The Swedish international footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović, currently an AC Milan player, is famous not only for his amazing skills on the pitch, but also a number of controversies off it.

Ibrahimović‘s father emigrated to Sweden from the former Yugoslavia in 1977 and it was there that he met his Croatian wife and where their son was born. As a child, he showed promise on the football pitch but was unconvinced that he could make a successful career of the game he loved and even considered taking a job in Malmo docks rather than continuing to play for local club, Malmo FF.

An impressive goal-scoring record at Malmo FF soon caught the eye of many of Europe’s top clubs, but it was Ajax who secured Ibrahimović‘s signature in 2001. The young star made most of his early appearances as a substitute but by his second season in the Netherlands the Swedish star had become an integral part of the Ajax squad.

Ajax may have been where Ibrahimović‘s career took off, but it was also the scene of the early controversies that have dogged him ever since. In an international game between Sweden and the Netherlands, Zlatan Ibrahimović was accused of striking his Ajax team mate Rafael van de Vaart with the intention of injuring him.

The Dutch management at the club took their compatriot’s side, and Ibrahimović was unceremoniously dumped from the line up and sold to Italian team Juventus for 16 million Euros. A tremendous first season ended sourly when the player and his agent were revealed to be behind media reports linking Ibrahimović with a move to Real Madrid, but his disastrous second season In Turin meant that the incident was soon forgotten.

While Ibrahimović himself struggled in the 2005/06 season, Juventus was implicated in the controversial match-fixing scandal, stripped of two league titles and relegated to the Italian second division. Ibrahimović was reluctant to play at this lower level and was sold to Inter for 24.5 million Euros.

His time in Milan was uncharacteristically quiet, marked by good performances on the pitch and another “Goal of the Year” prize for a cheeky back heel against Bologna. Three seasons on and Ibrahimović was making his way to Barcelona as part of the deal that brought Samuel E’to to the San Siro.

While the fans may have loved Zlatan Ibrahimović at the Nou Camp, the striker’s relationship with the young manager, Pep Guardiola, had been strained from the start and a number of reported off-the-field incidents saw the Swedish player loaned to AC Milan for the 2010/11 season.

Despite yet more controversies, this time on the pitch when he received two red cards in quick succession for hitting an opponent and swearing at a referee, AC Milan decided to exercise their option to purchase Ibrahimović from Barcelona for 24 million Euros and he has stayed at the San Siro ever since.

The proud Swede has played for his country 74 times, scoring 28 goals, and was named captain of then national side for the Euro 2012 qualification campaign. Ibrahimović lives in Milan with his partner and two young sons, though he still has a house near Malmo where he was brought up.