The AC Milan players were not aware of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s decision to retire until Saturday. Emotions ran through the San Siro on Sunday evening when the 41-year-old star announced his decision.
Tears in San Siro by farewell King Zlatan: “He is a great champion”
Ibrahimovic announced on Sunday evening that his impressive career has come to an end. The star was visibly moved by what sparked his decision from everyone present in the stadium. The TV images showed that many people shed a tear now that the professional career of Milan’s Swedish talisman is over after more than twenty years.
This includes Sandro Tonali, who told DAZN afterwards that Ibrahimovic only informed his teammates of his decision on Saturday. “It wasn’t easy to prepare mentally, we had to focus on the game. I saw many people cry. I will often look at these images,” said the Italian midfielder of Milan.
Ibrahimovic played a crucial role last season in winning Milan’s first league title since 2011. “He gave me so much. Energy is the word that sums it up best. With his will to win, he goes crazy if he loses a training game. He was a special player and leaves a huge legacy,” said Tonali.
The normally cold-blooded Ibrahimovic also fought back tears on Sunday evening, as La Gazzetta dello Sport saw. “The king’s greetings,” the pink sports newspaper opens on the front page on Monday evening. “Ibra leaves football at 41 in tears,” Corriere dello Sport also saw that Ibrabimovic’s farewell caused goosebumps.
Trainer Stefano Pioli underlined the importance of Ibrahimovic in recent successes. “He helped us a lot on and off the field and was an example to me with his incredible mentality. He is a winner from Monday to Sunday and has taught a young group of players like ours a lot. He’s a great champion,” he emotionally concluded.
I said to myself, “Even God is sad today”
Sandro Tonali revealed that Ibrahimovic had only informed his teammates of his decision the day before. The striker confirmed that. “This was a very special day for me. I hadn’t told anyone I was going to quit. I only told the club that we had to do something before the last game, but they didn’t know that I would stop,” he said at the press conference afterwards.
When Ibrahimovic fought back tears on the field, he was himself again during the press conference. “I want to thank the journalists for your patience, without me you have less work. When I got up this morning it was raining. I said to myself, ‘Even God is sad today’. Not even my family knew what would happen today. I felt like a zombie, I wasn’t joking, I didn’t say anything,” he continued.
“Three months ago Ibrahimovic could not imagine that he would stop, he has now accepted it. But that was accompanied by the necessary emotions. Everyone thinks I’m Superman. So am I, but I also have a big heart. I looked around for a face that would give me strength, but everyone was crying! Even my wife, she cried louder than the rest,” he concluded.
