Zlatan Ibrahimovic had various stops during his football career, including a four-year tenure at Paris Saint-Germain. From 2012 to 2016, Zlatan lived in Paris and elevated PSG to new heights, becoming a legend for the Ligue 1 giants.
During his 180 appearances donning the Parisian jersey, the towering forward netted an impressive 156 goals and provided 54 assists. However, this production nearly didn’t happen.
In a recent interview with Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Canal Supporters), Ibrahimovic opened up about his reluctant departure from AC Milan, the club he had joined just two years before his move to Paris.
“Arriving in Paris was difficult,” Ibrahimovic told the Italian media outlet. “I didn’t want to leave Milan, where I was happy. At the beginning of the summer, I said to Galliani (AC Milan vice-president at the time), ‘Promise me you won’t sell me,’ and he said, ‘Okay’. One day, I received several calls. I started to understand what it was about, and when I spoke to Mino (Raiola, his agent), he told me, “Everything is done,” and I replied that I didn’t want it.
“They put Thiago Silva and me in one package. I looked at the project where they wanted to go, and in the end, I said yes. I’m a man of my word, and in the end, it was fantastic.”
Nonetheless, the allure of Paris and the challenge of contributing to PSG’s ascent probably swayed the enigmatic Swede.
During Ibrahimovic’s time at PSG, he established himself as one of the most prolific goal-scorers in the club’s history. He held the title of PSG’s all-time leading scorer after an impressive stint until Edinson Cavani succeeded him.
Regardless, records are meant to be broken in the dynamic world of football. The baton was eventually passed to Kylian Mbappé, a young prodigy.
