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]
