Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced on Sunday evening that he would immediately put an end to his career. The 41-year-old striker gave a farewell speech on the center spot of San Siro. The Swede received an official farewell from Milan on Sunday, which ended the season in Serie A against Hellas Verona (3-1 win). Fans of the visiting team couldn’t help but whistle at him during his speech.
Ibrahimovic then responded to Verona fans in a characteristic manner. “Whistle, whistle, seeing me tonight is the highlight of your year,” he said with a serious face. The striker was unable to play due to an injury. Ibrahimovic played for Milan in two periods. He hasn’t played much in recent years due to injuries. “When I came here the first time, you gave me joy. The second time you gave me love,” Ibrahimovic told fans on Sunday. “I want to thank my family and everyone close to me. I also want to thank my second family: the players, the coach and his staff. I want to thank the directors for the opportunity they gave me.”
During Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s farewell speech, the visitors from Verona whistled at the Swede: “Whistle, whistle, seeing me tonight is the highlight of your year.”
are we going to miss it??
— Wesley Victor Mak???? (@WesleyVictorMak) June 4, 2023
At the press moment after his farewell on the center spot, Ibrahimovic was also able to crack jokes. “When I woke up this morning it was raining. I said to myself, even God is sad today.” Part of his family knew nothing about his decision to end his career: “I hardly told anyone. I recently told the club that we had to do something about the last game, but they didn’t know it had to do with my football retirement.”
For Ibrahimovic, his second period at Milan is coming to an end. The tall striker came out in the 2011/12 seasonin Rossoneri, to return there in 2020. The former attacker of Ajax, Juventus, Barcelona and Internazionale, among others, won the Italian national title with Milan in 2022. Ibrahimovic came to 163 duels for his current employer and in those performances he managed to find the net 93 times.