Ibrahimovic breaks Sweden scoring record

Zlatan Ibrahimovic became Sweden’s all-time top goal scorer after netting a brace against Estonia on Thursday.

The 32-year-old took his overall goal scoring tally to 50, one more than Sven Rydell whose record had stood since 1932.

Needing just three minutes to draw level with the record, Ibrahimovic moved past Rydell with a typically audacious flick in the 24th minute of his country’s 2-0 win. The Sweden captain took off his shirt in celebration to reveal a message for the fans which read ‘You made it possible’.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker said after the game he was relieved to break the record, admitting to being nervous in the lead-up to the clash against the European minnows.

“[I] was a little bit, given that [everyone was waiting] for me to beat it. Today, I was lucky that I got to beat it,” he said.

“It means a lot for everyone, for me, my family and everyone around me.

“Now I can think of [Euro 2016] qualifying games. It was nice to beat the record.”

The feat is yet another individual honour for Ibrahimovic in what has been an illustrious career for both club and country.

After making his debut in a 0-0 draw against the Faroe Islands in 2001, he was part of Sweden’s 2002 and 2006 World Cup campaigns which both ended in the round of 16.

The former Ajax, Internazionale and Barcelona striker was named Sweden captain ahead of their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign and has kept the armband ever since.

The star striker has scored some his most memorable goals while in a Sweden shirt, the most famous of which was a 35-yard overhead kick against England in 2012, a game which saw him score four goals to lead his side to a 4-2 win.

Ibrahimovic will now look forward to leading his side against Austria in their opening Euro 2016 qualifier in Vienna on Monday in what will be his 100th international cap.