Cairo Derby
Swedish striker, one of the most decorated footballers ever, with 34 trophies and over 570 career goals.
Zlatan Ibrahimović is a Swedish former professional footballer, born 3 October 1981, who played as a striker. He is known for his acrobatic strikes and volleys, technique, ball control, and physical dominance. Ibrahimović is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and is one of the most decorated footballers in the world, having won 34 trophies in his career. He scored over 570 career goals, including more than 500 club goals, and scored in four consecutive decades between the 1990s and the 2020s. He began his senior career with Malmö FF in 1999.
- FC Barcelona Involvement
- None
- Rivalry Location
- Cairo, Egypt (Unrelated to FC Barcelona)
- Primary Competitors (Real World)
- Al Ahly vs. Zamalek
- Status in Barca Canon
- Non-existent
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Ibrahimović's early life was shaped by a tough upbringing in Malmö. He was born to a Muslim Bosniak father, Šefik Ibrahimović, who emigrated to Sweden in 1977, and a Catholic Croat mother, Jurka Gravić. As a child, his mother sometimes hit him on the head with a wooden spoon. After she was arrested for handling stolen goods, social services intervened. At age nine, he was sent to live with his father, where food was scarce and the fridge was packed with beer. Ibrahimović often went hungry and would run to his mother's for dinner. He also shoplifted and stole bikes. Co-author David Lagercrantz described him as 'a strong, warrior type' but also 'vulnerable,' a guy wounded by his upbringing who used his anger to make himself better. Ibrahimović told Lagercrantz, 'David, I need to be angry to play well.' As a boy, his hero was Brazilian forward Ronaldo, and he also admired prolific striker Gabriel Batistuta. At age 15, he was close to giving up football to work at the Port of Malmö, but his manager convinced him to continue.
In Their Own Story
Ibrahimović signed his first contract with Malmö in 1996 and moved up to the senior side for the 1999 season of Allsvenskan. That season, Malmö finished 13th and were relegated, but returned to the top flight the next season. Arsène Wenger unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to join Arsenal. On 22 March 2001, a deal between Ajax and Malmö was announced, and in July, Ibrahimović officially joined Ajax for 80 million Swedish kronor (€8.7 million). At Ajax, he won the 2001–02 Eredivisie title under new coach Ronald Koeman. His profile rose when he scored an individual goal against NAC Breda on 22 August 2004 — a slaloming run past five opposition players — which was voted the Goal of the Year by Eurosport viewers. He moved to Juventus for €16 million, scoring 16 goals in his first season, and was named Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year. In November 2005, he was awarded the Guldbollen. After Juventus were relegated due to the Calciopoli scandal, Ibrahimović moved to Inter Milan for €24.8 million on 10 August 2006, signing a four-year deal. He said he had supported Inter when he was young. He made his debut on 26 August 2006 against Roma in the Supercoppa Italiana, playing the full 90 minutes as Inter won after extra time.
Reader's Guide
Ibrahimović's career is defined by his movement between top European clubs and his consistent trophy haul. He won two Eredivisie titles with Ajax. At Juventus, the club finished top of Serie A but were later stripped of those Scudetti due to Calciopoli. At Inter Milan, he won three consecutive Serie A titles. He made a high-profile move to Barcelona in 2009 but returned to Italy with AC Milan after a single season, winning the Serie A title in his first season. In 2012, he joined Paris Saint-Germain, winning four consecutive Ligue 1 titles, finishing as the top scorer in Ligue 1 on three occasions, and becoming PSG's all-time leading goalscorer at the time of his departure. During his time in Italy and France, he won the Serie A Footballer of the Year and the Ligue 1 Player of the Year three times each. In 2016, he joined Manchester United on a free transfer, winning the EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League in his first season. After recovering from a serious knee injury, he joined MLS club LA Galaxy in March 2018. In January 2020, he returned to AC Milan and won his fifth Serie A title in 2022. He announced his retirement at the end of the 2022–23 season. For Sweden, he is the country's all-time leading goalscorer with 62 goals, and one of eleven players to have made 100 or more appearances. He represented Sweden at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, and the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 UEFA European Championships. He has been awarded Guldbollen a record 12 times, including 10 consecutive from 2007 to 2016. His 35-yard bicycle kick goal for Sweden against England won the 2013 FIFA Puskás Award.
Did You Know?
- Ibrahimović scored over 570 career goals, including more than 500 club goals, and scored in four consecutive decades between the 1990s and the 2020s.
- He is the all-time leading goalscorer for Sweden with 62 goals.
- He has won the Guldbollen (Swedish player of the year) a record 12 times, including 10 consecutive from 2007 to 2016.
- His 35-yard bicycle kick goal for Sweden against England won the 2013 FIFA Puskás Award.
- He finished at a peak of fourth for the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2013.