Zlatan Ibrahimovic inaugurated his bronze monument yesterday located near the stadium where he began his professional career in his hometown of Malmo.
"No matter where you come from, who you are, no matter what you look like, this monument is a symbol of nothing impossible," said the Sweden's leading football player who also described the monument as "Where it all started."
Ibrahimovic, who once played for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) club, already has a statue of himself at the Grevin wax museum in the French capital. He waited five years for his monument to be built in Sweden.
The work, produced by Swedish sculptor Peter Linde.
The monument has a height of 2.7 meters and weighs 500 kilograms. Ibrahimovic, whose parents were immigrants from Yugoslavia grew up in difficult conditions in Rosengard, a neighborhood in Malmo known for its violent fights between gangster groups.
His first club was Malmo before joining Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, PSG and Manchester United and currently LA Galaxy.
Ibrahimovic built a reputation as a league-winning player after collecting 13 trophies over 16 seasons in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France but one of them, along with Juventus, was canceled.
He dominated the Swedish national squad from 2001 to 2016 and had 116 appearances and scored 62 goals and remained an icon in the country.
"She is a part of us. He came from Rosengard and became the king of football, "said Ibrahimovic fan Jaafar, who grew up in the neighborhood.
Ibrahimovic, who is known for his volume and arrogance, once said that if PSG owners want to keep it in Paris, they need to persuade the city to 'replace the Eiffel Tower with its monument.'
In 2014 when Sweden failed to qualify for the World Cup finals, he said: "The World Cup without me is not worth watching, so there is no need to wait for the World Cup."
SOURCE: BH