Zlatan Ibrahimovic is arguably one of the biggest names in football. Sweden’s all-time top goalscorer, has played for some of the biggest clubs in the world, exciting to watch. He exudes confidence, might be somewhat controversial but he is definitely fun! The Manchester United striker marks his 36th birthday today and here are five fun facts about the fun guy.
- There is a word in the Swedish Dictionary named after him.
In 2012, the Swedish Language Council added the verb, “Zlatanera” to its national dictionary in honor of the icon, meaning “to dominate” in English. The word has been in common use in Sweden since then.
- A burger was named after him in France.
In 2013, Doddy’s Cafe in Paris unveiled a 600-gram burger in honour of the then Paris St-Germain striker. Manager of the Cafe, Jean-Phillipe Grandin, created the burger that has the ‘power and strength’ of the Swede. ‘Le Zlatan’ contains minced beef with onions, bacon, three types of cheese including cheddar, Emmental and Auvergne Blue. The burger commands a hefty price tag of 30 Euros.
- He is fluent in five languages.
Ibrahimovic speaks Swedish, Bosnian, English, Spanish and Italian fluently. He also speaks a bit of French.
- He was given a gold record award for his rendition of the Swedish national anthem.
Ibrahimovic was the recipient of the prestigious award after his version of the Swedish national anthem was streamed three million times. He recorded his version of ‘Du Gamla, Du Fria’ translated as ‘Thou Ancient, Thou Free’ for an advert in 2014.
- He has two Taekwondo black belts.
Zlatan earned a black belt in taekwondo as a 17 year-old in his hometown of Malmo and was awarded an honorary black belt by the Italian Taekwondo Federation in 2010 while at AC Milan.
Happy 36th birthday, Zlatan!
