Autobiography by Zlatan Ibrahimović
I Am Zlatan Ibrahimović (Swedish: Jag är Zlatan Ibrahimović) is an autobiography of the Swedish footballer Zlatan 💰 Ibrahimović, written alongside the Swedish author David Lagercrantz and first published in Swedish in 2011 by Albert Bonniers Förlag. The 💰 book was commercially successful, selling its first edition of 100,000 copies on its first day, and 800,000 by 2024. It 💰 was translated into other languages, including a 2013 English translation by Ruth Urbom which was published by Penguin Books. A 💰 film based on the book was released in Sweden in 2024, titled I Am Zlatan, directed by Jens Sjögren.
Synopsis [ 💰 edit ]
Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović tells his life story, starting from his upbringing in Rosengård, a mostly immigrant area of 💰 the southern city of Malmö. His Bosniak father and Croat mother marry for residency permits and separate when he is 💰 two; his father suffers from alcohol abuse and trauma from his family's suffering in the ongoing Bosnian War, while his 💰 mother is at times violent. Segregated from mainstream Swedish society, he finds a way to integrate while a young footballer 💰 at Malmö FF, while remaining self-conscious of his differences.[1]
In Ibrahimović's account of his one season at FC Barcelona (2009–10), he 💰 attacks manager Pep Guardiola, whom he considers indirect, cowardly and inflexible.[1][2][3] He praises other managers from his career: Leo Beenhakker 💰 (AFC Ajax), Fabio Capello (Juventus) and José Mourinho (Inter Milan), as well as his agent Mino Raiola.[4]
Release [ edit ]
The 💰 full first edition of 100,000 copies sold out in Sweden within hours, a level of interest which was unprecedented for 💰 Albert Bonniers Förlag marketing manager Martin Ahlström. A further 100,000 copies were commissioned. It was estimated that by the end 💰 of the second edition, the book would have grossed 20 million Swedish kronor. Per the convention of authors taking 30% 💰 of the proceeds, Ibrahimović and Lagercrantz would have shared 6 million kronor between themselves.[4]
By May 2012, the book had sold 💰 over 500,000 copies in Sweden. In Finland, a first edition of 5,200 copies sold out, with 5,000 being considered a 💰 bestseller for biographies. In Italy, where Ibrahimović was playing at the time, it sold 140,000 copies in two months, and 💰 35,000 in Norway. It had also been published in the Netherlands, Denmark (straight to number one), Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 💰 Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, with editions scheduled for Hungary, Iceland and Japan.[5]
By December 2024, the book had sold over 💰 800,000 copies in Sweden.[6] The book contributed to an increase in reading for young males in the country.[7]
Reception [ edit 💰 ]
From players [ edit ]
In the book, Ibrahimović complains about an unnamed "prima donna" teammate on the Sweden national football 💰 team, who would complain that they should train and play like his club, Arsenal. Freddie Ljungberg accused Ibrahimović of using 💰 gossip about him to sell a book: "Personally, if I have a problem with people I take it face to 💰 face. But clearly, everyone is different. He wrote a book instead".[8]
From critics [ edit ]
Martina Montelius of Expressen noted how 💰 the book was a reflection of Ibrahimović's individualism and rarely commented on team spirit or playing for Sweden. In her 💰 view, the level of honesty was unusual for a Swedish sports autobiography, and more akin to British releases. She commented 💰 that the worst recollection of his childhood was not his juvenile delinquency or experiences of child neglect, but his lack 💰 of integration; at 13, he did not know who the Swedish 1994 FIFA World Cup semi-finalist Thomas Ravelli was, nor 💰 did he watch a Swedish film until he was 20.[9]
Simon Kuper of the Financial Times called the book the best 💰 recent football autobiography. He likened its narrative to that of the novel Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth, in which protagonist 💰 Alex Portnoy is a Jewish-American in Newark, New Jersey in the 1930s and 1940s. Both grow up segregated from the 💰 mainstream culture, with impoverished and sometimes violent parents.[1] The two protagonists are vaguely aware of warfare occurring in their ancestral 💰 country. At 17, both move away and try to integrate into the mainstream culture; both are enchanted by blonde women, 💰 but are self-conscious of their differences in speech and appearance.[1]
In The Guardian, Richard Williams called the book possibly "most compelling 💰 autobiography ever to appear under a footballer's name". He contrasted the book to a recent release by Dennis Bergkamp; the 💰 two strikers had completely different upbringings, and endured completely different relationships with their coaches.[3] Richard Herbert of The Independent described 💰 the book as "the most compelling autobiography football has known" and called for it to win the William Hill Sports 💰 Book of the Year.[2]
The English translation was nominated for the 2013 William Hill Sports Book of the Year, losing to 💰 Doped, a book on doping in horse racing in the 1960s.[10]
Lagercrantz received attention in 2024 when he told the Hay 💰 Festival that many of the quotes in the book were his own creations and were not told to him by 💰 Ibrahimović. He defended the practice by saying that due to the difference in spoken and written language, it was necessary 💰 to modify what had been told to him by the footballer.[11][12]
Film [ edit ]
In December 2024, Lagercrantz told Aftonbladet that 💰 there would be a film based on the book.[6] Ibrahimović revealed the trailer for the film in July 2024, and 💰 it was released in Swedish cinemas that September.[13]
