The Swedish FA plans to erect a statue of striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic outside the Friends Arena after he won the country’s Golden Ball award for the 10th time.
The 2.7m statue will be in honour of Ibrahimovic after scoring 62 goals in 142 appearances for the Swedish national team before retiring from international duty.
Ibrahimovic received the Golden Ball for the 10th consecutive year on Monday, an incredible achievement as no other player has won the prize more than twice since its inception in 1946.
After receiving the trophy, Zlatan gave a typically confident speech at a glittering ceremony in Stockholm and confirmed the statue to be erected in his honour.
‘It feels unreal,’ the 35-year-old Ibrahimovic told the Manchester United website.
‘Many are thinking “Why him?” and so on, but after all the hard work over 15 years in the national team and 20 years in my club career, it feels like it’s being appreciated. You usually get this after you die, but I still feel alive. When I die, this statue will live on forever.’
