Zlatan Ibrahimovic turns 40: The 10 best moments of his career

This Sunday, October 3rd, is Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s birthday, with the Swedish striker turning 40 years of age. Even though injuries have limited him to just half an hour of playing time in 2021/22, the striker was so impactful with his 17 goals for AC Milan last season that it would be foolish to doubt him in his battle with Father Time.

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Over the years, Ibrahimovic has achieved so much and produced so many incredible moments. Here comes a look at 10 of his greatest successes and you can vote in our poll for which you think stands out above the rest.

The first titles

The first trophies of Ibrahimovic’s incredible career came in the Netherlands in 2001/02, as his Ajax side won the league and cup double. After topping the Eredivisie table, Ibrahimovic was the hero in the 2002 KNVB Cup final against Utrecht, netting the golden goal in extra time.

His incredible Champions League debut

Winning the Eredivisie saw Ajax take part in the 2002/03 Champions League and the young forward immediately made his presence felt by scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory over Lyon in the Dutch side’s opening group game. This was the moment that many European football fans first heard about the player who’d go on to score 48 Champions League goals.

The final day brace at Parma

It was in Italy that Ibrahimovic spent most of his peak years and he won the Serie A title six times – even if the two with Juventus were later revoked due to the Calciopoli scandal. Of all those triumphs, the most memorable moment came on the final day of the 2007/08 season, when the forward came off the bench to score both goals for a 2-0 win at Parma that secured the Scudetto.

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His first Capocannoniere

The Capocannoniere is the award for the top scorer in a single Serie A season and it is one of the most prestigious prizes in the sport, with past winners including Giuseppe Meazza, Gunnar Nordahl, Michel Platini and Diego Maradona. Ibrahimovic finished top of Italy’s scoring charts twice, first doing so with 25 goals in 2008/09 and then with 28 in 2011/12.

A winner in El Clásico

His spell with Barcelona wasn’t the happiest period of his career, but Ibrahimovic still managed to win a LaLiga title while in Spain and he was a big part of that triumph, especially because he scored the only goal in Barça’s 1-0 Clásico win against Real Madrid in November of that 2009/10 season. With the Catalan side only winning the title by three points over Los Blancos, that goal proved crucial.

His Puskas Award goal against Joe Hart

So many jaw-dropping goals have been scored during Ibrahimovic’s career, but one of the very best was surely the overhead kick from distance over Joe Hart. It may only have been a friendly match, but this was one of the most memorable nights of the forward’s career as he scored all four goals in Sweden’s 4-2 victory, with the stunning acrobatic effort winning that year’s Puskas Award.

The PSG all-time top scorer record

Ibrahimovic left PSG with 156 goals in 180 appearances, making him the all-time top scorer for the French club at the time. In October of 2015, in a match against Marseille, the Swede’s goals moved him ahead of Pauleta’s mark of 109, a special moment for the star forward. Since departing the French capital, Edinson Cavani then broke Ibrahimovic’s record, but the Lion’s goals will never be forgotten at the Parc des Princes.

Proving he could do it in England

For a large part of his career, there were still some Ibrahimovic doubters who wondered is he’d be able to cut it in the Premier League. By joining Manchester United in 2016, he had the chance to show that he could do it on wet and windy nights in Stoke. He headed in the winner on his debut, the 2-1 2016 Community Shield triumph over Leicester, and then left Old Trafford with 29 goals from 53 appearances.

The incredible LA Galaxy debut

When the Swede debuted for LA Galaxy in 2018, he didn’t mess about. After netting a long-range volleyed equaliser in the derby against LAFC, Ibrahimovic then went on to produce a stoppage time winner for his new club to let the USA know he’d arrived.

Returning AC Milan to the Champions League

Ibrahimovic’s most recent achievement was an important one, as his 15 goals and two assists in the 2020/21 Serie A season helped AC Milan secure a second place finish after seven long seasons without any Champions League football. Now, the Rossoneri are back in Europe’s elite club competition and the significance of this cannot be understated.