Zlatan Ibrahimovic has declared that New York's Statue of Liberty has stiff competition from Sweden's 'Statue of Zlatan.'
The statue of the 38-year-old Swedish superstar was unveiled in his hometown of Malmo to celebrate his illustrious playing career.
And Ibrahimovic, who started his senior playing career with Malmo, attended the unveiling and hilariously compared its stature to the Statue of Liberty.
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He said: "When you come to New York, you have the Statue of Liberty. When you come to Sweden, you have the Statue of Zlatan."
According to the Swedish Football Association, the Zlatan statue is made out of bronze, stands at 2.7m tall and weighs 500kg.
The bronze monument has been worked on in the past few years and is located between Malmo's old and new stadiums.
The LA Galaxy striker told Swedish newspaper Expressen that the tribute to his career "means a lot."
He explained: "Not just when it comes to football, it stands for so much more than just football players.
"Everyone who feels they need support, needs power, energy: just look at the statue, or come to the statue. It's proof that you can succeed if you believe in yourself.
"I'm no bigger than anyone else, it could be anyone. It's as simple as that. I'm not chosen or special in any way, I fought and believed in myself.
"When I started my career, it wasn't like I had someone who'd gone before me that I could ask.
"I remember asking Henrik Larsson: 'What should I do? How should I do it? Explain it to me.'
"He said very simply: 'No-one has been in your shoes, no-one has been in your situation. What should you do? You'll find that path yourself.'
"So I had no-one I could lean on, or talk to about this. No-one could explain to me how everything worked.
"I had to find the balance myself, I had to build self-confidence and find my own way. In all these aspects I chose to be myself."
Ibrahimovic has remained in fine goalscoring form with LA Galaxy as he has made 29 appearances in the MLS this season and scored an impressive 30 times.
But the ex-Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona striker in August opened the door for a stunning return to Manchester United.
And United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is under pressure after his side's poor start to the season, has said that he would welcome his return to Old Trafford.
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