How many clubs has Zlatan Played With?
The FIFA Puskás Award award winner Zlatan Ibrahimović is one of the cosmic players in football history. How can any football fan ever forget about that astonishing goal from a 30-yards bicycle kick against England for which Zlatan got known throughout the world? In his career, Zlatan is known for a lot more things other than scoring bangers. Zlatan is also famous for his strong comments on other players and the narcissist statements he uses for himself.
Apart from all these controversies, there is one more thing he is known for which is changing clubs, he is a player who has played for seven different clubs in the prestigious UEFA Champions League. Having played for multiple clubs in his life, he has had the opportunity to grow up with the constellations of many of the stars in the football world.
He started his football career with Malmö FF back in 1999 and is currently playing for AC Milan. So far, Ibrahimović has played for a total of 9 teams, representing Malmö FF, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, LA Galaxy and AC Milan.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Club Timeline:
(1999–2001) – Malmö FF— (Goals scored 18 in 47 Appearances(s))
(2001–2004) – Ajax— (Goals scored 48 in 110 Appearances(s))
(2004–2006) – Juventus— (Goals scored 26 in 92 Appearances(s))
(2006–2009) – Inter Milan— (Goals scored 66 in 117 Appearances(s))
(2009–2011) – Barcelona— (Goals scored 22 in 46 Appearances(s))
(2012–2016) – Paris Saint-Germain— (Goals scored 156 in 180 Appearances(s))
(2016–2018) – Manchester United— (Goals scored 29 in 53 Appearances(s))
(2018–2019) – LA Galaxy— (Goals scored 53 in 58 Appearances(s))
(2010–2011(loan), 2011–2012, 2020- Present) – AC Milan (Goals scored 92 in 152 Appearances(s))
All the clubs that Zlatan Ibrahimovich played for:
1: Malmö FF (1999–2001)
Born in Malmö, Sweden, Ibrahimović signed his first contract with Malmö in 1996 and moved up to the senior side for the 1999 season in Allsvenskan. Malmö finished in 13th in this season but returned to the top flight the next season. Arsène Wenger (former Arsenal coach) had a wish to have Ibrahimović join Arsenal, but it did not happen. He scored around 18 goals in 47 appearances(s) for Malmö FF which is pretty massive considering he was too young back then.
2: Ajax (2001–2004)
Ajax expressed interest in the player and on 22nd March 2001, a deal between Ajax and Malmö regarding Ibrahimović’s transfer to Amsterdam was announced, and in July, Ibrahimović officially joined Ajax. On 29th November 2001, new coach Ronald Koeman inserted Ibrahimović into the starting XI as Ajax won the 2001–02 Eredivisie title. Ibrahimović scored twice in a 2–1 victory over French champion Lyon in his Champions League debut on 17th September 2002. Ibrahimović’s profile upturned when he scored an individual goal against NAC Breda by dribbling over five players and eventually, this goal was voted the Goal of the Year by Eurosport viewers.
Ibrahimovic has had a lot of controversies in his career. One of them was when he played an international match against the Netherlands, Ibrahimović injured Ajax teammate Rafael Van Der Vaart, who later accused Ibrahimović of hurting him intentionally.
3: Juventus (2004–2006)
Joining Juventus was a big deal for Zlatan given the number of legends that used to play in that time. After signing for Juventus, he was shortly inserted into the starting eleven due to David Trezeguet’s injury problems. This season, the club finished top of Serie A and reached the Champions League quarter-finals. He was awarded “Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year” in his very first season. But the journey with Juventus was not smooth. He became less of a goalscorer and moved more to the sidelines. Juventus fans were starting to get frustrated with him due to his banal presence in certain important games. After Juventus were relegated to Serie B because of the Calciopoli scandal, he was adamant to move on.
A REMINDER:#OnThisDay 2005
— Football Remind (@FootballRemind) November 19, 2020
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (@Ibra_official) scored this goal for Juventus against Roma.
Touch, pace, power with a stunning finish 👏⚽️pic.twitter.com/tNn1uGaQxH
4: Inter Milan (2006–2009)
On 26th August 2006, Ibrahimović made his debut for Inter Milan against Roma. Ibrahimović was the top-scored for Inter in his first season in Serie A with 15 goals, including his first “Derby Della Madonnina” goal against rivals AC Milan. After scoring a brace against Parma on 18th May 2008, Ibrahimović got the second consecutive Scudetto for Inter Milan. On 4th October, during the match against Bologna which Inter won 2–1, Ibrahimović scored a sensational goal, stunning Francesco Antonioli with a tempting backheeled shot which was later voted Goal of the Year in Serie A. He was called both “Serie A Footballer of the Year” and “Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year” for the second consecutive season.
12 years since one of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s most iconic goals at Euro 2008 💥 pic.twitter.com/0gLhkRgeXJ
— GOAL (@goal) June 10, 2020
5: Barcelona (2009–2011)
The huge success at Milan made Ibrahimovic a prime target for many clubs. Ibrahimović started the 2009–10 season with his competitive debut for Barcelona on 23rd August 2009 by assisting a goal and scored his first goal in Barcelona’s La Liga season opener against Sporting Gijón in a 3–0 win. On 20th October, he scored his first Champions League goal for Barcelona and finished with 11 goals and 4 assists in 15 league matches. He scored 22 goals in 46 appearances(s) for Barcelona. He scored his final goal for Barcelona in the 2010 Supercopa de España on 14th August in a 3–1 defeat against Sevilla and played his last match for the club on 25th August against AC Milan for the Joan Gamper Trophy.
In his autobiography, “I Am Zlatan”, he wrote that Messi wanted to play in the middle, not on the wing in his position, and from that time, he gradually fell out of favour with the team and his relationship with Guardiola had started deteriorating and eventually he left Barcelona.
6: Paris Saint-Germain (2012–2016)
The increasing fame of Zlatan led him to sign for PSG and play in the capital of France. On 17th July 2012, he joined Paris Saint-Germain. He scored a brace to win over Lille, which was PSG’s first Ligue 1 win after three successive draws in the 2012–13 season and became the first footballer to score for six clubs in the Champions League. He played his life’s third derby, ‘‘Le Classique”, between Marseille and PSG and scored a brace. On 12th May 2013, PSG won the Ligue 1 title after a 1–0 away win against Lyon. He finished the year as Ligue 1’s top goalscorer with 30 goals. He scored Ligue 1’s Goal of the Season by scoring a daring backheel volley against Bastia. In his third season with PSG, he completed his 100th goal for the club with a tremendous hat-trick against Saint-Étienne.
The Swedish player was named Ligue 1’s Player of the Year for the third consecutive season. Ibrahimović made his final match for PSG against Marseille on 21st May 2016, scoring a brace and an assist, PSG defeated Marseille 4–2 in that match, in his last match he got a standing ovation from his fans.
7: Manchester United (2016–2018)
People thought that it was the end for Zlatan in Paris, little did they know he had a lot more in his bag for the world. The next stop was Manchester, Ibrahimović signed as a free agent for Manchester United on 1st July 2016. The legend made another record in his bag, he scored the 25,000th goal in Premier League history. Such a legendary achievement for him or maybe it was an achievement for the Premier League to get it from him! He became the oldest player to manage at least 15 goals in a single Premier League season at the age of 35 years. He played for two years for United and scored 29 goals in 53 appearances(s).
8: LA Galaxy (2018–2019)
The pace of the Premier League was getting too quick for Zlatan to cope with, he needed a move. On 31st March, he made his debut for MLS club LA Galaxy and scored a brace, including a 45-yard long half volley. While playing for Galaxy, he completed his 500th professional career goal for club and country. He was awarded MLS Goal of the Year for his strike from a distance against Los Angeles FC.
Ibrahimović managed to lead the LA Galaxy to the 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs and he was also named both an MLS All-Star and to the Best XI for a second consecutive season.
9: AC Milan (2010- 2012/ 2020- Present)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic first join AC Milan in 2010 on a loan from FC Barcelona. On 20th November, he scored an over-the-head bicycle kick, which was his seventh goal against Fiorentina. Zlatan won his first Scudetto with Milan after a draw against Roma. On 6th August 2011, against city rivals Inter Milan, he scored the first goal of a 2–1 comeback victory to clinch the first trophy of the season. He finished the 2011 season as Serie A top scorer with 28 goals in 32 matches. He left Milan in 2011 but he returned on 27th December 2019. Everyone was shocked to see Zlatan score a massive goal against Inter Milan at the age of 38 years, he became the oldest goalscorer ever in the ‘’Derby Della Madonnina’’.
On 20th November, he scored twice in a 4–3 loss to Fiorentina, and in doing so, he became the oldest player to score a brace in a Serie A game in addition to the first 40-year-old player to score a brace in Europe’s top five leagues in the 21st century.
On 12th September 2021, Ibrahimović made his first appearance for Milan since returning from injury and scored in a 2–0 win over Lazio. On 11th December, Zlatan scored an acrobatic equaliser in stoppage-time in a 1–1 draw with Udinese, reaching the milestone of 300 career league goals across Europe’s top five leagues. He has been playing for AC Milan since 2020.
The 2012 Golden Foot winner Zlatan is the only player to have scored 50 Serie A goals for both Inter Milan and AC Milan. He has also achieved a lot of honours in his life, but do you know one thing? Zlatan never won a ballon d’Or he secured 4th position in the 2012 ballon D’or programme, he also got unlucky in the Champions League. But Zlatan had no anguish about that because no one else could do what Zlatan did. Despite much controversy surrounding Zlatan’s game, he is considered one of the best players in the world. The player still looks strong and fit making him ready for another possible transfer.
If it’s Zlatan, anything is possible.
Also Read:
Is Mo Salah the best African Footballer?
Why do footballers earn so much?
Best Short Players Of Every Decade
How can Arsenal win the Premier League?
Sunil Chhetri – The Liberator Of India
——————————
Top 10 Funny Moments In Football History
Top 10 Fastest Player In Football History
Top 5 Crazy Facts In Football History
Top 5 Tragic Moments In Football History
Top 3 Football Moments Of This Century