Zlatan Ibrahimović (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈslɑːtan ɪbraˈhiːmɔvɪtɕ], Bosnian pronunciation: [zlǎtan ibraxǐːmoʋit͡ɕ]; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for French club Paris Saint-Germain and the Swedish national team for which he is captain.
Ibrahimović started his career at Malmö FF in the late 1990s before being signed by Ajax, where made a name for himself under Ronald Koeman. He later signed with Juventus for €16 million, and gained fame in Serie A by benefiting from his strike partnership with David Trezeguet. In 2006, Ibrahimović signed with rivals Internazionale, where he won individual awards such as the Italian Oscar del Calcio and the Swedish Guldbollen, and was named in the 2007 and 2009 UEFA Team of the Year, in addition to finishing as the league's highest scorer in 2008–09 while winning three straight Scudetti. In the summer of 2009, he transferred to Barcelona. His time at Barcelona was short-lived, however, moving back to Serie A football with A.C. Milan the following season, in a deal which made him one of the highest paid footballers in the world and cost the Italian club €24 million. He signed with Paris Saint-Germain in July 2012.
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Ibrahimović was born in Sweden to a Bosniak father, Šefik Ibrahimović, who emigrated to Sweden in 1977, and a Croatian Catholic mother, Jurka Gravić, who had also emigrated to Sweden, where they first met. His father was born in Bijeljina and his mother was born in the village of Prkos near Škabrnja in Croatia's Zadar County.
After receiving a pair of football boots, Ibrahimović began playing at the age of six, alternating between local junior clubs Malmö BI and FBK Balkan While in his early teens, he was a regular for his hometown club Malmö FF. At the age of 15, Ibrahimović was close to quitting his football career, in favour of working at the docks in Malmö, but his manager convinced him to continue playing. His idol was Brazilian star Ronaldo when he was growing up.
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