AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic
announced his decision to retire from professional soccer at San
Siro stadium in the Lombardy capital on Sunday night after his
team beat Verona 3-1 in the final Serie A match of the season.
"Now the time has come to say goodbye to soccer, not to you,"
the 41-year-old Swedish forward told emotional fans from the
centre of the pitch.
"You welcomed me with open arms, I will be a Milan supporter all
my life," he added.
On Saturday AC Milan announced that Ibrahimović would be leaving
the club at the end of this season and that there would be a
brief ceremony after the match on Sunday to thank him "for these
magnificent years spent together".
However, no one knew of the striker's decision to leave football
altogether.
"When I woke up, it was raining. And I said 'God is sad, too.'
Not even my family knew," Ibrahimovic told reporters after the
announcement.
"I kept this thing inside me: (I had decided that) I will leave
soccer, and when I talked to the club I would say 'let's play
one last game', but in reality even they didn't know my decision
about the future," he continued.
"It has been a long career and I am proud and happy. Today is my
last day as a professional and I want to thank Milan, but also
my previous teams," said Ibrahimovic.
"The people who have been important to me in my career know who
they are. Now comes the next chapter of my life. I am a little
sad, it's obvious, but I accept it," he concluded.
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