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 Sweden national team for which he is captain.^[4]

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 inSerie 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 SwedishGuldbollen, 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^[5] and cost the Italian club €24 million. After winning a further Scudetto with Milan in 2010–11, Ibrahimović signed with Paris Saint-Germain in July 2012. With PSG, Ibrahimović has won three Ligue 1 championships, two Coupes de la Ligue and one Coupe de France.^[6]

Ibrahimović is one of ten players to have made 100 or more appearances for the Swedish national team, and is the country's all time leading goalscorer in international matches with 57 goals. He has represented Sweden at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2004, 2008 and 2012 UEFA European Championships.

With his playing style compared to Dutch legend Marco van Basten, Ibrahimović is one of the best finishers in the game and is regarded to be one of the best footballers of his generation.^{[7][8][9][10]} His spectacularbicycle kick for Sweden against England won the 2013 FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year.^[11] In December 2013, Ibrahimović was ranked by The Guardian as the third-best player in the world.^[12] In December 2014, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter named him the second-greatest Swedish sportsperson of all time, after Björn Borg.^[13]Ibrahimović was born in Sweden to a Muslim Bosniak father, Šefik Ibrahimović,^[14] who emigrated to Sweden in 1977, and a Croatian Catholic mother, Jurka Gravić,^[15] 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.^[16]

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.^[17][18] While in his early teens, he was a regular for his hometown club Malmö FF.^[18] 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.^[19] His idol was Brazilian star Ronaldo when he was growing up.^[20]