Ibrahimovic signs new deal to keep playing for Milan at 41

In this file photo taken on May 22, 2022 AC Milan’s Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic smokes a cigar during the winner’s trophy ceremony after AC Milan won the Italian Serie A match against Sassuolo, securing the championship. (AFP)
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Updated 19 July 2022
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Ibrahimovic signs new deal to keep playing for Milan at 41

  • Milan released a brief statement on Monday announcing that Ibrahimovic’s contract was renewed to June 30, 2023

MILAN: Zlatan Ibrahimovic will still be playing for AC Milan when he’s 41 after renewing his contract for another year, giving the forward another tilt at the Champions League.

Ibrahimovic missed large portions of Milan’s Serie A-winning campaign with injury and won’t even be able to return to the field until the end of the year — two months after his 41st birthday — after undergoing knee surgery in May.

Milan released a brief statement on Monday announcing that Ibrahimovic’s contract was renewed to June 30, 2023.

The club and Ibrahimovic posted a video on social media, showcasing the forward’s highlights from both of his spells with the Rossoneri, with a voiceover from the Sweden international.

“In life you must always want to do more,” Ibrahimovic said. “One who is satisfied lies on the sofa and relaxes.

“I do not want this. I want to stand on my toes and walk on fire. Because like this I feel alive.”

Ibrahimovic has transformed Milan since returning to the Rossoneri at the end of 2019, shortly after the team was thumped 5-0 by Atalanta. He helped Milan rise back to the top of Serie A and end their 11-year wait for the title.

Although hampered by injuries last season, Ibrahimovic also made his presence felt off the field as he steered a young team to an improbable scudetto.

It was his second with the club, having also been there the last time Milan won the title, in 2011.

Ibrahimovic has also won trophies with Ajax, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United in a long and glittering career. However, one trophy missing from his brimming collection is the Champions League.

Milan’s return to the competition last season — after an eight-year break — was brief as the seven-time European champion was eliminated in the group stage.

“You must believe,” Ibrahimović continued in the video. “When you believe, things come true, one way or another.”


US invests in counter-drone tech to protect FIFA World Cup venues

Updated 13 January 2026
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US invests in counter-drone tech to protect FIFA World Cup venues

The US will invest $115 million in counter-drone measures to bolster security around the FIFA World Cup and ​America’s 250th Anniversary celebrations, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday, the latest sign of governments stepping up drone defenses.

The FIFA World Cup will be a major test of President Donald Trump’s pledge to keep the US ‌secure, with over ‌a million travelers expected ‌to ⁠visit ​for ‌the tournament and billions more watching matches from overseas.

The threat of drone attacks has become a growing concern since the war in Ukraine has demonstrated their lethal capabilities. And recent drone incidents have worried both ⁠European and US airports.

“We are entering a new era ‌to defend our air ‍superiority to protect our ‍borders and the interior of the ‍United States,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. Defense companies are developing a range of technologies aimed at countering drones, including ​tracking software, lasers, microwaves and autonomous machine guns.

The DHS did not specify ⁠which technologies it would deploy to World Cup venues. The announcement comes weeks after the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which sits under DHS, said it granted $250 million to 11 states hosting World Cup matches to buy counter-drone technologies.

Last summer, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, called on Trump, a Republican, to bolster federal support for ‌defending against drone attacks.