Zlatan Ibrahimovic retires

[norse]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65806224

"Zlatan Ibrahimovic retires: Swedish great ends football career at 41"

Player.

[ageing hammer]

Legend

[The Straw]

Absolute maverick. Had the lot as a player. Definitely did things his way. Love the guy.

Speaks 6 languages apparently. That's impressive in isolation, let alone for someone who has scored about 600 professional goals

['stone hammer]

Still can't believe that goal against England. So few players would even try it and even fewer would pull it off.

[NedN]

Looking back on his career, he will also be able to say he played for a nice collection of famous clubs…

Ajax, Juve, Inter, Milan, Barca, and PSG is some list…
(Ugh…I guess you can include Man U as well)

He reminds me of the Jaromir Jagr of Football. Just kept playing and contributing at every age, even in his last spell at Milan

[-DL-]

Still can't believe that goal against England. So few players would even try it and even fewer would pull it off.

Still can't believe the amount of people on here that said they didn't want him before he signed for Man Utd....

[westham,eggyandchips]

What a player.

I love the arrogance of the man, as he had the ability to back it up.

Legend.

[Denzil]

Geezer.

[Denzil]

Legend

It’s the variety of goals that’s most impressive about this. He could literally score from anywhere, any way.

[norse]

A goal threat from anywhere 130-40 feet from the goal at the top of his powers.

"Anything John Carew can do with a football I can do with an orange"

Talk the talk, but walk the walk.

[mumbles87]

Surely football has retired from zlatan?

[last.caress]

One of my favourite non-WHU players ever. Absolutely lethal. We'd have loved him here with his cocksure swagger and sense of theatre but of course we only tend to take flawed geniuses, and Zlatan was flawless.

I've no doubt that, whatever he chooses to do with his retirement - gardening, stamp collecting, BBQs, chartered accountancy, dogging, Rubik's cube speed-solving - he'll be the best in the world at it inside a fortnight.

[norse]

[Johnny Byrne's Boots]

[D C]

One of the best strikers of his generation, won the league a stupid amount of times in a row with about 5 clubs once

Zero CL’s though…

[Benaloon]

Seems like a massive prick.

undeniably great player though - to have that level physicality and technical ability in the same player is incredibly rare. Got to respect the longevity too.

[WebmasterFF]

Seems like a massive prick.

undeniably great player though - to have that level physicality and technical ability in the same player is incredibly rare. Got to respect the longevity too.

I think he is so overconfident in himself and his ability that he comes across as a bellend - The difference is he had the ability to back it up on the pitch with his skill, shooting, power. The guy had it all and to carry on till his age as an outfield player, especially at top level, is a testament to him

Personally I thought he was funny, and his persona was played up at times for the spectacle/humour of it. His reply to what he got his partner for Valentines Day, "Nothing, she already has Zlatan" is a great example of this

[Burnley Hammer]

That goal against NEC Brada for Ajax really was taking the piss.

[ageing hammer]

After his crutiate injury a journalist was asking him about how his age and the injury would prevent him from bursting at speed into the box.

So he asked him does he think this will stop him from scoring goals now.

Ibrahimovic just shrugged and said " Nah I will just won't run and score from outside the box instead "

[PrinceHisback]

You certainly don’t have to agree with everything he does outside the field, but he has made Sweden (as a country and quite often as a national team) tick for over 20 years! So impressive!
Everywhere any Swede go around the world the first word many, or most, of us will hear is “Zlatan”.
Even if he always went his own individual way, he has been so important for a lot of kids living in the poorer suburbs.
Maybe not better than Messi or Ronaldo, but far more a profile, which Football will miss a lot.
Thanks for the show!