Ibrahimovic lampoons vandals over defaced statue in Malmo
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has branded the Malmo fans that defaced his statue as being “at kindergarten level”.
It follows a series of incidents that saw the sculpture vandalised on numerous occasions after annoying his boyhood club’s supporters.
The former Sweden international has had a long career in football but it all began at Malmo, his birthplace.
At the club, he scored 18 times as a teenager before moving to Ajax in 2001 and was commemorated for his services to the club with his own statue.
However, Ibra courted controversy when he became a part-owner of their big rivals Hammarby IF.
Supporters were livid and the statue was quickly defaced in multiple ways.
Since then, it has been brought down for repairs but it remains to be seen whether the figure is reinstated.
And it has angered Ibrahimovic, who has hit out at the vandals for their actions before replying defiantly.
He said: “It’s a shame. They want attention and want the media to write about it – it’s at kindergarten level and we’re bigger than that.
“The statue was what it was, but that doesn’t mean that my story will be torn down, it will remain forever.”
The 38-year-old has been training with Hammarby IF amid the coronavirus crisis despite being contracted to AC Milan.
Manchester United, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus and Paris St-Germain are among the teams he has played with, winning an array of trophies.
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Despite league titles in Italy, Spain and France, the Champions League has been one trophy that has eluded him
He did land the Europa League with United when they faced his former side Ajax in 2017.