Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had an incredible career, having starred for many clubs from Barcelona to Manchester United. This weekend saw the 41-year-old Swede call it a day, bringing down the curtain on a career that was long and successful in equal measure. Ibrahimovic made his debut for Malmo in a different century, before many of his current team-mates were even born. His 511 career goals have been scored over the course of two decades, with Manchester City having just been promoted from England’s third tier when he scored his first goal in October 1999. When he scored his final league goal for Milan in March this year, the same club were setting their sights on winning the Treble. Alan Shearer was the England captain and Rivaldo the holder of the Ballon d’Or at the time, while Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior had yet to be born.
Ibrahimovic may not have been the force of yesteryear in recent seasons, but his epic longevity was an awe-inspiring achievement in itself. He was part of a lauded second tier of footballers which also featured Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema, who this weekend waved goodbye to Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain respectively. While Benzema looks certain to join Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, Messi may yet be tempted by one last Barcelona hurrah.
The stage is now set for Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane to fill the void left by these four greats. It will take some doing to match their accomplishments over the past two decades, but they are certainly capable of dominating football for the next ten years.