Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic made history on Saturday, scoring his 500th career goal in stunning fashion but it wasn’t enough to lift the Los Angeles Galaxy to a win over Toronto FC.
The 36-year-old Ibrahimovic has always had a flair for the dramatic and he did just that in becoming the third active footballer to reach the milestone, joining Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The six-foot-five (1.95 metre) Ibrahimovic released a perfectly-timed roundhouse kick in the 43th minute that fooled goalkeeper Alex Bono for his 17th goal of the season.
Zlatan gonna Zlatan! 😎@Ibra_official joined Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only active players with 500 goals in typical fashion, scoring with a spinning karate kick! 💥
Full MLS round-up: https://t.co/fD76AvNlm3 pic.twitter.com/ve3J4lVcng
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 16, 2018
The goal cut the deficit to 3-1 and sparked a three-goal Galaxy rally but the defending MLS champions would go on to win 5-3 in front of a crowd of 30,700 at BMO Field in Toronto.
Social media reacts to Zlatan’s spectacle
Zlatan’s brilliant effort went viral as soon as the video was uploaded on social media website. The 36-year-old, who has played for some of the world’s best clubs including FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Manchester United is extremely popular globally.
People not only love his football skill, but his larger-than-life persona too, which sets him apart from the rest. Here are some of the best reactions:
Nearly 37 and still doing stuff like this. What an absolutely ridiculous human being. https://t.co/qFLPjh5TD0
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) September 16, 2018
.@Ibra_official scoring his 500th career goal in style 🔥 #Zlatan500
— SOCCER.COM (@soccerdotcom) September 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/TheManUtdWay/status/1041124803002937344