Paris Saint-Germain have decided to honour outgoing striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic by naming a stand in his honour, PSG president, Nasser al-Khelaifi revealed on Saturday. Ibrahimovic had earlier declared that he would be leaving the Paris-based club at the end of the season after deciding not to renew his contract.
The PSG president told Swedish television channel SVT (via ESPN), “We tried to do everything for him because he deserves everything," “"Honestly one thing I forgot in my speech is that we're going to call one of the tribunes [stands] under his name...I hope that we did enough for him because he deserves always more."
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Before his last game for the Parisiens, Zlatan had posted on social media that he had come “like a king and left like a legend”. His farewell was fitting of this statement. The game was paused in the 10th minute so that the crowd could give the striker a standing ovation.
Zlatan scored a brace in his final game, finishing off the scoring in the 89th minute in a 4-0 win versus Nantes. The 34-year old left his mark in his final match at the Parc des Princes in his own inimitable manner. His children ran onto the pitch with “legend” and “king” being printed on the back of their No.10 shirts and escorted him off the pitch without being substituted.
The Swedish striker has enjoyed a prolific season for the Parisiens. He has scored 51 goals in 49 appearances for the French champions in all competitions this season, leading them to their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title in the past four seasons. This continues his trend of winning league titles in all the countries he has played in. He has won everything possible with the French side except for the Champions League which still eludes him.
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The PSG President also stated that things would go on usual at PSG and spoke of a possible return for Ibrahimovic saying, “Maybe we cry a little bit," he said. "Then we continue our lives, he will continue his life. After he's stopped his career, he will come back to Paris Saint-Germain."
Ibrahimovic’s future has been the subject of much speculation after his revelation that he would not be signing a contract extension with PSG. Manchester United have been strongly linked with signing up the talismanic striker while MLS clubs LA Galaxy and Philadelphia Union are also said to be in the fray for the Swede.
Zlatan will play his last game for PSG when they take on Marseille in the Coupe de France final at the Stade de France stadium on Saturday.
