Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimović (born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish football player of Bosnian and Croatian parentage who plays striker for Spanish La Liga club Barcelona and the Swedish national team.

Ibrahimović started his career at Malmö FF in the late 90's under Roland Andersson. He was signed by Ajax, and made a name for himself under Ronald Koeman. Years later, he signed with Juventus for €16 million. Zlatan gained fame and popularity in the Italian top flight while having a striking partnership with Alessandro Del Piero. After playing for the bianconeri, he made his move to league giants Internazionale in 2006. His record breaking performances led him to awards such as the Oscar del calcio, the Guldbollen, and being named in the 2007 UEFA Team of the Year. In the summer of 2009, Ibracadabra transfered to Barcelona, while continuing to break records.

As of February 2009, Ibrahimović, along with Kaká, were the highest salaried football players in the world with an annual pay of €9 million. Ibrahimović won the Capocannoniere on 31 May 2009 with 25 domestic goals during the season. He has been named as one of the best players of his generation by being nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or due to his playing style, technique, and goal scoring abilities. Ibrahimović currently holds the record for the third highest transfer fee in football history, with a total of €69 million for his transfer from Internazionale to Barcelona.

Twice footballing manager of the year, Jose Mourinho, said in an interview to The Sun on 5 March 2009, “I think there are four outstanding players in the world - Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kaká. At the moment, I think I have the best in the four - the best player in the world [Zlatan Ibrahimović].”