One of the greatest strikers the game has ever seen announced his retirement recently. The footballing world will undoubtedly miss Zlatan Ibrahimovic, not only for the brilliant player that he was, but also for being one of the most unique characters in the game's history. In a career that saw him score over 570 goals and win 34 titles, Ibrahimovic played for several legendary clubs like Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, PSG, Manchester United, AC Milan, and Barcelona. This article will look at the player’s time at Paris Saint-Germain, which saw him showcase his tremendous scoring abilities and help the club dominate France.
Arrival at Paris
It was on 17th July 2012 that Paris Saint-Germain confirmed an agreement with AC Milan for the transfer of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with a fee of €20 million being paid for the striker. The player received one of the best contracts in football at the time, as his move to PSG made him the second best paid player in the world only behind Samuel Eto'o.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's first season with PSG saw him showcase exactly why the club decided to pay the big bucks for him, as he was putting in brilliant performances for the club both domestically and in Europe. The season ended with PSG winning their first league title since 1994, and Zlatan being the hero behind their success.
He finished the season with 30 league goals, a feat achieved for the first time in the French top flight since Jean-Pierre Papin in the 1989–90 season. This saw him finish as the league top scorer and also named as Ligue 1's Player of the Year. PSG were knocked out of the Champions League quarter finals that season by Barcelona, but Ibrahimovic was still able to remain as the tournament's top assist provider that season with 7 assists.
Individual and domestic domination
The following season saw Zlatan continue where he left last season, as he kept on scoring at a brilliant rate for PSG. One of his most notable performances that season came against RSC Anderlecht in the Champions League, as Zlatan scored 4 goals and PSG thrashed their opponents 5-0. They yet again crashed out of the Champions League quarter-finals this season as well, with PSG losing 3-3 against Chelsea on away goals. Ibrahimovic and PSG continued their domestic domination though, as PSG won their second consecutive league title. Zlatan ended that season with an astonishing 41 goals in all competitions, with 10 of them coming from 8 Champions League matches. He was yet again named as Ligue 1's Player of the Year when the season ended.
The following season's Champions League was a memorable one for Zlatan and the club, both for the right and wrong reasons. PSG finally got their revenge against Chelsea, as they qualified to the quarter-finals yet again after defeating the Blues 3-3 on away goals. Their next Champions League match is one of the most memorable in the tournament's history, which saw eventual winners Barcelona make one of the greatest comebacks in the competition's history and knock out the French club.
Despite the heartbreaking Champions League loss, PSG had a magnificent season domestically as they ended up winning 4 domestic titles. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was an immense part of all this, and ended that season by becoming PSG's second all-time top scorer with 102 goals. He was only behind Pauleta in achieving history.
Leaving with legendary status
Zlatan's final season with the club was similar to previous one's, which has the club excel domestically but falter in Europe. The club crashed out of the Champions League quarter-finals yet again, this time against Manchester City. PSG's domination in the league continued, with Zlatan's goal scoring rate brilliant as usual. It was towards the end of the season that Ibrahimovic announced he would be leaving the club. As the season ended, PSG won yet another league title and Zlatan also finished his final season as 2015–16 Ligue 1 top scorer with 38 goals. Paris finished that season with a domestic treble, and Ibrahimovic was also PSG's all-time highest goal scorer by this time ( a record later broken by Edinson Cavani January 2018)
That was the end of the Zlatan era at PSG, which saw him arrive as a king and leave as a legend.
Also Read | Best PSG XI of all time
