Zlatan Ibrahimovic statue destroyed by vandals at Malmo Stadium

Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic's statue in Malmo has been vandalised and toppled over after having its ankles sawn off. The statue's head was covered with a shirt with the Swedish flag printed on it.

The damaged sculpture was found on Sunday, at 3.30 am local time. A graffiti in Swedish, reading "take away," was discovered written next to the statue.

The bronze structure measuring 3.5 metres, was sprayed with paint. Then, it was set on fire and eventually, a toilet seat was put over its arm. The police have surrounded the spot with a fence.

Ibrahimovic's Stockholm house was vandalised as well, with "Judas" written with spray paint on the front door. The incident happened after news broke out that Ibrahimovic had bought 25% of rival club Hammarby's shares.

The Malmo municipality's spokesperson for its sports and recreation department said that the statue is being sent for repairs. He also claimed to have a plan of bringing the sculpture back to its originally designated place, where it was vandalised.

Deputy Mayor of Malmo Frida Trollmyr said, "I can understand that many people are disappointed in Zlatan's behaviour, but vandalising a statute is simply unworthy. Better to express your dissatisfaction in a democratic way."

Her comments heated up the debate regarding the hate among football fans for Ibrahimovic, in the same country that the AC Milan star represented during his international career.

Twenty years ago, the 38-year-old made his professional football debut for Malmo.

It is the fourth instance that the statue has been toppled over the last two months, reports sources.

Last November, this same statue outside Malmo's stadium was set on fire. In December, hostile marks were discovered on its feet. Nine days later, its nose was sawn off. The statue was unveiled in October 2019. Peter Linde, the statue's artist, previously had appealed for people to stop vandalising it.

Ibrahimovic had donned the jerseys of Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, and LA Galaxy, before re-signing for AC Milan in December 2019. The last time when he played in Italy in 2011-12, Ibrahimovic won the Serie A Golden Boot after scoring 28 goals for Milan.

BBC reports that his second debut in the Serie A side is likely to happen on Monday, when they play Sampdoria at home.