Born on October 3, 1981, in Malmö, Sweden, Zlatan Ibrahimovic overcame a rough upbringing to become a professional soccer star. He played for clubs in Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain, nabbing multiple scoring titles while leading his teams to eight consecutive league championships. One of the sport's most polarizing figures, Ibrahimovic released a bestselling autobiography in 2011.

Soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic was born on October 3, 1981, in Malmö, Sweden, to a Bosnian father and a Croatian mother. His parents divorced when Ibrahimovic was 2, and he spent a difficult childhood in the immigrant-populated district of Rosengård. By his own account, Ibrahimovic was a bicycle thief and a school bully, but he developed into a tall, agile with an obvious talent for playing soccer.

Ibrahimovic made his professional debut for Malmö FF in 1999, and helped the second-division club make the leap to the first level the following season. The 6'5" striker then signed with the prominent Dutch club AFC Ajax and honed his formidable skills as part of two title-winning teams, though he also developed a reputation as a temperamental player.

After four years with Ajax, Ibrahimovic transferred to Juventus F.C. and led the Italian club to two Serie A championships. However, Juventus was stripped of those titles when club management was charged with fixing matches in the infamous Calciopoli scandal, and Ibrahimovic forced a transfer to Inter Milan. More success followed for the towering striker, who won three straight Serie A titles and claimed his first league scoring crown in 2009.

Traded to F.C. Barcelona for Samuel Eto'o in 2009, Ibrahimovic starred for a loaded club that rolled to a league title and Super Cup victories, but he butted heads with manager Pep Guardiola and spent the following season on loan to A.C. Milan. The Italian club purchased his contract outright for 2011-12 and Ibrahimovic claimed his second scoring crown, although his amazing streak of eight straight seasons on a title-winning club came to an end.

After transferring to Paris Saint-Germain in 2012, the veteran striker proved he had plenty left in the tank by claiming a third scoring title with a career-high 30 goals, and leading the club to its first Ligue 1 title in 19 years.

How to shake off Stephane Henchoz:
"First I went left, he did too. Then I went right, and he did too. Then "First I went left, he did too. Then I went right, and he did too. Then I went left again, and he went to buy a hot dog.”

Mind your own business:
Reporter: “You’ve got some scars on your face, Zlatan. What has happened?”

Zlatan: “Well…I don’t know…you’ll have to ask your wife about that”

After being criticised by John Carew:
“What Carew does with a football, I can do with an orange.”

On refusing a trial at Arsenal:
“Arsene Wenger asked me to have a trial with Arsenal when I was 17. I turned it down. Zlatan doesn’t do auditions.”


After being asked by a female reporter about a photo of him and Gerard Pique hugging:
“Come over to my house with your sister, baby, and I’ll show you who’s gay!”


What Zlatan bought his wife for her birthday:
”Nothing, she already has Zlatan.”