Ibra To Have Statue In Sweden

The Swedish FA is planning to build a statue of Zlatan Ibrahimovic outside the Friends Arena after the Manchester United striker won the country’s Golden Ball award for the 11th time.

It was revealed on Monday that a 2.7 metre monument will be erected in tribute to the man who scored 62 goals in 142 Sweden appearances before retiring from international duty in the summer.

Ibrahimovic received his Golden Ball, given to Sweden's best player, for the 10th consecutive year on Monday night and that incredible achievement is put into greater context by the fact that no other player has previously won the prize more than twice since it was established back in 1946.

Zlatan gave a typically confident speech when receiving his trophy at a glittering ceremony in Stockholm and referenced the plans to build a statue in his likeness in his nation’s capital city.

“It feels unreal,” he said. “Many are thinking ‘Why him?’ and so on, but after all the hard work over 15 years in the national team and 20 years in my club career, it feels like it's being appreciated. You usually get this after you die, but I still feel alive. When I die, this statue will live on forever.”

Ibra also uploaded a photo to his personal Instagram account (above) with the caption: "After 20 years of hard work I got a statue in the capital city of Sweden. Who else. Super proud, happy, emotional, wow and you you Sweden."

A pre-recorded video message from Ibrahimovic’s former Paris Saint-Germain team-mate David Beckham was also played at the prize-giving, with the United legend paying a unique tribute to his friend.

“His physique, his passion and his love for the game hasn't changed," Becks explained, as reported by TV4Sport . “He is still one of the greatest players that has ever played the game - one of the reasons why I'm happy he is now playing at Manchester United, my team. Thanks for that, Zlatan.”

Expanding, David continued: “For me, Zlatan is a player who has class, always wants to win and he proved that when I moved to PSG. He was one of those players that it doesn't matter whether we were playing an important match in the French league, or on the training field, he wanted to win.

“If he wasn't winning then he was like one of my children. He would get upset, he would get angry and he would lose it. Not that my kids lose it, but Zlatan does! For me he is a winner.”