According to the Tasnim news agency, Zlatan Ibrahimovic does not intend to say goodbye to the world of football at the age of 40, but he has set a time for those who are waiting to hear about his retirement.
The veteran Swedish star, whose goalscoring record is still better than many of his younger strikers, has made 18 appearances for Milan this season, scoring eight goals and providing two assists to prove that he is on and off the pitch. It is still an efficient nut. This is despite the fact that he has been struggling with an Achilles tendon injury for a long time this season, which deprived him of several games.
In an interview with the European Football Association (UEFA) website, Ibra first stated how he did not allow his success and fame to take root: I will be the same person. I will not change. Now do you want to love me or not? I did not come into this world to convince people to love me.
Zlatan also said about his experience of playing in the Champions League this season with Milan, which was eliminated in the group stage: “I play for Milan with a lot of emotion, because Milan is a team that made me happy, gave me a lot and I think I have been to Milan more than any other team I have played for. So returning to the Champions League with this team this season was a very pleasant event for me. After a year or two of failing to qualify, we were all very excited and happy to be in the Champions League. The Champions League is a fantastic tournament. I have scored a number of my favorite goals in these competitions and I have had the opportunity to play against teams with the best players in the world. How do I feel about failing to win these competitions? Well, although winning this tournament is amazing, not winning it does not change me as a player. If I became a champion, it did not mean that I would be a better player than I am, because I am the best player right now. It has been proven that the best players do not win everything.
“My future?” Ibrahimovic said at the end of his retirement plan. I have not made a decision yet. Let’s see what happens. I do not want to regret my retirement and tell myself why I retired when I could still play football. If I do this, I will regret it for the rest of my life. I know now that I can still play. I want to play as much as I can. I really want to play enough to find someone better than myself. I know that one day I will have to stop and then I will not have the current adrenaline. This is a problem that happens to any footballer, because when you play football, adrenaline is released in your body, adrenaline that is not produced in doing anything else. We may do a lot of repetitive tasks every day, and I’ve been doing this for 20 years, but it’s exciting for me too.