ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC and all his tattoos are poised to become the first mega
signing of Jose Mourinho’s Man United reign.
But what do they all mean – and why does he have so many?
The Sweden superstar confessed in his book ‘I am Zlatan’ that getting inked “became
like a drug for me”.
When buying a Ferrari Enzo was not enough, Ibrahimovic said getting a tattoo
provided him with a “boost” – even though he once could not stand
the thought of one.
He said: “I was against them in the beginning. Thought they were in bad
taste. But I got tempted anyway.”
Now he has 14 on his upper body. Here are the stories behind each of his
eye-catching designs.
1 Right wrist: These numbers are known as the ‘Ibrahimovic code’ and
refer to the birthdates of the males in his family.
They feature his father Sefik, late brother Sapko, other brother Aleksander
and the days on which his two sons Maximilian, nine, and Vince, eight, were
born.
2 Right arm: On the top of his right arm, Ibrahimovic has the names of
his two sons in Arabic fonts.
3 Right bicep: Below them lies ‘Sefik’. Zlatan and his father had
little money and in his book, the striker tells of when they had to carry
home a bed from Ikea because they could not afford the delivery charges.
4 Right oblique: Two playing cards. The ace of hearts features a letter
‘H’ inside it and this is thought to be in honour of his wife Helena Seger.
The ace of clubs is apparently a good luck symbol.
5 Right side: This red dragon is to show off his warrior personality
and comes from Japanese culture.
6 Left wrist: Ibrahimovic has the birthdates of his mother Jurka and
sister Sanela here. Unlike the men, the women of Zlatan’s life go on the
left side because they are closer to his heart.
The men are on the right because the superstar believes that represents
strength.
7 Left bicep: Jurka, the name of his mother, in Arabic font.
8 Stomach: This is the tattoo Ibrahimovic says comes out only when he
is tanned – and was his first.
He said: “The first tattoo I got was my name across my waist in white
ink. You can only see it when I have a tan. It was mainly a test.”
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To the side of this he has the message: “Only God can judge me.”
Of this tat, Ibra said: “They could write whatever they wanted in the
papers. Scream anything at all from the stands.
“They still couldn’t get at me. Only God could judge me! I liked that.
“You have to go your own way, so I got those words tattooed on me.”
9 Left shoulder blade: A grey koi fish. The colour is thought to be
significant as grey koi are wild, as opposed to orange ones bred in ponds.
Koi can swim upstream and in his book, Ibrahimovic said he chose the fish
because it “went against the grain”.
10 Lower back: A recent addition, this is Leonardo da Vinci’s
‘Vitruvian Man’. It shows ideal human proportions and the original drawing
dates to around 1490.
11 Right shoulder blade: This feather is said to come from an eagle and
represent strength and courage. It’s ancrestry appears to be Native
American.
12 Right arm: Maori tribal symbol to protect him, his family and bring
good luck.
13 Right shoulder blade: A Buddhist monk image called Yant Prajao Khao
Nirote, this protects from suffering.
14 Back: Another Buddhist feature, this represents the five elements of
wind, water, fire, space and creative perception and is called Five Deva
Faces Yantra.
But Ibrahimovic’s inkings have got him in trouble in the past.
He was told not to whip off his top before Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions
League last-16 clash with Chelsea last year.
Boss Laurent Blanc was peeved the former Milan and Barcelona got booked after
revealing an extra set of tattoos during a match against Caen.
Then, Ibrahimovic had temporary inkings of 15 people suffering from hunger put
on him in a bid to draw attention to world famine.
After scoring against the French rivals, he peeled off his shirt to reveal
their names to raise awareness for the United Nations’ World Food Program.
Ibrahimovic said at the time: “When I took my shirt off against Caen,
everybody asked what these new tattoos were.
“I had 15 removable tattoos on my body, they are the names of real people
who are suffering from hunger in the world.
“Those tattoos have gone now, these people are still here. I hope that
you can see them through me.”
But boss Blanc rapped: “If it was to show his tattoos then it worked
because it made the front page of every website in the world, so in that
sense it was very successful for him and for the foundation. But it cost us
a yellow card.”