Ibrahimović pens new deal to keep playing for Milan at 41

MILAN (AP) — Zlatan Ibrahimović will still be playing for AC Milan when he’s 41 after renewing his contract for another year, giving the forward another tilt at the Champions League.

Ibrahimović missed large portions of Milan’s Serie A-winning campaign with injury and won’t even be able to return to the field until the end of the year — two months after his 41st birthday — after undergoing knee surgery in May.

Milan released a brief statement on Monday announcing that Ibrahimović’s contract was renewed to June 30, 2023.

The club and Ibrahimović posted a video on social media, showcasing the forward’s highlights from both of his spells with the Rossoneri, with a voiceover from the Sweden international.

“In life you must always want to do more,” Ibrahimović said. “One who is satisfied lies on the sofa and relaxes.

“I do not want this. I want to stand on my toes and walk on fire. Because like this I feel alive.”

Ibrahimović has transformed Milan since returning to the Rossoneri at the end of 2019, shortly after the team was thumped 5-0 by Atalanta. He helped Milan rise back to the top of Serie A and end its 11-year wait for the title.

Although hampered by injuries last season, Ibrahimović also made his presence felt off the field as he steered a young team to an improbable scudetto.

It was his second with the club, having also been there the last time Milan won the title, in 2011.

Ibrahimović has also won trophies with Ajax, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United in a long and glittering career. However, one trophy missing from his brimming collection is the Champions League.

Milan’s return to the competition last season — after an eight-year break — was brief as the seven-time European champion was eliminated in the group stage.

“You must believe,” Ibrahimović continued in the video. “When you believe, things come true, one way or another.”