PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s very own statue was completely destroyed.
Now “Ibra” opens up about the future of the controversial monument.
– That’s what they get to see from me, he says to the Football Channel.
In autumn 2019 got Zlatan Ibrahimovic his big dream fulfilled. When a statue of himself was unveiled outside Malmö FF’s home arena.
– It feels completely surreal, the guy from Rosengård is getting his own statue, said “Ibra” then.
Zlatan’s statue
Then it only took two months before all hell broke loose. Zlatan chose to become a co-owner of Allsvenskan competitor Hammarby and the statue in Malmö had to receive a lot of hate. Several nights in a row, the statue was vandalized and also sawed off along the ankles.
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In the end, the monument was completely destroyed and has since been gone for several years to be renovated. The city of Malmö has invested as much as SEK 350,000 in a project to restore the statue after all the damage.
READ MORE: The huge criticism of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in social media – everyone says the same thing after the record goal: “Shameless”
Ibra’s first words
But the big question now is where the statue should be placed, whether it should return to the same place in Malmö or be moved to another area. When the sculptor Peter Linde had to give his opinion, he thought the controversial monument should be sent to Milan, even the city’s mayor Beppe Sala like that idea.
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Now the protagonist himself has also spoken out on the issue. At Tuesday’s press conference, Zlatan opened up about the statue of himself.
– I have not heard anything. I read what you write, he says according to Fotbollskanalen.
READ MORE: Zlatan Ibrahimovic opens up about publicized photos of son Maximilian – admits: “He wanted to hurt me”
“That’s where it should be”
To a direct question about what Ibrahimovic thinks about it having been vandalized so grossly, he answers like this:
– I think everything that has been said has been said, it’s a pity for them, they will never experience a player like this in the future. They would have enjoyed while they enjoyed, says the 41-year-old.
But he doesn’t want the statue to be sent to Milan, he only wants it to stand in his hometown of Malmö.
– It should be in Malmö, nowhere else, that’s what they get to see from me, admits Zlatan at the press conference.
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