Zlatan Ibrahimovic announces retirement from football after AC Milan exit

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has announced his immediate retirement from football.

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The 41-year-old has ended his playing career with AC Milan and has opted to hang up his boots once his contract with the Italian club expires at the end of the month.

During his 24-year career which begun with Swedish side Malmo in 1999, Ibrahimovic scored 511 goals and won 32 trophies, including league titles in the Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy with both Inter and AC Milan.

At Manchester United, Ibrahimovic helped the club win the EFL Cup and the Europa League in 2017 but his time at Old Trafford was cut short due to a severe cruciate ligament injury.

Remarkably, Ibrahimovic was able to recover from his knee injury and spent the next 21 months at LA Galaxy before he returned to Italy for a second stint at AC Milan where he helped the club claim their first Serie A title in 11 years last season.

At international level, Ibrahimovic was capped 122 times by Sweden and is their all-time leading scorer with 62 goals.

Zlatan Ibrahimović:

“The time has arrived to say goodbye”.

We will miss you, forever and 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐙❤️🖤

Good luck in retirement 👏 pic.twitter.com/vF0w3kCKU9

In his speech at San Siro on Sunday evening, Ibrahimovic said: ‘So many memories and emotions inside this stadium.

‘The first time I arrived you gave me happiness, the second time, you gave me love. I want to thank my family and those close to me for their patience. I want to thank my second family. The players, the coach and his staff for the responsibility they gave me. I want to thank the directors for the opportunity they gave me.

‘Last but not least, from my heart, I want to thank you, fans. You welcomed me with open arms and I will be a Milanista my entire life.

‘It’s time to say goodbye to football, but not to you. It’s too difficult, there are too many emotions. I’ll see you around if you are lucky. Forza Milan and goodbye.’

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