MILAN — Zlatan Ibrahimovi´c will still be playing for AC Milan when he´s 41 after renewing his contract for another year, giving the forward another tilt at the UEFA Champions League.
Ibrahimovi´c missed large portions of Milan´s Serie A-winning campaign with injury and won´t even be able to return to the field until the end of the year – two months after his 41st birthday – after undergoing knee surgery in May.
Milan released a brief statement announcing that Ibrahimovi´c´s contract was renewed to June 30, 2023.
The club and Ibrahimovi´c posted a video on social media, showcasing the forward´s highlights from both of his spells with the Rossoneri, with a voiceover from the Sweden international.
“In life you must always want to do more,” Ibrahimovi´c said according to AP. “One who is satisfied lies on the sofa and relaxes.
“I do not want this. I want to stand on my toes and walk on fire. Because like this I feel alive.”
Ibrahimovi´c has transformed Milan since returning to the Rossoneri at the end of 2019, shortly after the team was thumped 5-0 by Atalanta. He helped Milan rise back to the top of Serie A and end its 11-year wait for the title.
Although hampered by injuries last season, Ibrahimovi´c also made his presence felt off the field as he steered a young team to an improbable scudetto.
It was his second with the club, having also been there the last time Milan won the title, in 2011.
Ibrahimovi´c has also won trophies with Ajax, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United in a long and glittering career. However, one trophy missing from his brimming collection is the Champions League.
Milan´s return to the competition last season – after an eight-year break – was brief as the seven-time European champion was eliminated in the group stage.
“You must believe,” Ibrahimovi´c continued in the video. “When you believe, things come true, one way or another.”
