Manchester United forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic won his 11th Golden Ball of his native country at the annual Swedish football gala late Monday.
The jury noted his “decisive” role in the play-offs a year ago against rivals Denmark that secured a place for Sweden at the 2016 Euro finals, his contributions for Paris Saint-Germain’s French league title and his recent move to Manchester United.
“An unsurpassed career is awarded an 11th Golden Ball,” it said of Sweden’s greatest footballer.
The 35-year-old said that he “now had a full team. It feels surreal.”
At the gala it was also disclosed that a statue of Ibrahimovic will be erected next year outside the national football arena, where he became Sweden’s all-time goalscorer there in 2014.
He retired from international football after the Euro finals in June, scoring 62 goals in 116 appearances.
Ibrahimovic received a small replica of the statue, and said: “The guy from [the Malmo district] Rosengard gets his own statue in the Swedish capital. You usually get one when you pass away, but I feel alive.”