If you have been wondering why Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still playing football at 40-year-old, it is not just because he is still scoring goals, it is because he is a little bit scared of retiring from the game.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been in the game since he was a child. The football veteran started his professional football career in Sweden with Malmö FF in 1999.
Within a year at the club, he caught the attention of Dutch giants Ajax in 2001. From there, he joined Juventus in 2004. He spent two years there before he joined Inter Milan in 2016.
After three years at Inter, Zlatan Ibrahimovic decided to leave Italy for Spain where he joined FC Barcelona in 2009. He went on loan to AC Milan in 2010 and later signed a permanent deal with the Italian side in 2011.
The veteran Sweden international flew to France in 2012 to join Paris Saint Germain where he spent four years before he decided to cross to England to play for Manchester United in 2016.
After he has seen all Europe has to offer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic decided to leave the continent to check out the game in the United States of America. He played for Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy between 2018 and 2019 before he decided to return to AC Milan.
Since he returned to Europe in 2020, he has scored 34 goals in 59 games in all competitions. So far this season, he has scored 6 goals and provided 2 assists in 12 games in all competitions.
His effort has helped AC Milan to remain top of the Serie A table with 38 points in 16 games, a point above second-placed Inter Milan.
In a chat with Italian talk show Che Tempo Che Fa on Sunday, Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he plans to play football as long as possible.
The Swedish football star whose contract with AC Milan would expire on June 30, 2022, urged viewers of the show to put pressure on AC Milan to extend his contract.
Ibrahimovic who has won four Scudetto – three with Inter Milan (2006–2007, 2007–2008, and 2008–2009 seasons), and one with AC Milan in the 2010-2011 season said he aims to win one more Serie A title.
“I want to play as long as possible. As long as I have that adrenaline, I will continue”, the 40-year-old Swedish striker said.
“Let’s put pressure on Milan here to give me an extension and I hope to stay at Milan for life. I still have objectives that I can achieve and I want to win another Scudetto.
“I don’t know what will happen after football, so I am a little scared to stop. We’ll see, but I want to continue playing so that I don’t have any regrets.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is expected to play for AC Milan when the Serie A club face Liverpool in a UEFA Champions League group stage game on Tuesday, December 7. AC Milan need to beat Liverpool to stand a chance of qualifying for the next round of the tournament.
40yo and producing this wonder goal.@Ibra_official #ACMilan pic.twitter.com/Ve9zFXeyv0
— DevGenerational (@Brunoultimatum) December 2, 2021
