Rome, June 4 (EFE).- Milan paid tribute to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who will retire from football. The Swedish striker is leaving after a campaign in which he wore only four shorts due to a knee injury, but his role in this second stage at the Milan club has always gone beyond football.
This time, Ibra could not keep his character and collapsed to the ground. As he picked up the microphone to say goodbye to his family, tears came to his eyes, and he gave heartfelt last words to his fans and teammates, who wore a shirt bearing his name for the event and opened the aisle for him. To say goodbye to him at San Siro.
“It’s time to say goodbye to football, not you. You welcomed me with open arms, I will remain a Milan fan for the rest of my life,” he said from the middle of the San Siro pitch. He said goodbye to his fans and teammates.
“The first time in Milan you gave me joy, the second time you gave me love. I would like to thank my family for their patience, then the second family or the players and the coach and the coaching staff. Thank you also to the managers. I also wholeheartedly thank the fans who welcomed me with open arms. I will be a lifelong Milan fan.”
The Swede is quitting football after 988 matches and 573 goals scattered to all clubs and national team he went to.
Ibra, who will turn 42 in October, is leaving Milan after a season in which her role as a true legend and out of the spotlight but as a transcendent figure in the locker room was flawless. The player, who is always respected by both the players and the technical team, took the last 2021-22 historical season to the top as the ‘Scudetto’ champion without winning the championship for 13 years.
“His role has always been a great motivator and a great player, I hope he can keep it that way,” his coach, Italian Stefano Pioli said in the first call of the season on February 10. .
Moreover, before that day against Torino, which he did not play, Ibra was recovering from a knee surgery at the end of last season.
On 22 May 2022, the Swedish striker played against Sassuolo in the final match of the 2021-22 season, which made Milan the ‘Scudetto’ champions 13 years after their last conquest.
Three days after that game, Ibra underwent surgery on her left knee, which kept her off the field for eight months.
He didn’t make his debut against Atalanta this season until February 26. Four league games in a row and one match with Sweden were enough for him to realize that he had not yet recovered one hundred percent, and therefore he stopped again until the end of the season.
A campaign that broke a new record despite the complexity of the struggle. He signed on by playing just four matches and 126 minutes in the soon to be said red black jersey. Ibra, who was 41 years 166 days old on 18 March, became the oldest player to score in Serie A after defeating Alessandro Costacurta by scoring from the penalty spot in the second attempt against Udinese.
While the record certainly leaves a good taste in his mouth, it hasn’t ceased to be a very difficult season for the international player, who had to watch from the bench his team made it to the Champions League semi-finals and lost against Inter. his biggest rival, who could one day be a worthwhile meeting with a hobby that will encourage him.
He remembered two phases of his farewell in San Siro. The first started 13 years ago, in 2010, when he played for two years before moving to PSG. The second, from 2020 to 2023, when he hung up his boots, igniting one of his legends of a fully packed stadium with nearly 70,000 fans.
The Swede dropped 93 goals and 35 assists, adding 116 games in two stages and 988 games in which he scored 573 goals spread across all clubs and his national team, but left a much larger legacy, including two. ‘Scudetti’ and an Italian Super Cup.