Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the worlds best strikers and has a significant number of fans worldwide. But did you know that aside from his excellent performance, he has never won a UEFA Champions League?
Let’s take a look at some of the best Zlatan Ibrahimovic facts that we bet you didn’t know about.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic ID
- Born: October 3, 1981
- Nationality: Swedish
- Profession: Football Player
- Position: Attack Centre-Forward
- Current teams: A.C Milan and Swedish national football team
- Estimated Net Worth: $190 Million
- Salary: $35 Million
- Nicknames: Ibra, Zlatanera and Ibracadabra
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Childhood Facts
1. Born in a Bosnian immigrant family with 5 other siblings, Ibrahimovic had a financially tough childhood.
He was born and raised in a challenging neighbourhood in Malmö, Sweden. His family broke apart when he was 2 years old, as their parents divorced, and his mother got custody of little Zlatan. As things got worse with the living conditions at his mother’s place, he moved in with his father at the age of nine.
2. Ibrahimovic was a bicycle thief at school.
The consequences of his family situation were that he turned into a troubled kid who bullied his classmates. In addition, his childhood traumas led him to be obsessed with shoplifting and stealing bikes.
3. He was on the edge of giving up his life dream.
One of the most interesting Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s childhood facts is that he almost gave up his life dream of becoming a professional football player to work at the Malmö docks.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Professional Career Facts
4. Ibrahimovic’s passion for football began when he was 6 years old.
For his 6th birthday, Zlatan got a pair of football boots and immediately learned his way around the ball and many tricks. When he was a kid, some of the first clubs he played for were Malmö BI and FBK Balkan. Then, as a teenager, he started playing for the local club Malmö FF.
5. He started his professional football career with the second division Malmö FF in 1999.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic signed the first-ever contract in 1996 for Malmö FF U17, where he played the Centre-Forward position.
At the age of 18, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a big asset to the senior second division Malmö FF in 1999 and contributed to getting his club to the higher league in only one season.
6. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a big-game player for 9 football clubs.
Zlatan has had a career that every footballer would be proud of, as he has played for some of the most successful football giants in Europe.
- Malmo FF – 1999-2001
- Ajax – 2001-2004
- Juventus – 2004-2006
- Inter Milan – 2006-2009
- Barcelona -2009-2011
- Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) – 2012-2016
- Manchester United – 2016-2018
- LA Galaxy – 2018-2019
- AC Milan -2011-2012 and 2020-today
7. The total number of goals Ibra has scored is 492.
Most of Ibra’s goals are in Serie A, where he has 155 goals and 69 assists. As for the Ligue 1, he has 113 goals scored with 44 assists.
The best of the Zlatan Ibrahimovic fun facts is that he is known as the football player that scores wherever he goes.
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8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the leading goal scorer for the Swedish national team.
Since he started playing in 1999, Ibrahimovic holds the record for the number of goals scored by a player for the Swedish National Team. His excellent performance got him to score 62 goals in the 120 games he has played.
He proudly holds the top scorer title for Sweden at the European Championships, with 6 goals scored.
9. Ibrahimovic has been Swedish Footballer of the year 12 times.
Another success worth mentioning from Zlatan Ibrahimovic interesting facts is that he also won the Italian footballer of the year award 3 times.
10. Ibrahimovic has won 31 trophies.
Ibrahimovic’s football records are outstanding, and he ranks among the most decorated football players today. FIFA Club World Cup Winner, Italian Champion and Italian Super Cup Winner, French Championship winner and Europa League Winner are among the most significant Ibra’s trophies.
11. The thought of retirement makes Zlatan panic.
Ibrahimovic has admitted that thinking about retiring from the green fields makes him panic. However, one of the signs that his body is ready to retire is the constant pain he wakes up every day with.
Nonetheless, if he ever decides to hang up his boots, he will certainly be among the best players that played this game and decided.
12. Ibrahimovic’s transfer history is worth a total of £152.19 million.
It is safe to say that if you want to have Ibrahimovic in your club, you will have to pay a lot of money. The highest amount a club has paid to have this star on their team was £41.40 million when he left Barcelona to play for AC Milan in 2010.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Interesting Facts
13. A restaurant in Paris named a legendary 600 grams burger after Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
In addition to the Zlatan Ibrahimovic funny facts, only seven people have managed to eat the Zlatan burger so far. You can try to join this incredible group of people if you visit Doddy’s Cafe in Paris and pay 30 euros.
14. He has an honorary taekwondo black belt.
Also known as the Karate Kid, Zlatan was awarded the black belt in 2010 to acknowledge his promotion of discipline and being a role model. The honorary black belt was presented to Ibrahimovic by the material artist Mauro Sarmiento.
The honorary black belt is not the only taekwondo belt that Ibrahimovic has. At 17, he also earned a black belt in his hometown.
Related: What are the colours of karate belts
15. Zlatan’s name has been added to the Swedish dictionary.
Since Sweden is so proud of Zlatan and his success, the verb “zlatanera” was added as a new word in the Swedish dictionary in 2012.
16. Ibrahimovic made the Zlatan Court in Malmö, where he used to play football as a child.
The football field, located in Rosengard Malmö, Zlatan Court, is one of his favourite places as he says: “Here is my heart. Here is my history. Here is my game. Take it further. Zlatan.”
17. He is an Xbox Ambassador.
Ibra is known as the Xbox teammate because he gave all PSG players who played with him a Limited Edition Xbox One right after it was released.
18. Zlatan is a polyglot.
Suppose you are ever lucky enough to get the opportunity to speak to Ibrahimovic. In that case, you have the chance to do that in 5 languages he is fluent in: Swedish, Bosnian, English, Spanish and Italian.
19. Ibra donated €100,000 to Humanitas Hospitals in Italy to support them during the Coronavirus crisis.
A fundraising campaign set up by the AC Milan striker has raised an additional 50,000 euros within one day. Zlatan is a person who likes to share his wealth right when people need it the most.
20. Zlatan has 14 tattoos on his body.
The Swedish superstar has 14 tattoos throughout his body. However, as he mentioned in his book, the Koi Fish placed on his upper back is the one that means the most to him.
The grey Koi fish symbolises overcoming difficulties and obstacles in life.
21. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has two teenage sons, 15 and 14 years old.
Ibra and his wife Helen Seger have two kids named Maximilian and Vincent. His wife is a well-known model and businesswoman, and the lovely family of four lives in their house in Milan.
Bottom Line
One of his best celebrity quotes says“It’s true that I don’t know much about Ligue 1, but Ligue 1 knows who I am.”
Not only does Ligue 1 know about Ibrahimovic, but with our Zlatan Ibrahimovic facts, you know more about him than ever before.
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