‘I was annoyed when Zlatan broke my record as Serie A’s oldest goalscorer – I wanted to remain in Milan’s history and he took that from me’: Italy legend bitter about Ibrahimovic scoring aged 41 and five months

Zlatan Ibrahimovic enjoying his time at AC Milan in Serie A
Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan (Image credit: Getty Images)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was prone to ruffling feathers of his opponents during his esteemed 24-year career, though he also managed to annoy a fellow AC Milan legend even after they had retired.

Alessandro Costacurta spent over 20 years at AC Milan between 1986 and 2007, apart from a year's loan spell at Monza in 1986, making over 750 appearances in total. During his time at San Siro he won seven Serie A titles, five Champions League/European Cups, and the Coppa Italia.

The defender also formed a crucial part of Arrigo Sacchi's famed side of the late 1980s, though that doesn't stop Costacurta from looking back at his career with some annoyance.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic angered AC Milan legend Alessandro Costacurta

Milan, ITALY: AC Milan's captain defender Alessandro Costacurta (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Udinese, during his last macth of Italian serie A football match at Udine's Friuli stadium, 19 May 2007. AFP PHOTO/ANDREAS SOLARO (Photo credit should read ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images)

Costacurta celebrates his goal (Image credit: Getty Images)

Playing in the final game of his career before retiring at the end of the 2006/07 season, Milan won a penalty against Udinese. Costacurta stepped up and slotted home to become the oldest goalscorer in Serie A, aged 41 years and 25 days.

He managed to retain that record until 2023, when Zlatan Ibrahimovic surpassed him with a penalty of his own, also against Udinese, aged 41, five months and 15 days old.

UDINE, ITALY - MARCH 18: Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan celebrates after scoring the team's first goal from a penalty kick during the Serie A match between Udinese Calcio and AC Milan at Dacia Arena on March 18, 2023 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Zlatan becomes the oldest Serie A scorer (Image credit: Getty Images)

In doing so, the lively Swede annoyed Costacurta, now 58, who wanted to keep that record strong and with him for the rest of his life.

"It annoyed me because I wanted to remain in Milan’s history and Zlatan took that from me," Costacurta exclusively tells FourFourTwo.

"I played until 41 because I was lucky never to have a serious injury – I just broke my knee once. Otherwise, I was very careful about my body, what I ate and drank, and how I slept. There were no incredible secrets."

That Ibrahimovic goal proved crucial in breaking the record, too - he retired at the end of the 2022/23 season, and only scored once throughout the entire campaign.

Ryan Dabbs
Staff writer

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future. 

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