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The Paris Saint-Germain football club, owned by Qatari billionaires, is seriously aiming for all possible titles next season. During this transfer window, the French have already spent 12 million euros on Marco Verratti, 26 million on Ezequiel Lavezzi, and even 42 million on Thiago Silva, but the most important acquisition is the thirty-year-old Milan and Swedish national team striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Although the value of the Swede's transfer is "only" 23 million euros, it is reported that the Swede has agreed to a yearly salary of approximately 13 million euros. However, there are doubts as to whether Z.Ibrahimovic can lead the Parisian club to international glory.
After last year's French champions Montpellier sold their main striker Olivier Giroud to Arsenal, and Lille sent Edin Hazard to Chelsea, there is almost no doubt that next season PSG will dominate the competition in France. Nevertheless, according to club president Leonardo, the Parisian club will not settle for just the Ligue 1 title, but the Swede has proven more than once that victory in international tournaments is within his reach.
When in the summer of 2009, Barcelona announced the acquisition of Z. Ibrahimovic from the Italian club Internazionale, many football fans thought that the Catalans would once again have no equals in Spain or Europe. But even though the striker cost 46 million euros, and was valued at around 20 million euros during the transfer to Inter, Z. Ibrahimovic left Barcelona disappointed.
The Catalans won the Spanish championship, and Z. Ibrahimovic scored 16 goals in the league, but in the UEFA Champions League semi-final, the same Inter stopped them. When the team needed the colorful Swede the most, he failed to shine, and later openly conflicted with coach Pep Guardiola and was sent back to Italy. This time to the Milan team.
During his two seasons in Milan, the Swede scored 42 goals in the Serie A championships (becoming the top scorer of last season), once again won the Italian league (claiming three titles playing for Inter), and was named the country's best footballer.
In addition to this, we can add two Dutch league titles with Ajax, one Spanish league title, the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Club World Cup title, and the UEFA Super Cup with Barcelona.
The Swede also has a pile of personal awards, but the most important title – the UEFA Champions League trophy – is not on his account. Z.Ibrahimovic has been playing in this tournament for ten consecutive seasons, but his biggest achievement so far is the semi-final. Goals also do not come easily – the Swede only scores in every third match in Europe.
The legendary Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson once said that there is nothing harder than winning a league.
Although Z. Ibrahimovic has already done it 9 times, but during the most important UEFA Champions League matches, the Swede usually disappears somewhere. "In my mind, I am the best of all. I don't need a 'Golden Ball' to prove that I am number one," Z. Ibrahimovic told ESPN journalists in 2011.
Z. Ibrahimovic has changed teams for the sixth time, and adding up all the money paid for him, it amounts to a colossal sum of 130-150 million euros. This makes Z. Ibrahimovic the most expensive footballer of all time, but as he celebrates his 31st birthday in October, it is time for the striker to finally prove that he is worth every single cent.
