24 June,2016 08:11 AM IST | | AFP
Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he was filled with pride as he bowed out of international football on Wednesday, saying he had emerged from the ghetto to become Sweden's record goal scorer
Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Nice (France): Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he was filled with pride as he bowed out of international football on Wednesday, saying he had emerged from "the ghetto" to become Sweden's record goal scorer.
The 1-0 defeat to Belgium at Euro 2016 was not the way the brash striker would have wanted to depart the international stage, but he said he would take "fantastic memories" with him.
"It's heavy, it's disappointing, but at the same time I enjoyed it," Ibrahimovic said after the final Group E match in Nice.
"We got the possibility to play at the Euros, and represent Sweden. This was my last game in the national team. I have many fantastic memories from the national team, because it's a nice story because where I came from, a little... what people call the ghetto, and I made that country my country."
Ibrahimovic, 34, was born to a Bosnian father and a Croatian mother in the tough Malmo neighbourhood of Rosengard and had a difficult childhood.
62
Number of goals Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored in 116 matches for Sweden
