Zlatan Ibrahimović announced his immediate retirement from football, as the 41-year-old ends his playing career with Italian club AC Milan.

Ibrahimović’s contract with AC Milan will not be renewed, as it is due to expire at the end of the month. The former Swedish striker has an illustrious 24-year career filled with accolades and awards, as it started with Malmö Sweden in 1999. The star footballer won 32 trophies, including league titles in the Netherlands, Spain, France, and Italy with both Inter and AC for Milan.

Ibrahimović also scored 511 career goals, hailed as one of the best strikers and one of the most decorated footballers to ever play. Internationally, he was “capped” or “appeared with their senior national team” 122 times by Sweden as their all-time leading scorer with 62 goals.

Ibrahimović spoke for his retirement speech at San Siro Stadium in Italy, as he said his farewell to Milan on Sunday: ‘So many memories and emotions inside this stadium.’

In 2017, Ibrahimović helped the Manchester United club win the EFL Cup and the Europa League but past that, his time playing in England was cut short due to a severe cruciate ligament injury.

Ibrahimović defied the odds and was eventually healthy enough to play again, joining the LA Galaxy for the next 21 months before coming back home to Italy for a second time with AC Milan. He then helped his club claim their first Serie A title in 11 years last season. Ibrahimović tributes to Milan in his retirement speech:

‘The first time I arrived you gave me happiness, the second time, you gave me love. I want to thank my family and those close to me for their patience. I want to thank my second family. The players, the coach, and his staff for the responsibility they gave me. I want to thank the directors for the opportunity they gave me.

“Last but not least, from my heart, I want to thank you, fans. You welcomed me with open arms and I will be a Milanista my entire life.”

‘It’s time to say goodbye to football, but not to you. It’s too difficult, there are too many emotions. I’ll see you around if you are lucky. Forza Milan and goodbye.’

Since 1925, one of Italy’s — and the world’s — most icon soccer stadiums, San Siro, has stood stall. After nearly 95 years, the iconic football arena appears to be heading into its final chapter.

A.C. Milan’s President, Paolo Scaroni, announced this week that both Inter and A.C. Milan have decided to destroy the iconic stadium within the next few years and build a new, joint stadium right next door. “Everything is proceeding,” Scaroni told La Gazzetta Dello Sport from Lausanne, where the Olympic Committee will on Monday select the host cities for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. “We will build a new San Siro next to the old one in the same area of land. The old one will be knocked down and, in its place, there will be new constructions.”

San Siro has been classified as a Category four stadium by UEFA. San Siro has seen it all in its existence. From hosting six games during the 1990 World Cup to hosting four different European Cup finals in 1965, 1970, 2001 and 2016, respectively.

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No timeframe has officially been announced yet for when the new San Siro will be built. However, with the 2026 Winter Olympics taking place in Northern Italy, it seems more than likely to assume that the plan will be to have the stadium built in time for then. According to reports, the timeframe that Scaroni has set as of now is for San Siro to officially be demolished by the end of 2022, four years before the Olympics.

“It’s an extremely complicated process,” Scaroni said. “It would be beautiful to have the Olympics’ opening ceremony in the new San Siro, but we are not certain.”