Zlatan's statue destroyed or his pride?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s statue outside Malmo Stadium was destroyed after former fans of the player knocked the statue off its stanchion. A statue of Sweden’s all-time top scorer was erected in the city to recognize his contribution to football in Sweden.

The 38-year-old striker recently landed in Milan because of a short-term deal following a successful season personally with MLS side, LA Galaxy. An academy graduate at Malmo, Zlatan scored 14 goals in 40 appearances for Di Blae but then he risked his supporters as he bought a 22.5% stake in Stockholm-based club Hammarby, who recently piped Malmo to the Swedish league title on the final day of the last season.

The nose of the statue was cut recently in December but as per the report of Aftonbladet, fans were outrageous and were reluctant to forgive their former hero for his decision to play for Milan again. This time only two feet were left on the plinth, while the rest of the body was hanging off a security fence built to prevent further attacks.

The ground which is on the next of the statue was spray-painted in Malmo’s traditional sky blue color and it said,” remove” and a black jumper with the text ‘Sweden’ in yellow colour was spotted over the head of the statue.

The statue was erected in September on which Zlatan spoke with pride as he was honored by the people of his hometown. He stated,” It was my wish from the very beginning. This is where everything started and this is where my heart is.”

The statue will now be removed entirely and that would surely come as a shock to Zlatan, who is about to unravel another chapter in his career when Milan take on Sampdoria in Serie A on Monday.

Featured image credits- skysports.com