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