Ageing hero Ibrahimovic to leave Milan at season’s end

AC Milan’s Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s time at AC Milan is coming to an end after the Serie A club announced on Saturday that he would say his farewells following their last match of the season against Verona.

“Tomorrow (Sunday) evening after the final game of the season… AC Milan will say goodbye to Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a brief ceremony,” Milan said in a statement.

“AC Milan would like to thank Zlatan for the magnificent time that we have spent together.”

The veteran striker’s representatives would not comment when asked by AFP if he would retire once leaving Milan.

However Italian media report that Ibrahimovic could join Monza next season, which would reunite him with former Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi and his right-hand man Adriano Galliani.

Former Italian prime minister Berlusconi, who sold Milan for 740 million euros in 2017 after three decades of glory and bought Monza for a relative pittance the following year, took Ibrahimovic to Milan on loan from Barcelona in 2010.

The Swede won Serie A that campaign, which had been Milan’s most recent league title until pipping local rivals Inter Milan on the final day of last season.

Ibrahimovic was a key figure in Milan’s resurgence to the top of Italian football after his return to the club as a free agent in late 2019, helping to bring them back from the doldrums and eventually win the Scudetto last season.

He has hardly featured for Stefano Pioli’s side this term after being plagued with injuries, returning in February following surgery on his left knee in May.

In July he signed a deal which netted him around one million euros ($1.02 million) in fixed salary, with large bonuses linked to appearances and