Zlatan Ibrahimovic breaks two Serie A records against Udinese | OneFootball

Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke another Serie A record with his goal against Udinese today, becoming the league’s oldest-ever scorer.

The Swede is 41 and 166 days old and broke Alessandro Costacurta’s record (41 years and 25 days, in May 2007).

Udinese took the lead early on through their captain Roberto Pereyra, but AC Milan received a gift late in the first half. VAR spotted a handball by Udinese’s Jaka Bijol and gave the Rossoneri a penalty.

Ibrahimovic initially missed the kick before the referee asked him to retake it due to encroachment in the box. He kept his nerve and equalised.

However, that reprieve did not last long as Udinese retook the lead through Beto. The hosts had settled quickly into the game and made it hard for AC Milan.

The scoring record was not the only age-related one that Ibrahimovic broke. He also became the oldest Serie A captain when he led his team out at the Dacia Arena.

This game was Ibrahimovic’s first start for Milan since January 2022, when he played against Venezia on their way to their first title in 11 years.

Following the Scudetto win in May, the former Barcelona and Ajax forward had surgery and was out of action for a while.

He only returned to action weeks ago against Atalanta as a substitute. He made more substitute appearances against Fiorentina, Salernitana and Tottenham Hotspur to build his fitness.

Sweden coach Janne Andersson recently called him up to the national squad for their 2024 European Championship qualifying games against Belgium and Azerbaijan.

Andersson confirmed that he had been speaking with the striker through the recovery process. He said he knew the player probably could not start games but said he could still contribute to the squad.

Ibrahimovic quit international football in 2016 after the European Championship but returned in 2022 for their unsuccessful World Cup qualifiers.