

• Zlatan Legends, an Android game, is owned by Zlatan. The game is a blend of football and racing.

• In October 2019, a statue of Zlatan was unveiled in his hometown, Malmo.
  

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic statue in Malmo

• In an interview, he revealed that his wife doesn’t allow him to hang more than one photo of him on the wall. He said,
  

  My wife does not allow me to have pictures of myself. There is one of my feet on the wall. That is what has given us what we have, it is a reminder for the family, not for me, of what we have.”

• Here are the statistics of Zlatan’s club career:

• Here are the statistics of Zlatan’s international career: